There are some worrisome trends in NASA’s robotic exploration of the Solar System as highlighted in a new study — “Grading NASA’s Solar System Exploration Program - A Midterm Review” — issued today by the National Academies’ National Research Council (NRC). The report was sponsored by NASA.

The review takes a hard look at where NASA stands today based on implementing the recommendations made in the NRC’s 2003-2013 Solar System exploration decadal survey, the “New Frontiers in the Solar System” study.

The committee’s results spotlight five categories: science goals and objectives; flight missions; Mars; research and analysis, planetary astronomy and mission data analysis programs; as well as enabling technologies.

One take home message of major concern is that NASA is headed towards a cliff - that is, unless money is put into technology development — a number of top science goals can’t be met. The report gives the space agency a “D” in this department, with the trend line on a “getting worse” slope.

Indeed, the report’s overall summary for NASA’s Solar System exploration is listed as a “B” grade, noting that the trend line is downward.

Some good news - the NRC committee report assesses the NASA Mars exploration program for the period 2000-2010 as meriting an “A”. But looking downrange, the committee is concerned that, while some individual components of a Mars Sample Return (MSR) effort are being addressed, the overall MSR strategy at NASA is not apparent. NASA’s lack of visible resources dedicated to the MSR project is the basis for the committee’s downward trend assessment.

The NRC committee writing the report notes that they are “deeply concerned” with both the grade and the trend — a “C” and downward trend — in the area of research and analysis, planetary astronomy, and flight mission data. That grade is driven by falling investment in fundamental science and two failing grades in planetary astronomy.

One report recommendation is that NASA should select a Europa mission concept and secure a new start for the project before 2011.

The report also flags the fact that important science in the study of exoplanets is “falling through the bureaucratic cracks” at NASA.

Because this is a mid-term appraisal, the report observes that NASA still has the ability to significantly improve these grades before the next decadal survey is produced. Also, a number of areas are pointed to in which NASA is given high-points. For instance, the NRC committee report gives gold stars to NASA’s Discovery and New Frontiers programs - but thinks the space agency needs to fly more of them.

Still, the NRC committee report also explains that “the situation could get considerably worse, and the current overall trend is alarming.”

Check out the full report at: http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12070#toc

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 at 10:36 am and is filed under Space & Astronomy, Technology, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.