Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in
the Leadership of Competed Space Missions
Committee on Increasing Diversity and Inclusion in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions
Space Studies Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Board on Science Education
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
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This activity was supported by Contract NNH17CB02B with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Cover design by Timothy Warchocki. Background: Astronaut image ISS059-E-36323 of the Mississippi Delta; courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov. Top row, second from left: X-ray image of the Sun by NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO); courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC. Middle row, left: Dr. Ali Guarneros-Luna holds CubeSat hardware; courtesy of NASA/Dominic Hart. Middle row, fifth from left: Image of the Orion Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in January 2006; courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC. Middle row, seventh from left: March 2, 2015, astronaut image ISS042E340851; courtesy of NASA. Middle row, eighth from left: Alice Bowman, the Mission Operations Manager for NASA’s New Horizons mission, at work in the Mission Operations Center on December 6, 2014; courtesy of SwRI/JHUAPL. Bottom row, left: Dr. Temilola Fatoyinbo presents some of the data visualizations and Earth Science implications of current satellite missions to Vice President Kamala Harris using Goddard’s Hyperwall on November 5, 2021, at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; courtesy of NASA/Taylor Mickal. Bottom row, second from left: Nelson Huang, Manuel Soriano, and John Trinh stand in front of NASA’s Psyche mission; courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Soriano. Bottom row, third from left: Image of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on June 27, 2019; courtesy of NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley). Bottom row, seventh from left: Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator of NASA’s Psyche mission from Arizona State University gives remarks during a briefing discussing small bodies missions, December 31, 2018; courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-27317-6
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-27317-X
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26385
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022940422
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26385.
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COMMITTEE ON INCREASING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE LEADERSHIP OF COMPETED SPACE MISSIONS
FRANCES BAGENAL, NAS,1 University of Colorado Boulder, Co-Chair
WANDA E. WARD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Co-Chair
CLAUDE R. CANIZARES, NAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ERIN CECH, University of Michigan
ANNMARIE ELDERING, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
ELENA A. EROSHEVA, University of Washington
ORLANDO FIGUEROA, Orlando Leadership, LLC
ALLISON N. JAYNES, University of Iowa
LINDSEY MALCOM-PIQUEUX, California Institute of Technology
DAVID J. MCCOMAS, Princeton University
CHRISTOPHER B. NEWMAN, Azusa Pacific University
KUNIO M. SAYANAGI, Hampton University
KEIVAN G. STASSUN, Vanderbilt University
LOUIS-GREGORY STROLGER, Space Telescope Science Institute
Staff
SANDRA GRAHAM, Senior Program Officer, Space Studies Board, Co-Study Director
TIFFANY E. TAYLOR, Board on Science Education, Co-Study Director
ABIGAIL SHEFFER, Senior Program Officer, Space Studies Board
GAYBRIELLE HOLBERT, Senior Program Assistant, Space Studies Board
COLLEEN N. HARTMAN, Director, Space Studies Board
HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Director, Board on Science Education
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1 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
MARGARET G. KIVELSON, NAS,1 University of California, Los Angeles, Chair
JAMES H. CROCKER, NAE,2 Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (retired), Vice Chair
GREGORY P. ASNER, NAS, Carnegie Institution for Science
ADAM BURROWS, NAS, Princeton University
DANIELA CALZETTI, NAS, University of Massachusetts Amherst
JEFF DOZIER, University of California, Santa Barbara
MELINDA DARBY DYAR, Mount Holyoke College
ANTONIO L. ELIAS, NAE, Orbital ATK, Inc. (retired)
VICTORIA E. HAMILTON, Southwest Research Institute
DENNIS P. LETTENMAIER, NAE, University of California, Los Angeles
ROSALY M. LOPES, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
STEPHEN J. MACKWELL, American Institute of Physics
DAVID J. MCCOMAS, Princeton University
LARRY J. PAXTON, Johns Hopkins University
ELIOT QUATAERT, University of California, Berkeley
MARK P. SAUNDERS, Independent Consultant
J. MMARSHALL SHEPHERD, NAS/NAE, University of Georgia
BARBARA SHERWOOD LOLLAR, NAS/NAE, University of Toronto
HOWARD J. SINGER, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
HARLAN E. SPENCE, University of New Hampshire
ERIKA B. WAGNER, Blue Origin, LLC
PAUL D. WOOSTER, Space Exploration Technologies
EDWARD L. WRIGHT, NAS, University of California, Los Angeles
Staff
COLLEEN N. HARTMAN, Director
ALAN ANGLEMAN, Associate Director
ANDREA REBHOLZ, Program Coordinator
TANJA PILZAK, Manager, Program Operations
CELESTE A. NAYLOR, Information Management Associate
MARGARET KNEMEYER, Senior Financial Business Partner
ALEXIS BHADHA, Senior Financial Assistant
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1 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
2 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION
SUSAN SINGER, Rollins College, Chair
SUE ALLEN, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
MEGAN BANG, Northwestern University
VICKI L. CHANDLER, NAS,1 Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute
SUNITA V. COOKE, MiraCosta College
MAYA GARCIA, Colorado Department of Education
RUSH HOLT, CEO Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science
CATHY MANDUCA, Carleton College
JOHN MATHER, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
TONYA MATTHEWS, International African American Museum
WILLIAM PENUEL, University of Colorado Boulder
STEPHEN L. PRUITT, Southern Regional Education Board
K. RENAE PULLEN, Caddo Parish Schools
K. ANN RENNINGER, Swarthmore College
MARCY H. TOWNS, Purdue University
DARRYL N. WILLIAMS, The Franklin Institute
Staff
HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Director
MARGARET KELLY, Program Coordinator
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1 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
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Acknowledgments
This Consensus Study Report reflects the invaluable contributions of many individuals who provided their expertise, including those who served on the committee, the staff of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and many other experts who participated in discussions with the committee.
This report was made possible by sponsorship from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In particular, the committee would like to first acknowledge both Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and Michael New, Deputy Associate Administrator of Research in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, for requesting the study, for being on hand to provide resources, answer committee questions, and to offer insight throughout the study process.
Over the course of the study, the committee held several public fact-finding meetings, of which committee members greatly benefited from. Many presentations and discussions were held with many individuals, including Thomas Wagner, NASA Science Mission Directorate; Deborah Amato, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Cathy Olkin, Southwest Research Institute; Sarah Lipscy, Ball Aerospace; Erika Hamden, University of Arizona; Nicola Fox, NASA Science Mission Directorate; Elizabeth Cole, University of Michigan; Susan White, American Institute of Physics; Christopher Keane, American Geosciences Institute; Louis Barbier, NASA Office of the Chief Scientist; Kelly Case, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Sabrina Feldman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Bruce Jakosky, University of Colorado Boulder; Sean Jones, National Science Foundation; Stephen Meacham, National Science Foundation; Bernice Anderson, National Science Foundation; Marie Bernard, National Institutes of Health; Shamala Srinivas, National Cancer Institute; Caron Lyman, National Cancer Institute; Lauren Moen, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Alison Gammie, National Institute of General Medical Sciences; Stephen Fiore, University of Central Florida; Janet Vertesi, Princeton University; Stephanie Pfirman, Arizona State University; Jim Burch, Southwest Research Institute; Lisa Wood, Ball Aerospace; Lisa Callahan, Lockheed Martin; Mike Ryschkewitsch, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Arizona State University; Tuija Pulkkinen, University of Michigan; Harlan Spence, University of New Hampshire; Louisa Koch, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Ping Ge, Department of Energy; Victor McCrary, National Science Board; Heidi Jensen, NASA Science Mission Directorate, Lorenzo Pappas, NASA Science Mission Directorate; Brenda Manuel, former NASA Associate Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity; Elaine Ho, NASA Office of STEM Engagement; Kris Brown, NASA Office of STEM Engagement; Torry Johnson, NASA Office of STEM Engagement; Richard Gilmore, NASA Office of STEM Engagement; Philip Sakimoto; University of Notre Dame; Louie Lopez, Department of Defense; and Charles Bolden, former NASA Administrator.
The committee is also extremely grateful to Mithuna Srinivasan, Heather Sawyer, Ann Davoren, Elena Navarro, and Julie Kubelka from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago who consulted with us to conduct a qualitative study on the competed space mission proposal process and the experiences of principal investigators for the committee’s use in drafting the report.
Lastly, the committee wishes to extend its gratitude to the staff of both the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (DEPS) and the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE), in particular to Sandra Graham of the Space Studies Board (DEPS/SSB) and Tiffany Taylor of the Board on Science Education (DBASSE/BOSE), who as co-study directors, shepherded the committee throughout the entire process and played a key role in the report preparation and review process; to Abigail Sheffer (DEPS/SSB), who provided critical assistance in project direction and report review; to Gaybrielle Holbert (DEPS/SSB), whose expert administrative leadership and support enabled smooth meetings and report production; to Mia Brown (DEPS/SSB), who stepped in to provide timely help and support to prepare the report for review; and to Colleen N. Hartman (director of SSB) and Heidi Schweingruber (director of BOSE), whose expert advice, strategic thinking, and helpful suggestions throughout the entire study process ensured a timely and impactful report. Liz Panos of the DEPS staff expertly guided the report through the National Academies review process and Catherine Gruber of the DEPS staff provided invaluable editorial assistance.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
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1 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Wesley L. Harris, NAE,2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Martha Haynes, NAS, Cornell University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
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2 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
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