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Space Studies Board Annual Report 2017 (2018) / Chapter Skim
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5.4 A Midterm Assessment of Implementation of the Decadal Survey on Life and Physical Sciences Research at NASA
Pages 52-58

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From page 52...
... The statement of task asks for a typical midterm assessment of NASA's progress against the decadal survey recommendations, then goes on to request a focus on deep space exploration, thus framing much of the midterm assessment as a further ranking of those decadal survey recommendations that enable exploration, in particular, deep space exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO)
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From page 53...
... As a major response to the programmatic recommendations of the decadal survey, the SLPSRA Division was established as part of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in 2011. "SLPSRA provides administrative oversight of NASA's Life and Physical Sciences Research, a programmatic home for an integrated research agenda, program leadership and execution under a single management structure and is housed in a NASA directorate organization that understands both the value of science and its potential application in future exploration missions."5 In support of the relationship between SLPSRA and the decadal survey, the Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space6 was formed as an activity of the Space Studies Board and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
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From page 54...
... Recommendation 5-9: In light of the resource constraints, NASA should raise the priority of Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division research within the International Space Station (ISS) to address the risks and unknowns of human space exploration, particularly given the value of microgravity research for exploration and the urgency resulting from the potential transition of the ISS.
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From page 55...
... These considerations include a long-term U.S. presence in LEO that is characterized by leadership of international partnerships, continuing support for commercial space activities in LEO, and an ecosystem that fosters ongoing deep space exploration objectives beyond LEO while continuing research and development for fundamental science and technology.
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From page 56...
... ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN TO OPTIMIZE SCIENCE VALUE TO EXPLORATION, AND GUIDANCE FOR IMPLEMENTATION As NASA has developed its deep space exploration plans, there has been tremendous refocusing on the science needed to best enable that exploration. The committee heard many presentations on the progress that has been made in space life and physical sciences since the 2011 decadal survey.
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From page 57...
... Recommendation 5-11: NASA should aggressively lead in the 46 research priorities for deep space exploration identified in Table 4.1 of this midterm report to provide as much "pull" as possible for exploration enhancement using space life and physical sciences. NASA should, for example, lead in the development of microgravity-adapted biological and physical systems, making maximum use of all available platforms, including the International Space Station, specifically for the science behind the design and implementation of microgravity-optimized operation.
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From page 58...
... These fundamental science efforts can only be performed in a long-duration microgravity environment. Recommendation 5-12: The committee recommends that a cautious approach be used when shifting the NASA research portfolio more toward those types of experiments necessary for deep space exploration, so as to maintain the benefits of important basic experiments, especially those uniquely enabled by International Space Station microgravity and already in progress, which may in the long term have the potential for major impacts in fundamental physical science.
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Key Terms

  • space exploration
  • deep space
  • space life
  • international space
  • space station

  • iss national
  • survey recommendations
  • midterm assessment
  • human space
  • exploration strategy

  • crew time
  • cislunar space
  • exploration priorities
  • science community
  • midterm review

  • survey priorities
  • beyond leo
  • commercial space
  • space gateway
  • space studies

  • space radiation
  • iss research
  • decadal surveys
  • human exploration
  • enable deep

  • iss nasa
  • reference missions
  • report recapturing
  • design reference
  • cargo delivery


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