OFFICE OF SPACE SCIENCE (Code S)
Associate Administrator: Dr. Edward Weiler
Public Affairs Contacts:
Donald Savage 202/358-1727
Dolores Beasley 202/358-1753
The total Fiscal Year 2002 Appropriations budget request for the Office
of Space Science is $2,786.4 million; this is comprised of $2,453.0 million of
formerly Science, Aeronautics, and Technology Appropriation funding and
$333.4 million of formerly Mission Support Appropriation funding.
SPACE SCIENCE OVERVIEW
NASA’s Space Science Enterprise is looking for answers to the following questions:
- How did the Universe, galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?
- How can exploration of the Universe and our solar system revolutionize our
understanding of physics, chemistry and biology? - Are there Earth-like planets beyond our solar system?
- Does life in any form, however simple or complex, carbon-based or other, exist
elsewhere than on planet Earth?
A summary of Space Science highlights and discoveries during calendar year 2000 is
available on the Web at:
http://spacescience.nasa.gov/announce/topten2000.htm
New Programs and Other Major Features in the 2002 Budget
The newly restructured Mars Exploration Program (MEP) will deliver a continuously
refined understanding of Mars with the excitement of discovery at every step. The MEP
strategy includes a natural responsiveness to scientific discoveries that will emerge as
new observations are made. The strategy is linked to NASA’s experience exploring
Earth, and uses Mars as a natural laboratory for understanding life and climate on
Earth-like planets. The 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter was launched April 7, 2001, and
twin Mars Exploration Rovers are being prepared for launch in 2003. Meanwhile, also
in progress are: planning for a Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission in 2005;
construction of a new Deep Space Network (DSN) 34-meter antenna to support
communications with the growing number of Mars and other Deep Space missions;
and preliminary planning for a scientifically competed series of “Mars Scout” missions.
In addition, science definition and technology development for a next-generation,
mobile surface laboratory in 2007 is underway. Basic technology investments leading
to launch of a Mars sample return mission as early as 2011 are also included in the FY
2002 budget request.
As a result of projected cost growth for missions to Pluto and Europa , NASA recently
announced the indefinite deferral of the Pluto mission. Prior to this deferral, the Agency
had released an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) soliciting science community
proposals for alternative Pluto missions. Although no funding for a Pluto mission is
included in the President’s FY 2002 budget request, evaluation of proposals received
in response to the AO will be completed. The decision to solicit proposals came three
months after unacceptably large cost increases on the Pluto/Kuiper Express (PKE)
mission led NASA on Sept. 12 to issue a stop-order on the project to NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA.
The proposals received in response to the AO will provide a baseline from which NASA
can measure progress in efforts to design an affordable Pluto mission. The Agency
continues to seek cost-effective alternatives for a mission to reach the outermost planet
prior to 2020, when it is believed that the planet’s atmosphere will have collapsed. The
President’s request includes funding to support technology development for advanced
in-space propulsion systems. If such a system were developed, it could enable a
mission to travel to Pluto much more quickly than current technology allows, enabling a
launch later in this decade, or perhaps early in the next decade, while still getting to
Pluto before 2020. The shorter trip time would also reduce life-cycle costs, due to the
reduced number of years the mission would operate. Meanwhile, NASA is pursuing
the technologies and doing the planning necessary to enable a mission to Europa later
this decade.
The Living with a Star (LWS) initiative will address aspects of the Sun-Earth system
that affect life and society. Its program elements include a space-weather research
network; a theory, modeling and data analysis program; and space environment test-beds.
Solar variability can affect space systems, human space flight, electric power
grids, high-frequency radio communications, long-range radar, microelectronics and
humans in high-altitude spacecraft, and terrestrial climate. Prudence demands that
NASA fully understand the space environment affecting these systems. The Solar
Probe mission, slated to be NASA’s first voyage to a star, was not determined to be a
near-term budget priority for NASA, and is not funded in the FY 2002 budget. In the
event that the Solar Probe is assigned a high priority by the solar and space physics
science community, the mission could be funded out of the resources planned for other
solar and space physics programs.
Ongoing Programs
There are currently 29 operating Space Science spacecraft, including many involving
various degrees of international cooperation. Between now and the end of FY 2002,
several missions are scheduled for launch, including:
- 2001 Mars Odyssey , launched on April 7, carries a suite of scientific instruments
designed to tell what the Martian surface is made of, and provide vital
information about potential radiation hazards for future human explorers. - HESSI, the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager , will study the dynamics of
solar flares, the tremendous explosions in the atmosphere of the Sun. When it is
launched (currently scheduled for June 2001) HESSI will be able to produce
high-resolution spectrographic movies of solar flares, allowing scientists to really
see what goes on in a flare — from its birth to death. - The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission, set for launch in June 2001,
will observe tiny temperature variations in the cosmic microwave background in
space, thought to be radiant heat left over from the Big Bang. This scientific studyis expected to lend great insight into the origin, evolution and content of the
universe. - Genesis , scheduled for launch in late July 2001, will bring back to Earth samples
of solar wind particles, which will provide a more detailed examination of the
solar wind than ever before. As a result of this mission, knowledge about the
beginnings of the solar system will increase dramatically. - Like Living with a Star, the Solar Terrestrial Probe (STP) program will also study
the Sun-Earth system, but seeks to understand solar variability on time scales
from a fraction of a second to many centuries. The STP program will begin with
the launch of the Thermosphere-Ionosphere- Mesophere Energetics and
Dynamics (TIMED) mission, scheduled for launch in August 2001. TIMED will
provide a first global characterization of the region where the atmosphere tails
off into space. - In November 2001, NASA will launch the second part of the Third Servicing
Mission (SM3B) to the Hubble Space Telescope. During this mission,
astronauts are to install a new science instrument — the Advanced Camera for
Surveys — new solar arrays and an instrument to provide cooling for the infrared
camera, and to perform several other upgrade and maintenance tasks. - The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), scheduled for launch in January 2002,
is a Small Explorer mission that will map the global history and probe the causes
of star formation over most of the life of the Universe. GALEX will investigate the
period over which galaxies have evolved dramatically, and the time that most
stars, elements and galaxy disks had their origins. - The Comet Nucleus Tour (Contour), scheduled for launch in July 2002, will fly
past two comets and take images of the comets’ nuclei, as well as collect and
analyze comet dust. - The Space InfraRed Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is scheduled for launch July
2002. SIRTF is a space-borne, infrared observatory capable of studying objects
ranging from our Solar System to the distant reaches of the Universe. SIRTF is
the final element in NASA’s Great Observatories Program, and an important
scientific and technical cornerstone of the new Astronomical Search for Origins
Program. - The Space Science Research Program funds a variety of scientific projects
ranging from ground-based observations and experiments to basic research and
analysis and evaluation of data from laboratories, airborne observatories,
balloons, sounding rockets and spacecraft data archives.
Programs Under Development or Study
The Office of Space Science has a number of other programs under development, or
under study for possible future development. More information on Space Science
programs under development or study can be found on the Web at:
