Review of Goals and Plans for NASA’s Space and Earth Sciences
Panel on Review of NASA Science Strategy Roadmaps, National Research Council
Executive Summary
As charged by NASA and Congress, the Panel on Review of NASA Science Strategy Roadmaps reviewed six science roadmaps. It found that the proposed roadmaps have significant scientific merit and that, with a few notable exceptions, their near-term recommendations are generally consistent with the decadal-scale studies produced by the National Research Council (NRC). The panel believes that the roadmaps are reasonable inputs to NASA’s strategic planning/efforts process and together provide rationales for future planning that are generally well supported by the existing NRC decadal surveys. The main sources of gaps and potential missed opportunities in some of the six roadmaps are a shortage of scientific justification for their stated goals and an overly narrow interpretation of the presidential exploration vision by the NASA roadmap teams. If science in pursuit of the exploration vision is to be aligned with the priorities set forth by the scientific community in NRC decadal survey reports, it will be essential for NASA to embrace the broadly based science program that has been recommended by the 2004 report of the President’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Policy and the principles articulated in the 2005 Space Studies Board report Science in NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration. Also, much more should be done to coordinate planning across the various roadmaps and with other federal agencies. The short timescale for writing the roadmaps and the lack of community input may have contributed to these shortcomings. The panel was able to draw some broad conclusions from its review, which are provided as general principles for integration and prioritization of the strategic planning to fulfill the exploration vision. These principles are stated briefly in this Executive Summary and in more detail in Chapter 7. The most important result of the roadmapping activity may now be its contribution to a balanced and clearly defined decision process. The panel’s key recommendations are that the overall science program be guided by scientific merit and be driven by discoveries.
