Executive Summary
The Sun to the Earth —and Beyond
A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was 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 committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
Support for this project was provided by Contract NASW 96013 and NASW 01001 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Purchase Order No. 40-AA-NR-111308, National Science Foundation Grant No. ATM-0109283, Office of Naval Research Grant No. N00014-01-1-0753, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research Purchase Order No. FQ8671–0101168. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
Cover: The background photo is of the aurora borealis as viewed from the vicinity of Fairbanks, Alaska. The three figures in the inset show the magnetically structured plasma of the Sun’s million-degree corona (left); the plasmasphere, a cloud of lowenergy plasma that surrounds Earth and co-rotates with it (top right); and an artist’s conception of Jupiter’s inner magnetosphere, with the lo plasma torus and the magnetic flux tubes that couple the planet’s upper atmosphere with the magnetosphere. Ground-based aurora photo courtesy of Jan Curtis; coronal image courtesy of the Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research and NASA; plasmasphere image courtesy of the IMAGE EUV team and NASA; rendering of the jovian magnetosphere courtesy of J.R.Spencer (Lowell Observatory).
Copies of this stand-alone Executive Summary are available free of charge from:
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Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond, the report from which this Executive Summary is extracted, is available for sale from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M.Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A.Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M.Alberts and Dr. Wm. A.Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS SURVEY COMMITTEE
LOUIS J.LANZEROTTI,
Lucent Technologies,
Chair
ROGER L.ARNOLDY,
University of New Hampshire
FRAN BAGENAL,
University of Colorado
DANIEL N.BAKER,
University of Colorado
JAMES L.BURCH,
Southwest Research Institute
JOHN C.FOSTER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PHILIP R.GOODE,
Big Bear Solar Observatory
RODERICK A.HEELIS,
University of Texas, Dallas
MARGARET G.KIVELSON,
University of California, Los Angeles
WILLIAM H.MATTHAEUS,
University of Delaware
FRANK B.McDONALD,
University of Maryland
EUGENE N.PARKER,
University of Chicago, Professor Emeritus
GEORGE C.REID,
University of Colorado
ROBERT W.SCHUNK,
Utah State University
ALAN M.TITLE,
Lockheed Martin Corporation
ARTHUR CHARO, Study Director
WILLIAM S.LEWIS,1 Consultant
THERESA M.FISHER, Senior Program Assistant
PANEL ON THE SUN AND HELIOSPHERIC PHYSICS
JOHN T.GOSLING,
Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Chair
ALAN M.TITLE,
Lockheed Martin Corporation,
Vice Chair
TIMOTHY S.BASTIAN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
EDWARD W.CLIVER,
Phillips Laboratory
JUDITH T.KARPEN,
Naval Research Laboratory
JEFFREY R.KUHN,
Institute for Astronomy
MARTIN A.LEE,
University of New Hampshire
RICHARD A.MEWALDT,
California Institute of Technology
VICTOR PIZZO,
NOAA Space Environment Center
JURI TOOMRE,
University of Colorado
THOMAS H.ZURBUCHEN,
University of Michigan
PANEL ON SOLAR WIND AND MAGNETOSPHERE INTERACTIONS
CHRISTOPHER T.RUSSELL,
University of California, Los Angeles,
Chair
JOACHIM BIRN,
Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Vice Chair
BRIAN J.ANDERSON,
Johns Hopkins University
JAMES L.BURCH,
Southwest Research Institute
JOSEPH F.FENNELL,
Aerospace Corporation
STEPHEN A.FUSELIER,
Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory
MICHAEL HESSE,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
WILLIAM S.KURTH,
University of Iowa
JANET G.LUHMANN,
University of California, Berkeley
MARK MOLDWIN,
University of California, Los Angeles
HARLAN E.SPENCE,
Boston University
MICHELLE F.THOMSEN,
Los Alamos National Laboratory
PANEL ON ATMOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE-MAGNETOSPHERE INTERACTIONS
MICHAEL C.KELLEY,
Cornell University,
Chair
MARY K.HUDSON,
Dartmouth College,
Vice Chair
DANIEL N.BAKER,
University of Colorado
THOMAS E.CRAVENS,
University of Kansas
TIMOTHY J.FULLER-ROWELL,
University of Colorado
MAURA E.HAGAN,
Boston University Center for Space Physics
UMRAN S.INAN,
Stanford University
TIMOTHY L.KILLEEN,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
CRAIG KLETZING,
University of Iowa
JANET U.KOZYRA,
University of Michigan
ROBERT LYSAK,
University of Minnesota
GEORGE C.REID,
University of Colorado
HOWARD J.SINGER,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ROGER W.SMITH,
University of Alaska
PANEL ON THEORY, MODELING, AND DATA EXPLORATION
GARY P.ZANK,
University of California, Riverside,
Chair
SPIRO K.ANTIOCHOS,
Naval Research Laboratory
RICHARD S.BOGART,
Stanford University
JAMES F.DRAKE, JR.,
University of Maryland
ROBERT E.ERGUN,
University of Colorado at Boulder
JACK R.JOKIPII,
University of Arizona
JON A.LINKER,
Science Applications International Corporation
WILLIAM LOTKO,
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College
JOACHIM RAEDER,
University of California, Los Angeles
ROBERT W.SCHUNK,
Utah State University
PANEL ON EDUCATION AND SOCIETY
RAMON E.LOPEZ,
University of Texas, El Paso,
Chair
MARK ENGEBRETSON,
Augsburg College,
Vice Chair
FRAN BAGENAL,
University of Colorado
CRAIG DEFOREST,
Southwest Research Institute
PRISCILLA FRISCH,
University of Chicago
DALE E.GARY,
New Jersey Institute of Technology
MAUREEN HARRIGAN,
Agilent Technologies
ROBERTA M.JOHNSON,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
STEPHEN P.MARAN,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
TERRANCE ONSAGER,
NOAA Space Environment Center
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
JOHN H.McELROY,
University of Texas at Arlington (retired),
Chair
ROGER P.ANGEL,
University of Arizona
JAMES P.BAGIAN,
Veterans Health Administration’s National Center for Patient Safety
ANA P.BARROS,
Harvard University
RETA F.BEEBE,
New Mexico State University
ROGER D.BLANDFORD,
California Institute of Technology
JAMES L.BURCH,
Southwest Research Institute
RADFORD BYERLY, JR.,
University of Colorado
ROBERT E.CLELAND,
University of Washington
HOWARD M.EINSPAHR,
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute
STEVEN H.FLAJSER,
Loral Space and Communications Ltd.
MICHAEL FREILICH,
Oregon State University
DON P.GIDDENS,
Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University
RALPH H.JACOBSON,
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (retired)
MARGARET G.KIVELSON,
University of California, Los Angeles
CONWAY LEOVY,
University of Washington
BRUCE D.MARCUS,
TRW, Inc. (retired)
HARRY Y.McSWEEN, JR.,
University of Tennessee
GEORGE A.PAULIKAS,
The Aerospace Corporation (retired)
ANNA-LOUISE REYSENBACH,
Portland State University
ROALD S.SAGDEEV,
University of Maryland
CAROLUS J.SCHRIJVER,
Lockheed Martin
ROBERT J.SERAFIN,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
MITCHELL SOGIN,
Marine Biological Laboratory
C.MEGAN URRY,
Yale University
PETER VOORHEES,
Northwestern University
J.CRAIG WHEELER,
University of Texas at Austin
JOSEPH K.ALEXANDER,
Director
Preface
The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics is the product of an 18-month effort that began in December 2000, when the National Research Council (NRC) approved a study to assess the current status and future directions of U.S. ground- and space-based programs in solar and space physics research. The NRC’s Space Studies Board and its Committee on Solar and Space Physics organized the study, which was carried out by five ad hoc study panels and the 15-member Solar and Space Physics Survey Committee, chaired by Louis J. Lanzerotti, Lucent Technologies. The work of the panels and the committee was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond is the report of the Solar and Space Physics Survey Committee. It draws on the findings and recommendations of the five study panels, as well as on the committee’s own deliberations and on previous relevant NRC reports. The report identifies broad scientific challenges that define the focus and thrust of solar and space physics research for the decade 2003 through 2013, and it presents a prioritized set of missions, facilities, and programs designed to address those challenges.
In preparing this report, the committee has considered the technologies needed to support the research program that it recommends as well as the policy and programmatic issues that influence the conduct of solar and space physics research. The committee has also paid particular attention to the applied aspects of solar and space physics—to the important role that these fields play in a society whose increasing dependence on space-based technologies renders it ever more vulnerable to “space weather.” The report discusses each of these important topics—technology needs, applications, and policy—in some detail. The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond also
discusses the role of solar and space physics research in education and examines the productive cross-fertilization that has occurred between solar and space physics and related fields, in particular astrophysics and laboratory plasma physics.
Each of the five study panels was charged with surveying its assigned subject area and with preparing a report on its findings. The first three panels focused on the important scientific goals within their respective disciplines and on the missions, facilities, programs, technologies, and policies needed to achieve them. In contrast, the Panel on Theory, Modeling, and Data Exploration addressed basic issues that transcend disciplinary boundaries and that are relevant to all of the subdisciplines of solar and space physics. The Panel on Education and Society examined a variety of issues related to both formal and informal education, including the incorporation of solar and space physics content in science instruction at all levels, the training of solar and space physicists at colleges and universities, and public outreach. The reports of the panels will be published in a separate volume titled The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: Panel Reports.
In addition to the input from the five study panels, the committee also received information at a 2-day workshop convened in August 2001 to examine in detail issues relating to the transition from research models to operational models. Participants in the workshop included members of the committee and representatives from the Air Force, the Navy, NOAA, NSF, NASA, the U.S. Space Command, academia, and the private sector.
The committee undertook its work intending to provide a community assessment of the present state and future directions of solar and space physics research. To this end, the committee and the panels engaged in a number of efforts to ensure the broad involvement of all segments of the solar and space physics communities. These efforts included townmeeting-like events held at the May 2001 joint meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS’s) Solar Physics Division1 and at spring and summer 2001 workshops of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP), Solar, Heliospheric, and Interplanetary Environment (SHINE), Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR), and Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) programs. Each of these outreach events was well attended and provided the committee and panels with valuable guidance, suggestions,
and insights into the concerns of the solar and space physics community. Additional community input came from presentations on science themes, missions, and programs at panel meetings, from direct communication with individual panel and committee members by phone and e-mail, and through Web sites and Web-based bulletin boards established by two of the panels. Reports in the electronic newsletters of the AGU’s Space Physics and Aeronomy section and of the AAS’s Solar Physics Division kept those communities informed of the progress of the study and encouraged their continued involvement in the study process.
Each of the study panels met at least twice during the spring and summer of 2001. The Panel on the Sun and Heliospheric Physics and the Panel on Education and Society met three times. The committee met five times, three times in 2001 and twice in 2002. The panel chairs and vice chairs participated in two of those meetings, during which they presented their panels’ recommendations and received comments and suggestions from the committee. The final set of scientific and mission, facility, and program priorities and other recommendations was established by consensus at the committee’s last meeting, in May 2002.
The committee’s final set of priorities and recommendations does not include all of the recommendations made by the study panels, although it is consistent with them.2 Each panel worked diligently to identify the compelling scientific questions in its subject area and to set program priorities to address these questions. All of the recommendations offered by the panels merit support; however, the committee took as its charge the provision of a strategy for a strong, balanced national program in solar and space physics for the next decade that could be carried out within what is currently thought to be a realistic resource envelope. Difficult choices were inevitable, but the recommendations presented in this report reflect the committee’s best judgment, informed by the work of the panels and discussions with the scientific community, about which programs are most important for developing and sustaining the solar and space physics enterprise.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its
published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Claudia Alexander, California Institute of Technology,
Lewis Allen, California Institute of Technology (retired),
George Field, Harvard University,
Peter Gilman, National Center for Atmospheric Research,
Gerhard Haerendel, International University, Bremen,
Thomas Hill, Rice University,
W.Jeffrey Hughes, Boston University,
Ralph Jacobson, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (retired),
Robert Lin, University of California, Berkeley,
Nelson Maynard, Mission Research Corporation,
Atsuhiro Nishida, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science,
William Radasky, Metatech Corporation, and
Donald Williams, Johns Hopkins University.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Robert A.Frosch, Harvard University, and Lennard Fisk, University of Michigan. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Contents
The contents of the entire report, from which this Executive Summary is extracted, are listed below.
1 |
Solar and Space Physics: Milestones and Science Challenges |
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The Domain of Solar and Space Physics |
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Milestones: From Stonehenge to Soho |
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Science Challenges |
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The Astrophysical Context |
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Understanding Complex, Coupled Systems |
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Notes |
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2 |
Integrated Research Strategy for Solar and Space Physics |
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The Sun’s Dynamic Interior and Corona |
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The Heliosphere and Its Components |
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Space Environments of the Earth and Other Solar System Bodies |
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The Role of Theory and Modeling in Missions and Fundamental Space Plasma Physics |
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Space Weather |
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Roadmap to Understanding |
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Deferred High-Priority Flight Missions |
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Summary |
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Notes |
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3 |
Technology Development |
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Traveling to the Planets and Beyond |
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Advanced Spacecraft Systems |
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Advanced Science Instrumentation |
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Gathering and Assimilating Data from Multiple Platforms |
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Modeling the Space Environment |
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Observing Geospace from Earth |
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Observing the Magnetic Sun at High Resolution |
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Notes |
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4 |
Connections Between Solar and Space Physics and Other Disciplines |
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Laboratory Plasma Physics |
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Astrophysical Plasmas |
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Atmospheric Science and Climatology |
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Atomic and Molecular Physics and Chemistry |
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Notes |
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5 |
Effects of the Solar and Space Environment on Technology and Society |
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The National Space Weather Program |
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Monitoring the Solar-Terrestrial Environment |
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The Transition from Research to Operations |
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Data Acquisition and Availability |
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The Public and Private Sectors in Space Weather Applications |
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Notes |
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6 |
Education and Public Outreach |
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Solar and Space Physics in Colleges and Universities |
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Distance Education and Summer Schools |
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Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Solar and Space Physics |
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Solar and Space Physics in Undergraduate Instruction |
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Solar and Space Physics in K-12 Education and Public Outreach |
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Notes |
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7 |
Strengthening the Solar and Space Physics Research Enterprise |
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A Strengthened Research Community |
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Cost-Effective Use of Existing Resources |
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Access to Space |
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