TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Understanding the Sun and Solar System Plasmas: Future Directions in Solar and Space Physics DO - 10.17226/11188 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11188/understanding-the-sun-and-solar-system-plasmas-future-directions-in PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - The Astrophysical Context of Life SN - DO - 10.17226/11316 PY - 2005 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11316/the-astrophysical-context-of-life PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - In 1997, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formed the National Astrobiology Institute to coordinate and fund research into the origins, distribution, and fate of life in the universe. A 2002 NRC study of that program, Life in the Universe: An Assessment of U.S. and International Programs in Astrobiology, raised a number of concerns about the Astrobiology program. In particular, it concluded that areas of astrophysics related to the astronomical environment in which life arose on earth were not well represented in the program. In response to that finding, the Space Studies Board requested the original study committee, the Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life, to examine ways to augment and integrate astronomy and astrophysics into the Astrobiology program. This report presents the results of that study. It provides a review of the earlier report and related efforts, a detailed examination of the elements of the astrobiology program that would benefit from greater integration and augmentation of astronomy and astrophysics, and an assessment of ways to facilitate the integration of astronomy with other astrobiology disciplines. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere and the Local Interstellar Medium: A Workshop Report SN - DO - 10.17226/11135 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11135/exploration-of-the-outer-heliosphere-and-the-local-interstellar-medium PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - This report is the summary of a workshop held in May 2003 by the Space Studies Board's Committee on Solar and Space Physics to synthesize understanding of the physics of the outer heliosphere and the critical role played by the local interstellar medium (LISM) and to identify directions for the further exploration of this challenging environment. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Science Opportunities Enabled by NASA's Constellation System: Interim Report SN - DO - 10.17226/12201 PY - 2008 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12201/science-opportunities-enabled-by-nasas-constellation-system-interim-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - To begin implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration (recently renamed "United States Space Exploration Policy"), NASA has begun development of new launch vehicles and a human-carrying spacecraft that are collectively called the Constellation System. In November 2007, NASA asked the NRC to evaluate the potential for the Constellation System to enable new space science opportunities. For this interim report, 11 existing "Vision Mission" studies of advanced space science mission concepts inspired by earlier NASA forward-looking studies were evaluated. The focus was to assess the concepts and group them into two categories: more-deserving or less deserving of future study. This report presents a description of the Constellation System and its opportunities for enabling new space science opportunities, and a systematic analysis of the 11 Vision Mission studies. For the final report, the NRC issued a request for information to the relevant communities to obtain ideas for other mission concepts that will be assessed by the study committee, and several issues addressed only briefly in the interim report will be explored more fully. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Space Studies Board Annual Report 2005 DO - 10.17226/11716 PY - 2006 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11716/space-studies-board-annual-report-2005 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Radiation Hazards to Crews of Interplanetary Missions: Biological Issues and Research Strategies SN - DO - 10.17226/5540 PY - 1996 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5540/radiation-hazards-to-crews-of-interplanetary-missions-biological-issues-and PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - NASA's long-range plans include possible human exploratory missions to the moon and Mars within the next quarter century. Such missions beyond low Earth orbit will expose crews to transient radiation from solar particle events as well as continuous high-energy galactic cosmic rays ranging from energetic protons with low mean linear energy transfer (LET) to nuclei with high atomic numbers, high energies, and high LET. Because the radiation levels in space are high and the missions long, adequate shielding is needed to minimize the deleterious health effects of exposure to radiation. The knowledge base needed to design shielding involves two sets of factors, each with quantitative uncertainty—the radiation spectra and doses present behind different types of shielding, and the effects of the doses on relevant biological systems. It is only prudent to design shielding that will protect the crew of spacecraft exposed to predicted high, but uncertain, levels of radiation and biological effects. Because of the uncertainties regarding the degree and type of radiation protection needed, a requirement for shielding to protect against large deleterious, but uncertain, biological effects may be imposed, which in turn could result in an unacceptable cost to a mission. It therefore is of interest to reduce these uncertainties in biological effects and shielding requirements for reasons of mission feasibility, safety, and cost. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Launching Science: Science Opportunities Provided by NASA's Constellation System SN - DO - 10.17226/12554 PY - 2009 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12554/launching-science-science-opportunities-provided-by-nasas-constellation-system PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - In January 2004 NASA was given a new policy direction known as the Vision for Space Exploration. That plan, now renamed the United States Space Exploration Policy, called for sending human and robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. In 2005 NASA outlined how to conduct the first steps in implementing this policy and began the development of a new human-carrying spacecraft known as Orion, the lunar lander known as Altair, and the launch vehicles Ares I and Ares V. Collectively, these are called the Constellation System. In November 2007 NASA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to evaluate the potential for new science opportunities enabled by the Constellation System of rockets and spacecraft. The NRC committee evaluated a total of 17 mission concepts for future space science missions. Of those, the committee determined that 12 would benefit from the Constellation System and five would not. This book presents the committee's findings and recommendations, including cost estimates, a review of the technical feasibility of each mission, and identification of the missions most deserving of future study. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Space Studies Board Annual Report 2003 DO - 10.17226/10960 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10960/space-studies-board-annual-report-2003 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - The Sun to the Earth -- and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics SN - DO - 10.17226/10477 PY - 2003 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10477/the-sun-to-the-earth-and-beyond-a-decadal-research PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - The sun is the source of energy for life on earth and is the strongest modulator of the human physical environment. In fact, the Sun’s influence extends throughout the solar system, both through photons, which provide heat, light, and ionization, and through the continuous outflow of a magnetized, supersonic ionized gas known as the solar wind. While the accomplishments of the past decade have answered important questions about the physics of the Sun, the interplanetary medium, and the space environments of Earth and other solar system bodies, they have also highlighted other questions, some of which are long-standing and fundamental. The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond organizes these questions in terms of five challenges that are expected to be the focus of scientific investigations in solar and space physics during the coming decade and beyond. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Life Sciences: Space Science in the Twenty-First Century -- Imperatives for the Decades 1995 to 2015 SN - DO - 10.17226/752 PY - 1988 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/752/life-sciences-space-science-in-the-twenty-first-century-imperatives PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Space Radiation Hazards and the Vision for Space Exploration: Report of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/11760 PY - 2006 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11760/space-radiation-hazards-and-the-vision-for-space-exploration-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - Fulfilling the President’s Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) will require overcoming many challenges. Among these are the hazards of space radiation to crews traveling to the Moon and Mars. To explore these challenges in some depth and to examine ways to marshal research efforts to address them, NASA, NSF, and the NRC sponsored a workshop bringing together members of the space and planetary science, radiation physics, operations, and exploration engineering communities. The goals of the workshop were to increase understanding of the solar and space physics in the environment of Earth, the Moon, and Mars; to identify compelling relevant research goals; and discuss directions this research should take over the coming decade. This workshop report presents a discussion of radiation risks for the VSE, an assessment of specifying and predicting the space radiation environment, an analysis of operational strategies for space weather support, and a summary and conclusions of the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos SN - DO - 10.17226/10993 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10993/plasma-physics-of-the-local-cosmos PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - Solar and space physics is the study of solar system phenomena that occur in the plasma state. Examples include sunspots, the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, radiation belts, and the aurora. While each is a distinct phenomenon, there are commonalities among them. To help define and systematize these universal aspects of the field of space physics, the National Research Council was asked by NASA’s Office of Space Science to provide a scientific assessment and strategy for the study of magnetized plasmas in the solar system. This report presents that assessment. It covers a number of important research goals for solar and space physics. The report is complementary to the NRC report, The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy for Solar and Space Physics, which presents priorities and strategies for future program activities. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Assessment of Mission Size Trade-offs for NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions SN - DO - 10.17226/9796 PY - 2000 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9796/assessment-of-mission-size-trade-offs-for-nasas-earth-and-space-science-missions PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - Assessment of Mission Size Trade-offs for NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions addresses fundamental issues of mission architecture in the nation's scientific space program and responds to the FY99 Senate conference report, which requested that NASA commission a study to assess the strengths and weaknesses of small, medium, and large missions. This report evaluates the general strengths and weaknesses of small, medium, and large missions in terms of their potential scientific productivity, responsiveness to evolving opportunities, ability to take advantage of technological progress, and other factors that may be identified during the study; identifies which elements of the SSB and NASA science strategies will require medium or large missions to accomplish high-priority science objectives; and recommends general principles or criteria for evaluating the mix of mission sizes in Earth and space science programs. Assessment of Mission Size Trade-offs for NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions considers not only scientific, technological, and cost trade-offs, but also institutional and structural issues pertaining to the vigor of the research community, government-industry university partnerships, graduate student training, and the like. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Solar and Space Physics and Its Role in Space Exploration SN - DO - 10.17226/11103 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11103/solar-and-space-physics-and-its-role-in-space-exploration PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - In February 2004, the President announced a new goal for NASA; to use humans and robots together to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. In response to this initiative, NASA has adopted new exploration goals that depend, in part, on solar physics research. These actions raised questions about how the research agenda recommended by the NRC in its 2002 report, The Sun to the Earth and Beyond, which did not reflect the new exploration goals, would be affected. As a result, NASA requested the NRC to review the role solar and space physics should play in support of the new goals. This report presents the results of that review. It considers solar and space physics both as aspects of scientific exploration and in support of enabling future exploration of the solar system. The report provides a series of recommendations about NASA's Sun-Earth Connections program to enable it to meet both of those goals. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Priorities in Space Science Enabled by Nuclear Power and Propulsion SN - DO - 10.17226/11432 PY - 2006 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11432/priorities-in-space-science-enabled-by-nuclear-power-and-propulsion PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - In 2003, NASA began an R&D effort to develop nuclear power and propulsion systems for solar system exploration. This activity, renamed Project Prometheus in 2004, was initiated because of the inherent limitations in photovoltaic and chemical propulsion systems in reaching many solar system objectives. To help determine appropriate missions for a nuclear power and propulsion capability, NASA asked the NRC for an independent assessment of potentially highly meritorious missions that may be enabled if space nuclear systems became operational. This report provides a series of space science objectives and missions that could be so enabled in the period beyond 2015 in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, solar system exploration, and solar and space physics. It is based on but does not reprioritize the findings of previous NRC decadal surveys in those three areas. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Exploring Organic Environments in the Solar System SN - DO - 10.17226/11860 PY - 2007 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11860/exploring-organic-environments-in-the-solar-system PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics KW - Biology and Life Sciences AB - The sources, distributions, and transformation of organic compounds in the solar system are active study areas as a means to provide information about the evolution of the solar system and the possibilities of life elsewhere in the universe. There are many organic synthesis processes, however, and ambiguity surrounds the relative effectiveness of these processes in explaining the distribution of organic compounds in the solar system. As a consequence, NASA directed the NRC to determine what processes account for the reduced carbon compounds found throughout the solar system and to examine how planetary exploration can advance understanding of this central issue. This report presents a discussion of the chemistry of carbon; an analysis of the formation, modification, and preservation of organic compounds in the solar system; and an assessment of research opportunities and strategies for enhancing our understanding of organic material in the solar system. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Space Studies Board Annual Report 2010 DO - 10.17226/13214 PY - 2011 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13214/space-studies-board-annual-report-2010 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - The Space Studies Board (SSB) was established in 1958 to serve as the focus of the interests and responsibilities in space research for the National Academies. The SSB provides an independent, authoritative forum for information and advice on all aspects of space science and applications, and it serves as the focal point within the National Academies for activities on space research. It oversees advisory studies and program assessments, facilitates international research coordination, and promotes communications on space science and science policy between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public. The SSB also serves as the U.S. National Committee for the International Council for Science Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). This volume reviews the organization, activities, and reports of the SSB for the year 2010. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Managing Space Radiation Risk in the New Era of Space Exploration SN - DO - 10.17226/12045 PY - 2008 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12045/managing-space-radiation-risk-in-the-new-era-of-space-exploration PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - As part of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), NASA is planning for humans to revisit the Moon and someday go to Mars. An important consideration in this effort is protection against the exposure to space radiation. That radiation might result in severe long-term health consequences for astronauts on such missions if they are not adequately shielded. To help with these concerns, NASA asked the NRC to further the understanding of the risks of space radiation, to evaluate radiation shielding requirements, and recommend a strategic plan for developing appropriate mitigation capabilities. This book presents an assessment of current knowledge of the radiation environment; an examination of the effects of radiation on biological systems and mission equipment; an analysis of current plans for radiation protection; and a strategy for mitigating the risks to VSE astronauts. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - An Interim Report on NASA's Draft Space Technology Roadmaps SN - DO - 10.17226/13228 PY - 2011 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13228/an-interim-report-on-nasas-draft-space-technology-roadmaps PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to achieve many of its space science and exploration goals over the next several decades, dramatic advances in space technology will be necessary. NASA has developed a set of 14 draft roadmaps to guide the development of such technologies under the leadership of the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT). Each roadmap focuses on a particular technology area. OCT requested that the National Research Council conduct a study to review the draft roadmaps, gather and assess relevant community input, and make recommendations and suggest priorities to inform NASA's decisions as it finalizes its roadmaps. The success of OCT's technology development program is essential, because technological breakthroughs have long been the foundation of NASA's successes, from its earliest days, to the Apollo program, to a vast array of space science missions and the International Space Station. An Interim Report of NASA's Technology Roadmap identifies some gaps in the technologies included in the individual roadmaps. The report suggests that the effectiveness of the NASA space technology program can be enhanced by employing proven management practices and principles including increasing program stability, addressing facility issues, and supporting adequate flight tests of new technologies. This interim report provides several additional observations that will be expanded on in the final report to be released in 2012. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box SN - DO - 10.17226/23503 PY - 2016 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/23503/achieving-science-with-cubesats-thinking-inside-the-box PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics AB - Space-based observations have transformed our understanding of Earth, its environment, the solar system and the universe at large. During past decades, driven by increasingly advanced science questions, space observatories have become more sophisticated and more complex, with costs often growing to billions of dollars. Although these kinds of ever-more-sophisticated missions will continue into the future, small satellites, ranging in mass between 500 kg to 0.1 kg, are gaining momentum as an additional means to address targeted science questions in a rapid, and possibly more affordable, manner. Within the category of small satellites, CubeSats have emerged as a space-platform defined in terms of (10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm)- sized cubic units of approximately 1.3 kg each called "U's." Historically, CubeSats were developed as training projects to expose students to the challenges of real-world engineering practices and system design. Yet, their use has rapidly spread within academia, industry, and government agencies both nationally and internationally. In particular, CubeSats have caught the attention of parts of the U.S. space science community, which sees this platform, despite its inherent constraints, as a way to affordably access space and perform unique measurements of scientific value. The first science results from such CubeSats have only recently become available; however, questions remain regarding the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats in the future. Achieving Science with CubeSats reviews the current state of the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats. This report focuses on the platform's promise to obtain high- priority science data, as defined in recent decadal surveys in astronomy and astrophysics, Earth science and applications from space, planetary science, and solar and space physics (heliophysics); the science priorities identified in the 2014 NASA Science Plan; and the potential for CubeSats to advance biology and microgravity research. It provides a list of sample science goals for CubeSats, many of which address targeted science, often in coordination with other spacecraft, or use "sacrificial," or high-risk, orbits that lead to the demise of the satellite after critical data have been collected. Other goals relate to the use of CubeSats as constellations or swarms deploying tens to hundreds of CubeSats that function as one distributed array of measurements. ER -