Setting Priorities for Space Research Opportunities and Imperatives (1992) / Chapter Skim
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Setting Priorities for Space Research: Opportunities and Imperatives (Chapter 2)
Setting Priorities for Space Research: Opportunities and Imperatives (Chapter 2)
Pages 23-41
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From page 23... ...
Space Research Program: Accomplishments, Prospects, Lessons Space research concentrates on observations or experiments that are effective means of obtaining essential information, including studies of the Earth and its environment, solar and space physics, solar system characteristics, astronomy, life sciences, and fundamental physics. Each of these fields is in a different state of maturity: astronomy, earth sciences, planetary sciences, and space physics reach back to the very origins of the space program, whereas life sciences and microgravity sciences are just now emerging as longer missions offer increased opportunities for research.
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From page 24... ...
Exotic objects, such as gamma-ray bursters and braided rings, and global physical processes, such as the ubiquitous mesoscale eddies in ocean currents, were revealed by the unique capabilities of space instrumentation. New discoveries almost always stimulate new investigations that require new sensory capabilities and lead to further discovery.
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From page 25... ...
The Voyagers also discovered active volcanism on Io, bizarre and unexpected tectonics on icy satellites, a tenuous atmosphere and massive nitrogen polar caps on Triton, tilted and shifted magnetic fields on Uranus and Neptune, and other previously undetected phenomena. These discoveries and the accompanying images from planetary explorers stimulated wide public interest in the science and exploration of space.
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The first measurements of important and cyclical phenomena on Earth have been made from space. The now famous antarctic ozone hole was observed in 1984 and confirmed by satellite imagery from Nimbus-7.
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From page 27... ...
Much of this work has application to larger astrophysical systems, making ring studies a testbed for understanding gravitational dynamics. Based on spacecraft observations, comparative studies of atmospheric dynamics on terrestrial and giant planets reveal a much broader range of physical conditions than those seen on the Earth, and outstanding problems remain that tax our understanding of the fluid mechanics of atmospheres.
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Between the discovery of cosmic background radiation in 1965 and 1990, observations from the ground, from aircraft, and from balloons all provided estimates of the spectrum of this very faint radiation. But the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)
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Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters and landers have revealed the complexities of the Martian environment, with intricate weather patterns on diurnal and seasonal time scales distinct from those of the Earth. The absence of oceans and the presence of seasonal polar caps with which the atmosphere is in equilibrium provide a different physical system in which to test our understanding of climate from local to global scales.
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From page 30... ...
Using knowledge gained over the past 30 years, we can now identify some of the physical mechanisms linking the Sun to the near-Earth environment. Motions in the convective layers of the Sun are believed to generate the magnetic field and solar wind variations; these in turn affect the Earth's magnetosphere and regulate the amount of plasma energy incident on the Earth's polar caps.
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From page 31... ...
. The EOS will make a range of contributions to the scientific questions outlined in the federal Global Change Research Program.
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Launched in late 1991, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is to measure the key constituents and key dynamic processes of the upper atmosphere on a global scale.
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It will deploy penetrators for surface geochemical analyses of selected satellites and provide global remote sensing for each from the main spacecraft. It will determine gravitational moments and hence the constraints on internal structure for each satellite.
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It is widely believed that advances from this technique alone could revolutionize our view of the universe with resolution fine enough to image surfaces of nearby stars and probe to the event horizons of massive black holes in the nuclei of distant galaxies. International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)
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. Two spacecraft in highly elliptical polar and equatorial Earth orbits will employ photon, energetic neutral atom (ENA)
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These should be started several decades before a long-term human mission is designed in detail. As with EOS, practical applications are likely to develop quickly based on the improved measurements and the enhanced understanding they generate.
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From page 37... ...
Setting Priorities for Space Research: Opportunities and Imperatives (Chapter 2) TABLE 2.1 Major Contributions of Future Initiatives and Programs to the "Large Questions" Major Contributions Understand Initiatives Understand- Understand- Understand- ing Human and Programs Discovery ing Processes ing Origins ing Change Interaction RESEARCH AND X X X X X ANALYSIS BASE MISSION TO PLANET EARTH EOS X X X X Earth Probes X X Geosynchronous X platforms UARS X X X X TOPEX/ Poseidon X Upgraded X meteorological satellites Landsat/SPOT X X X X PLANETARY AND LUNAR EXPLORATION Mars Observer, Mars X X Aeronomy Observer, and Mars penetrators CRAF X X X Cassini X X X X Galileo X X X Poseidon X X X X Mars Rober and Sample X X X Return Venus Probe X X Rosetta X X Lunar Observer X X ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS Great Observatories X X X X file:///C|/SSB_old_web/prio1ch2.htm (15 of 19)
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From page 38... ...
BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN SPACE LifeSat X X Spacelabs/Space X X Shuttle Space Station X X LESSONS LEARNED Many lessons are available from more than 30 years of experience in flying space research missions. Here they are coalesced into a few specific statements offered as guidance for the future: file:///C|/SSB_old_web/prio1ch2.htm (16 of 19)
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From page 39... ...
Do not force scientific activities into an inappropriate approach. A prime example is the forcing of Hubble onto the Shuttle, with the consequence that it was required to operate in low Earth orbit and to be "man rated." These requirements diminished its scientific effectiveness, raised its costs, and increased its operational complexity by large factors.
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From page 40... ...
Two examples are the sequence of astronomy survey reports2 and the report of the federal Committee on Earth Sciences setting forth a national global change research program.3 NOTES 1. For additional National Research Council discussions on EOS, see Space Studies Board, "Space Studies Board Position on the NASA Earth Observing System" (unpublished report issued July 10, 1991)
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From page 41... ...
Last update 11/14/00 at 2:24 pm Site managed by Anne Simmons, Space Studies Board The National Academies Current Projects Publications Directories Search Site Map Feedback file:///C|/SSB_old_web/prio1ch2.htm (19 of 19)
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