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An Assessment of Balance in NASA's Science Programs (2006) / Chapter Skim
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3 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 29-34

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From page 29...
... Finding 2. The program proposed for space and Earth science is not robust; it is not properly balanced to support a healthy mix of small, medium, and large missions and an underlying foundation of scientific research and advanced technology projects; and it is neither sustainable nor capable of making adequate progress toward the goals that were recommended in the National Research Council's decadal surveys.
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From page 30...
... Explorer, ESSP, and Mars Scout missions are among the smallest missions in NASA's science portfolio, and because of their centrality to science research, all of the NRC decadal survey reports have considered them vital and inviolable. These small missions fill critical science gaps in areas that are not addressed by strategic missions, serve as precursors to larger missions, support the rapid implementation of attacks on very 1 In its 2003 review of the astrobiology program (National Research Council, Life in the Universe: An Assessment of U.S.
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From page 31...
... As the space station's research capabilities have been scaled back, NASA has also reduced support for these research areas. However, if the agency is to pursue long-duration human lunar, and ultimately Mars, missions, it will have to answer fundamental questions about issues such as how the human body reacts to long-duration spaceflight, what microgravity and radiation countermeasures are mandatory for astronaut survival and mission effectiveness, and how materials and 2 National Research Council, Assessment of Mission Size Trade-offs in NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2000, and National Research Council, Principal Investigator-Led Missions in the Space Sciences, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006.
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From page 32...
... They rank missions to be pursued by category -- large, medium, and small; they offer advice on R&A programs; and they balance the aspirations of the various subdisciplines. They perform this ranking and offer this advice based on NASA estimates of the costs of the missions and of the overall funding that is likely to be available for the 4National Research Council, Review of NASA Plans for the International Space Station, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006.
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From page 33...
... Reconstitution and engagement of advisory committees for the microgravity life and physical sciences are equally important and should be given attention. 5National Research Council, Issues and Opportunities Regarding the U.S.
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Key Terms

  • earth science
  • space research
  • decadal surveys
  • space science
  • human spaceflight

  • science missions
  • sciences programs
  • microgravity life
  • space sciences
  • space telescope

  • space shuttle
  • nasa budget
  • total nasa
  • human capital
  • decadal survey

  • science portfolio
  • initial technology
  • technology work
  • nasa plans
  • flagship missions

  • analysis programs
  • major missions
  • larger missions
  • space exploration
  • hubble space

  • space station
  • webb space
  • national space
  • major space
  • nasa science


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