microwave background with the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission, the European Planck Surveyor mission, and ground-based and balloon programs.

The committee endorses U.S. participation in the European Far Infrared Space Telescope (FIRST), and it endorses the planned continuation of the operation of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at a reduced cost until the end of the decade.

• To achieve the full scientific potential of a new facility, it is essential that, prior to construction, funds be identified for operation of the facility, for renewal of its instrumentation, and for grants for data analysis and the development of associated theory.

NASA already follows this recommendation in large part by including Mission Operations and Data Analysis (MO&DA) in its budgeting for new missions. The committee recommends that funds for associated theory be included in MO&DA as well. It recommends further that the National Science Foundation include funds for facility operation, renewal of instrumentation, and grants for data analysis and theory along with the construction costs in the budgets for all new federally funded, ground-based facilities. These recommendations are consistent with those of the 1991 survey. For the purpose of total project budget estimation, the committee adopted a model in which operation amounts to 7 percent of the capital cost per year and instrumentation amounts to 3 percent per year for the first 5 years of operation. The committee recommends that total project budgets provide for grants for data analysis and associated theory at the rate of 3 percent of the capital cost per year for major facilities and 5 percent per year for moderate ones. On the basis of this model, the committee has included funds for operations, instrumentation, and grants for a period of 5 years in the cost estimates provided in this report for most ground-based initiatives.

• Adequate funding for unrestricted grants that provide broad support for research, students, and postdoctoral associates is required to ensure the future vitality of the field; therefore new initiatives should not be undertaken at the expense of the unrestricted grants program.

Grants not tied to a facility or program—unrestricted grants—often drive the future directions of astronomy.

Front Matter (R1-R24)

Executive Summary (1-16)

1. Recommendations (17-50)

2. The Science Behind the Recommendations (51-94)

3. The New Initiatives: Building on the Current Program (95-136)

4. Benefits to the Nation from Astronomy (137-158)

5. The Role of Astronomy in Education (159-176)

6. Policy for Astronomy and Astrophysics (177-208)

References (209-212)

Appendix: Definitions (213-228)

Index (229-246)