Space Studies Board Annual Report 1995 (1996) / Chapter Skim
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4 Short Reports
4 Short Reports
Pages 74-90
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From page 74... ...
Your interests were further clarified in your memorandum to me, dated March 9, 1995, which specifies two issues on which NASA seeks comments from the Board: The roles and mission of NASA center scientists, as they enable the national resource of space science; and 2. Alternative management models for the science enterprise.
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From page 75... ...
Examples of important internal functional roles of NASA scientists include: · Providing scientific leadership and expertise to support formulation of NASA policy and management of the agency; · Providing the scientific component of implementation oversight for space science missions during development and operations phases; · Providing direct and responsive scientific expertise for the definition, design, development, and operations of space assets and of supporting ground assets; · Assuring the scientific quality and utility of NASA facilities in space and on the ground; · Initiating and developing enabling technology and innovative instrumentation for space science through synergy with engineers and technologists; and · Providing direct and responsive scientific expertise in the specification and oversight of NASA contracts and grants. Examples of important external functional roles of NASA scientists include: · Conducting and overseeing selection of investigations and investigators, peer reviews, and advisory committees; · Providing interfaces and facilitating interactions between extramural investigators and NASA's technical capabilities and infrastructure in space and on the ground; · Fostering new, interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary scientific research made possible by the unique opportunities offered by the space environment or space missions and by special supporting facilities and research assets at NASA' s field centers; and · Providing both outreach to, and in-reach from, the scientific community, the educational community, and the public for space research, one of NASA's most visible and widely accessible activities.
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From page 76... ...
The need to achieve research quality through scientific competition has the danger of creating conflicts of interest and instincts of self-preservation at NASA centers. Scientists at NASA Headquarters have played an essential role in mitigating these negative tendencies in the setting of policy, the conduct of peer reviews, and the implementation of programs.
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From page 77... ...
Signed by Claude R Canizares Chair, Space Studies Board
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From page 78... ...
You have also requested an early scientific assessment prior to the completion of the overall study to guide your decisions and/or planning for a third flight of the Shuttle Radar Laboratory (SRL) ; this letter provides that assessment.
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From page 79... ...
Modifying the instrumentation to include the interferometer boom would allow the evaluation of the utility of mapping topography in vegetated terrains. It would offer an enhanced digital elevation model that could improve the mapping of vegetation cover and canopy characteristics in topographically complex terrains.
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From page 80... ...
Interferometric SAR is the most important development for determining the surface velocity and topography of glaciers and ice sheets. Given suitable orbital parameters, interferometric SAR can provide a unique data set that cannot be obtained by any other means.
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From page 81... ...
The most compelling uses of SAR for solid earth studies involve interferometric SAR. A major achievement would be the construction of a global digital elevation model that is referred to a single, global geodetic reference system.
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From page 82... ...
In response to the questions you originally raised at its February 8, 1995, meeting, the Space Studies Board's Committee on Microgravity Research is pleased to offer clarification of the recommendations made in its report Microgravity Research Opportunities for the 1990s. The committee received your letter, dated February 27, 1995, in which you outlined several questions that were of greatest interest to you.
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From page 83... ...
and if these concerns are based on a community consensus or are more indicative of anecdotal exceptions to the improvement trend. Response: The committee recognizes the considerable progress MSAD has made in the last few years in reducing the difficulties experienced by investigators interacting with NASA centers and their requirements.
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From page 84... ...
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From page 85... ...
from the Space Studies Board to Dr. France Cordova on the role of NASA scientists and alternative management models for the science enterprise.
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From page 86... ...
Further, it cannot be expected that the limited number of center-based NASA life scientists can include all areas of expertise that may be required to address the full spectrum of operational research problems. Moreover, additional downsizing of the intramural scientific work force, likely to result from stringent budget constraints, can only increase the dependence of NASA centers on the external scientific community.
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From page 87... ...
In addition to the valuable practical perspective that NASA scientists would bring to proposal evaluations, such service would no doubt be a positive factor in gaining full acceptance of external peer review by the intramural community of NASA life scientists. Unique core facilities and resources at NASA centers and other sites are important to extramural as well as intramural research activities and as such are an important focus of interaction between NASA life scientists and their external colleagues.
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From page 88... ...
interdependency among NASA centers and with the external community. Certain internal and external functions described in the Center Science Letter, such as participation in policy formulation and selection of external investigators, are properly the province of government employees, but should not be vested in field centers in order to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest vis-a-vis outside scientific competitors.
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From page 89... ...
It is less clear how institutes would strengthen interdependency among centers or work to soften a center's insularity or defensive posture. The Center Science Letter recommends that "NASA should strive to assure that the centers themselves and their senior managers assume greater responsibility for a healthy partnership with the external industrial and university community." Formation of institutes should not be allowed to diminish this ongoing responsibility.
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From page 90... ...
In the report, "concurrence" is not meant to imply an additional level of line management interposed between the NASA Administrator and the science associate administrators. On the contrary, the intent of the report is that the associate administrators will continue to present their plans, budgets, and programs directly to the Administrator, as at present.
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