Space Studies Board Annual Report 1992 (1993) / Chapter Skim
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5 Congressional Testimony
5 Congressional Testimony
Pages 36-51
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From page 36... ...
Over the years, I have served on a wide variety of CHAPTER 4 panels and committees that advise NASA and the nation about research, health, CHAPTER 5 and safety issues associated with the presence of humans in space. Currently, in addition to serving as a member of the NRC's Space Studies Board and that Board's Committee on Human Exploration, I am a liaison member of NASA's internal advisory Committee on Scientific Utilization of Space Station Freedom.
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From page 37... ...
NATIONAL GOALS AND THE CIVIL SPACE PROGRAM In 1988, then-President Ronald Reagan put forth a Presidential Directive on National Space Policy. The policy, later reaffirmed by President Bush, states that "a fundamental objective guiding United States space activities has been and continues to be, space leadership." Earlier this year, NASA Administrator Richard Truly issued Vision 21 -- The NASA Strategic Plan (NASA, January 1992)
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From page 38... ...
Among those goals is an expansion of human activity beyond Earth orbit, including long-duration human exploration. The Board has made a number of statements concerning life sciences research in the context of that goal.2 In 1987, through its standing Committee on Space Biology and Medicine, the Board issued a comprehensive research strategy that focused on the program, experiments, and instruments that would be required to answer the many fundamental scientific questions that have been identified in this still emerging field of space science.
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From page 39... ...
ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAMS IN SPACE BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE In 1991, the Board issued a series of assessments of NASA's progress in implementing recommendations made concerning the various space research disciplines, including space biology and medicine. In discussing the major imperatives for research in space biology and medicine, the assessment categorized research topics relative to the urgency that would be dictated by proceeding with a space exploration initiative.
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From page 40... ...
In addition to describing the physiological effects of microgravity on humans in space, a host of reports have discussed the recognition of psychosocial problems during long-duration missions such as those planned for Space Station Freedom, a manned lunar base, a voyage to Mars, or a martian outpost.4 Current research using analogue environments and other means do not provide convincing evidence that missions longer than one year will be tolerated in the closed-limited environments that are contemplated for prolonged space missions. Psychosocial issues may be critical limiting factors in the exploration of space.
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From page 41... ...
As the Board indicated in both its March 1991 and March 1992 statements concerning Space Station Freedom, we concur with the recommendation of the Augustine Committee that the primary objective of a space station should be life sciences research.5 That is, "A space based laboratory is required to study the physiological consequences of long term spaceflight."6 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH One way to maximize the return on investment in research is through various modes of cooperative research, with foreign partners, private concerns, and between federal agencies. To the extent that there are shared or compatible goals, the Board and its Committee on Space Biology and Medicine strongly endorse this approach.
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From page 42... ...
The primary purpose of physiological, psychological, and radiation-effect research in space is to learn enough to provide some reasonable assurance that crews can survive and function in this most unforgiving of environments. Prolonged space faring, as would be involved in any human mission to Mars, remains terra incognita.
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. That report is the culmination of a two-year study which focused on whether the space research community should have a role in setting priorities for those scientific objectives and initiatives which comprise the space science and applications component of the nation's civil space program.
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Careful consideration and formulation of assumptions and priorities for the scientific research program and the overall space program that supports it will enable us to better serve national goals, compel effective action, achieve the maximum return on our national investment, and foster public pride and confidence. THE HIERARCHY OF PRIORITIES Let me state my personal view of how the issues addressed by our report fit within the context of the national decision-making process that creates the agenda for scientific activities.
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From page 45... ...
Within space research, priorities for programmatic activities have been developed in recent years by the Space Science and Applications Committee using a methodology created by its predecessor, the Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee.8 So far, there has been no formal effort to set priorities among developmental efforts across all of space research. The disciplinary committees of the Space Studies Board have regularly set forth long-range research strategies with scientific goals and objectives for each of the subdisciplines of space research.
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From page 46... ...
Apollo demonstrated national technological superiority at a critical time. A fundamental assumption of the civil space program developed in that era asserts that it is human destiny to explore the Solar System and perhaps beyond.
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Economic benefits have been cited as a rationale for space research since the inception of the U.S. civil space program, yet the precise meaning of "economic benefit" has not always been clear.
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From page 48... ...
The categories in such a scheme might include support for basic research and scientific infrastructure, followed by mandatory efforts, large initiatives, and incremental efforts that are part of the forward march of science. The relative priorities in such a scheme can be presented as a matrix, with the columns representing categories and containing activities listed by relative priority within the category.
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From page 49... ...
Since scientists expect support from taxpayers, they should be willing to explain to the public why some initiatives better serve national purposes. THE DIFFICULT PART Having begun the second phase of our study, we are well aware that the most difficult aspect of our endeavor lies ahead.
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We believe it must do so. 1For examples of previous Space Studies Board positions on biomedical and life file:///C|/SSB_old_web/an92ch5.htm (15 of 17)
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6Committee on Space Biology and Medicine Strategy previously cited and Space Studies Board letter to Joseph Alexander, assistant associate administrator, Office of Space Science and Applications, NASA Headquarters, December 12, 1990; Space Station Summer Study Report, SESAC Task Force on Scientific Uses of a Space Station, NASA, March 1986. 7Hearingbefore the Subcommittee on Space of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S.
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