Skip to main content

Steps to Facilitate Principal-Investigator-Led Earth Science Missions (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

Executive Summary
Pages 1-7

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 1...
... 3NASA's Earth Explorers Program is "the component of Earth Science Enterprise that investigates specific, highly focused areas of Earth science research. It is comprised of flight projects that provide pathfinder exploratory and process driven measurements, answering innovative and unique Earth science questions." Currently, the components of the Earth Explorers Program are the Earth System Science Pathfinder; the Rapid Spacecraft Development Office; the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)
Read the entire page →
From page 2...
... Its findings and recommendations address potential enhancements aligned with these three areas. Finding: The PI-led mission paradigm represents a valuable approach to soliciting and executing missions involving focused science objectives, with demonstrated success in both the Earth and space sciences.
Read the entire page →
From page 3...
... Recommendation: NASA's Earth Science Enterprise should include within the solicitation for PI-led missions a component, following the Solar System Exploration Discovery model, that provides limited technology funding for high-priority non-selected PI-led mission proposals to increase their technology readiness for the next proposal round. Finding: The Earth science community, particularly the university-based community, has historically produced only a small number of scientists with the in-depth space engineering and technical management experience that is required to lead a project in a PI mode of operation.
Read the entire page →
From page 4...
... While extending competition between PI teams through the entire formulation phase provides NASA with additional insight into the effectiveness of the PI teams and the maturity of the mission designs, it delays the integration of the PI and NASA teams and motivates the PI teams to emphasize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Recommendation: NASA's Earth Science Enterprise should avoid extensive overlap between competition and execution activities during the formulation phase of PI-led missions, thus providing an adequate schedule for the PI team and NASA to perform critical formulation tasks after the competitive selection is completed.
Read the entire page →
From page 5...
... Finding: Scientific results are the primary objective in PI-led missions, but postlaunch science funding commitments are not adequately identified in mission solicitations. Recommendation: NASA's Earth Science Enterprise should clearly specify within the solicitation for a PIled mission the extent to which scientific investigation and data analysis are expected to be included in the initial mission project budget, as well as the anticipated plans and budget for additional postlaunch science investigations.
Read the entire page →
From page 6...
... Finding: The availability of accurate cost estimates is a very important element of the mission selection process, but establishing accurate estimates of project cost has historically provided one of the largest challenges to both proposers and reviewers of PI-led missions. Recommendation: NASA's Earth Science Enterprise should enhance its cost evaluation capabilities to improve the accuracy of mission selection decisions and to motivate improved fidelity of cost proposals.
Read the entire page →
From page 7...
... Finding: While it may be appropriate for PI-led missions to use management processes that differ from NASA standards, NASA-defined minimum management standards are desirable to reduce programmatic risk to acceptable levels. Recommendation: NASA's Earth Science Enterprise should establish and enforce a comprehensive set of minimum standards for program management to be applied to all PI-led missions, while accepting that such missions may employ management processes that differ from those of NASA.
Read the entire page →

Key Terms

  • science enterprise
  • earth explorers
  • explorers program
  • formulation phase
  • science missions

  • selection official
  • mission selection
  • management processes
  • scientific results
  • flight projects

  • mission success
  • focused science
  • current flight
  • science community
  • project team

  • project management
  • selection criteria
  • nasa program
  • defined goals
  • science pathfinder

  • postlaunch science
  • schedule constraints
  • adequately identified
  • unique earth
  • throughout mission

  • science measurements
  • team roles
  • funding commitments
  • spacecraft development
  • programmatic success


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
    More information on Chapter Skim is available.