Assessment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (SSB) 

Released 12.10.07

Astrobiology is a scientific discipline devoted to the study of life in the universe—its origin, evolution, distribution, and future.  In 1997, NASA established an Astrobiology program (the NASA Astrobiology Institute—NAI) as a result of a series of new results from solar system exploration and astronomical research in the mid-1990s together with advances in the biological sciences.  To help evaluate the NAI, NASA asked the NRC to review progress made by the Institute in developing the field of astrobiology.  This report  presents an evaluation of NAI’s success in meeting its goals for fostering interdisciplinary research, training future astrobiology researchers, providing scientific and technical leadership, exploring new research approaches with information technology, and supporting outreach to K-12 education programs.

Grading NASA’s Solar System Exploration Program: A Midterm Review (SSB)

Released 11.28.07

The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directed the agency to ask the NRC to assess the performance of each division in the NASA Science directorate at five-year intervals. In this connection, NASA requested the NRC to review the progress the Planetary Exploration Division has made in implementing recommendations from previous, relevant NRC studies.  This report provides an assessment of NASA’s progress in fulfilling those recommendations including an evaluation how well it is doing and of current trends.  The report covers key science questions, flight missions, Mars exploration, research and analysis, and enabling technologies.  Recommendations are provided for those areas in particular need of improvement.

Options to Ensure the Climate Record from the NPOESS and GOES-R Spacecraft: A Workshop Report (SSB)

Released 10.02.07

In June 2006, changes were announced by NOAA that reduced the scope of the next generation of polar and geostationary environmental monitoring satellites, NPOESS and GOES-R.  To examine the impacts of these changes, particularly those associated with climate research, and ways to mitigate those impacts, NASA and NOAA asked the NRC to add this task to its ongoing "decadal survey," Earth Science and Applications from Space.  The sponsors and the NRC agreed to address this task separately and to base its analysis on a major workshop. Two reports would be issued: the first summarizing the presentations and discussions of the workshop and the second with recommendations for a strategy to recover the lost capabilities.  This report presents summaries of discussions at the workshop, which included sessions on the measurements and sensors originally planned for NPOESS and GOES-R; generation of climate data records; mitigation options, including the role of international partners; and cross-cutting issues.  The second report is due in early 2008.

Released 10.30.07

The stability of the financial system and the potential for systemic events to alter its function have long been critical issues for central bankers and researchers.  Recent events suggest that older models of systemic shocks might no longer capture all of the possible paths of such disturbances or account for the increasing complexity of the financial system.  To help assess these concerns, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the NRC cosponsored a conference that brought together engineers, scientists, economists, and financial market experts to promote better understanding of systemic risk in a variety of fields.  The report presents an examination of tools used in ecology and engineering to study systemic collapse in those areas; a review of current trends in economic research on systemic risk, the payments system, and the market of interbank funds; and for context, descriptions of how systemic risk in the financial system affects trading activities.

NASA’s Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation (SSB, BPA)

Released 09.05.07

The Beyond Einstein (BE) program is a set of five space missions designed to address important questions about physics and astrophysics.  In 2003, NASA prepared a research roadmap proposing these five missions in order to study dark energy, black holes, gravitational radiation, inflation of the early universe, and Einstein’s theory of gravitation.  In FY2007, congressional language prompted NASA and DOE to request the NRC to assess these missions and recommend which to develop and launch first using a funding wedge that will start in 2009.  This report provides, for each mission, an analysis of its scientific impact, an examination of technical risk and a cost assessment, and a review of related policy and programmatic issues.  The report concludes with recommendations to guide the programs development.

Released 07.05.07

The search for life in the solar system and beyond has to date been governed by a model based on what we know about life on Earth (terran life). Most of NASA’s mission planning is focused on locations where liquid water is possible and emphasizes searches for structures that resemble cells in terran organisms. It is possible, however, that life exists that is based on chemical reactions that do not involve carbon compounds, that occurs in solvents other than water, or that involves oxidation-reduction reactions without oxygen gas. To assist NASA incorporate this possibility in its efforts to search for life, the NRC was asked to carry out a study to evaluate whether nonstandard biochemistry might support life in solar system and conceivable extrasolar environments, and to define areas to guide research in this area. This report presents an exploration of a limited set of hypothetical chemistries of life, a review of current knowledge concerning key questions or hypotheses about non-terran life, and suggestions for future research.

Released 06.20.07

To support its space astronomy missions over the years, NASA has established a number of astronomy science centers that serve as an interface between the spacecraft and the research community. These centers have been very successful in enabling the astronomy missions to achieve their scientific potential. For new missions, NASA must decide whether to use existing centers, establish new ones, or pursue other means to support the mission. To help with this decision process, NASA asked the NRC to examine current centers, identify lessons learned and best practices, and consider whether there are optimum sizes or approaches for such centers. This report presents descriptions of the functions and responsibilities of an astronomy science center and of models of centers for various sized missions; an analysis of the principles that should guide the establishment, operation, and evolution of such centers; and recommendations for future NASA centers.

The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon: Final Report (SSB)

Released 06.05.07

Because of the Moon’s unique place in the evolution of rocky worlds, it is a prime focus of NASA’s space exploration vision. Currently NASA is defining and implementing a series of robotic orbital and landed missions to the Moon as the initial phase of this vision. To realize the benefits of this activity, NASA needs a comprehensive, well-validated, and prioritized set of scientific research objectives. To help establish those objectives, NASA asked the NRC to provide guidance on the scientific challenges and opportunities enabled by sustained robotic and human exploration of the Moon during the period 2008-2023 and beyond. This final report presents a review of the current understanding of the early earth and moon; the identification of key science concepts and goals for moon exploration; an assessment of implementation options; and a set of prioritized lunar science concepts, goals, and recommendations. An interim report was released in September 2006.

Released 05.29.07

Three recent developments have greatly increased interest in the search for life on Mars. The first is new information about the Martian environment including evidence of a watery past and the possibility of atmospheric methane. The second is the possibility of microbial viability on Mars. Finally, the Vision for Space Exploration initiative included an explicit directive to search for the evidence of life on Mars. These scientific and political developments led NASA to request the NRC’s assistance in formulating an up-to-date integrated astrobiology strategy for Mars exploration. Among other topics, this report presents a review of current knowledge about possible life on Mars; an astrobiological assessment of current Mars missions; a review of Mars-mission planetary protection; and findings and recommendations. The report notes that the greatest increase in understanding of Mars will come from the collection and return to Earth of a well-chosen suite of Martian surface materials.

Released 05.01.07

The NRC has long used decadal surveys to review the status of and outlook for selected research fields, and to provide recommendations for scientific and programmatic priorities for federal research funding. While widely successful, various fiscal, technical, and policy factors have made implementation of this advice by relevant federal agencies difficult at times. To determine whether the approach to future surveys could be modified or improved to help account more effectively for those factors, the NRC undertook a workshop involving the research community and the relevant agencies to examine this question. This report presents a summary of the workshop. It provides a review of recent decadal surveys; a discussion of how to assess more effectively program cost and technical risk; an analysis of lessons learned from past surveys; and the identification of approaches that could enhance the realism, endurance, and utility of future surveys.

Released 04.30.07

In January 2004, the President announced the Vision for Space Exploration policy, which, among other things, would establish a goal for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. This policy raises many challenges for NASA including whether the agency has the workforce to carry out the policy, or adequate mechanisms for acquiring one. To help explore this question, NASA requested that the NRC assess the current and future supply of highly skilled, U.S. aerospace professionals and identify solutions to meet any identified needs. This report presents an assessment of workforce supply and demand; an analysis of skills that will be needed by NASA and industry; an examination of workforce gaps and obstacles to fill those gaps including a particular need for systems engineers; an assessment of the role of academia and nontraditional approaches; and recommendations for action by all parties.

Exploring Organic Environments in the Solar System (SSB)

Released 02.27.07

The sources, distributions, and transformation of organic compounds in the solar system are active study areas as a means to provide information about the evolution of the solar system and the possibilities of life elsewhere in the universe. There are many organic synthesis processes, however, and ambiguity surrounds the relative effectiveness of these processes in explaining the distribution of organic compounds in the solar system. As a consequence, NASA directed the NRC to determine what processes account for the reduced carbon compounds found throughout the solar system and to examine how planetary exploration can advance understanding of this central issue. This report presents a discussion of the chemistry of carbon; an analysis of the formation, modification, and preservation of organic compounds in the solar system; and an assessment of research opportunities and strategies for enhancing our understanding of organic material in the solar system.

NASA Astrophysics Performance Assessment (SSB)

Released 02.07.07

While a number of remarkable discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics have taken place over the past 20 years, many important questions remain. Continued progress in these fields will require NASA’s leadership. To help determine if NASA can meet this challenge, Congress, in the 2005 NASA Authorization Act, directed the agency to have “[t]he performance of each division in the Science directorate…reviewed and assessed by the National Academy of Sciences at 5-year intervals.” In early 2006, NASA asked the NRC to conduct such an assessment for the agency’s Astrophysics Division. This report presents an assessment of how well NASA’s current program addresses the strategies, goals, and priorities outlined in previous Academy reports. The report provides an analysis of progress toward realizing these strategies, goals, and priorities; and a discussion of actions that could be taken to optimize the scientific value of the program in the context of current and forecasted resources.

Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future (SSB)

Released 01/15/2007

Natural and human-induced changes in Earth’s interior, land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans affect all aspects of life. Understanding these changes requires a range of observations acquired from land-, sea-, air-, and space-based platforms. To assist NASA, NOAA, and USGS in developing these tools, the NRC was asked to carry out a “decadal strategy” survey of Earth science and applications from space that would develop the key scientific questions on which to focus Earth and environmental observations in the period 2005-2015 and beyond, and present a prioritized list of space programs, missions, and supporting activities to address these questions. This report presents a vision for the Earth science program; an analysis of the existing Earth Observing System and recommendations to help restore its capabilities; an assessment of and recommendations for new observations and missions for the next decade; an examination of and recommendations for effective application of those observations; and an analysis of how best to sustain that observation and applications system.