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Workshop Goal and Committee Statement of Task
This proceedings was drafted by a rapporteur during a 2-day workshop in March 2021. The workshop was guided by the following question:
Looking at the period of time prior to the release of the next decadal survey, how can this community support and utilize Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) to address areas of research identified in the 2011 decadal?
The workshop sessions and speaker directions were organized around obtaining information relevant to, and perspectives on, the above question. As a supporting activity, and at the request of the committee, NASA organized a January 14, 2021, public seminar to help educate the relevant science community on CLPS plans and opportunities in advance of the workshop.
The statement of task of the workshop organizing committee, the Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space (CBPSS), is as follows:
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint the Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space (CBPSS) to operate as an ad hoc committee. The overarching purpose of the committee is to support scientific progress in space research in the biological, medical, and physical sciences and assist the federal government in integrating and planning programs in these fields. The scope for CBPSS spans plant and microbial biology, animal and human physiology, and basic and applied physical sciences, in the context of understanding the role of gravity in living and physical systems in order to develop capabilities required for space exploration, and using the space environment as a tool of science to advance knowledge. The CBPSS provides an independent, authoritative forum for identifying and discussing issues in space life and physical sciences between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public.
The CBPSS will also monitor the progress in implementation of the recommendations of the Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era (RFSE) decadal survey—building on the survey that was tasked with establishing priorities for an integrated portfolio of biological and physical sciences research in the decade of 2010–2020. The CBPSS may issue reports that will provide guidance to NASA related to its implementation of the decadal survey or the mid-decadal review.
The committee will carry out its charge by undertaking the following tasks:
- At each of its in-person meetings, as appropriate, the committee may prepare concise assessments of progress on the implementation of the decadal survey’s recommended scientific and technical activities. The assessments will be based on evidence gathered by the committee at its in-person and virtual meetings. The committee’s assessment reports may include findings and conclusions on key strategies being pursued by the agencies and the status of agency actions that relate to the state of implementation. The reports may also highlight scientific discoveries and engineering and technical advances relevant to progress on the science objectives identified in the decadal survey
or mid-decadal review, as appropriate, and in addition will focus on one or more of the following types of issues:
- The scientific quality and the potential for discovery in the field;
- The impact of scientific advances on the implementation of the decadal survey recommended activities and the translation of scientific knowledge to human exploration missions;
- The impact of changing budget priorities, especially those that challenge the fundamental assumptions of RFSE, on the implementation of decadal survey priorities and on the balance between exploration-focused and basic scientific research more broadly; and
- The potential impact on a recommended course of action at a decision point described in the decadal survey.
