Bøker av Space Studies Board

To assist NASA, NOAA, and the USGS develop the tools required to understand the changes in the planet Earth, a survey of Earth science and applications from space was carried out. This report outlines a key element of the study - the rationale for tying Earth observations to societal need - and identifies actions needed to achieve this goal.

The Space Studies Board requested 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 and provides a review of the earlier report and an examination of the elements of the astrobiology program.

The loss of the space shuttle Columbia resulted in a decision by NASA not to pursue the SM-4 mission leading to an end of Hubble's life in 2007-2008. The Congress directed NASA to request a study of the robotic and shuttle servicing options for extending the life of Hubble. This report presents an assessment of those two options.

To help define and systematize the 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.

A report that presents 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 environment.

Addresses a different opportunity in the planetary sciences - to extend our exploration outward to discover and study planetary systems that may have formed or are forming around other stars.

The search for life in the solar system and beyond has been governed by a model based on what we know about life on Earth (terran life). This book explores a limited set of hypothetical chemistries of life, a review of knowledge concerning key questions or hypotheses about nonterran life, and suggestions for research.

"Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Climate Research Committee, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications, Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics, Space Studies Board, Committee on Earth Studies, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council."

Focuses on NASA's plan for the ISS. This report provides advice on programmatic issues that NASA is likely to face as it attempts to develop an ISS utilization plan. It also presents an assessment of potentially important research and testbed activities that may have to be performed on the ISS to help ensure success of exploration objectives.

The United States has publicly funded its human spaceflight program on a continuous basis for more than a half-century, through three wars and a half-dozen recessions, from the early Mercury and Gemini suborbital and Earth orbital missions, to the lunar landings, and thence to the first reusable winged crewed spaceplane that the United States operated for three decades. Today the United States is the major partner in a massive orbital facility - the International Space Station - that is becoming the focal point for the first tentative steps in commercial cargo and crewed orbital space flights. And yet, the long-term future of human spaceflight beyond this project is unclear. Pronouncements by multiple presidents of bold new ventures by Americans to the Moon, to Mars, and to an asteroid in its native orbit, have not been matched by the same commitment that accompanied President Kennedy\'s now fabled 1961 speech-namely, the substantial increase in NASA funding needed to make it happen. Are we still committed to advancing human spaceflight? What should a long-term goal be, and what does the United States need to do to achieve it? Pathways to Exploration explores the case for advancing this endeavor, drawing on the history of rationales for human spaceflight, examining the attitudes of stakeholders and the public, and carefully assessing the technical and fiscal realities. This report recommends maintaining the long-term focus on Mars as the horizon goal for human space exploration. With this goal in mind, the report considers funding levels necessary to maintain a robust tempo of execution, current research and exploration projects and the time/resources needed to continue them, and international cooperation that could contribute to the achievement of spaceflight to Mars. According to Pathways to Exploration, a successful U.S. program would require sustained national commitment and a budget that increases by more than the rate of inflation. In reviving a U.S. human exploration program capable of answering the enduring questions about humanity's destiny beyond our tiny blue planet, the nation will need to grapple with the attitudinal and fiscal realities of the nation today while staying true to a small but crucial set of fundamental principles for the conduct of exploration of the endless frontier. The recommendations of Pathways to Exploration provide a clear map toward a human spaceflight program that inspires students and citizens by furthering human exploration and discovery, while taking into account the long-term commitment necessary to achieve this goal.

While various accomplishments 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. This book organizes these questions in terms of five challenges, to be the focus of scientific investigations.

Every 10 years the National Research Council releases a survey of astronomy and astrophysics outlining priorities for the coming decade. The most recent survey, titled New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, provides overall priorities and recommendations for the field as a whole based on a broad and comprehensive examination of scientific opportunities, infrastructure, and organization in a national and international context. Panel Reports?New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics is a collection of reports, each of which addresses a key sub-area of the field, prepared by specialists in that subarea, and each of which played an important role in setting overall priorities for the field. The collection, published in a single volume, includes the reports of the following panels: Cosmology and Fundamental Physics Galaxies Across Cosmic Time The Galactic Neighborhood Stars and Stellar Evolution Planetary Systems and Star Formation Electromagnetic Observations from Space Optical and Infrared Astronomy from the Ground Particle Astrophysics and Gravitation Radio, Millimeter, and Submillimeter Astronomy from the Ground The Committee for a Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics synthesized these reports in the preparation of its prioritized recommendations for the field as a whole. These reports provide additional depth and detail in each of their respective areas. Taken together, they form an essential companion volume to New Worlds, New Horizons: A Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The book of panel reports will be useful to managers of programs of research in the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agencies supporting this research, the scientific community, and the public.