ABOUT THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

For more than 100 years, the National Academies have provided independent advice on issues of science, technology, and medicine that underlie many questions of national importance. The National Academies, comprising the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, work together to enlist the nation’s top scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts to study specific issues. The results of their deliberations have inspired some of America’s most significant and lasting efforts to improve the health, education, and welfare of the nation. To learn more about Academies’ activities, check the Web site at www.nationalacademies.org.

The decadel survey on which this booklet is based was a project approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the Survey Committee and the five panels whose responsible for the survey were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

The project was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contracts NASW 96013 and NASW 01001, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Purchase Order No. 40-AA-NR-111308, the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ATM-0109283, the Office of Naval Research under Grant No. N00014-01-1-0753, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Purchase Order No. FQ8671-0101168.

Support for this publication was provided by The Presidents’ Circle Communication Initiative of the National Academies.

Copies of this report are available free of charge from:

Space Studies Board

National Research Council

The Keck Center of the National Academies, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001

www.nationalacademies.org/ssb

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES™

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine