Since 2002, the United States National Research Council has released a publication that identifies objectives and makes recommendations for science missions for NASA, the National Science Foundation and other government agencies. The Planetary Science Decadal Surveys help inform future NASA missions that address the mysteries that persist in astronomy, astrophysics, earth science, and heliophysics.
The main findings of the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey were shared by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The event was live-streamed and consisted of the committee members discussing the key science questions, priority missions, and research strategies identified and recommended, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
The third Decadal Survey, titled "Origins, Worlds, and Life", consists of 522 white papers submitted by scientists from NASA-affiliated universities. The California Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona, the Southwest Research Institute, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are included.
Davis Smith, the senior program officer of the Space Studies Board, was one of the committee members who led the briefing.
The different panels that make up the Decadal Survey were reflected in the different categories. The Small Solar System Bodies, Giant Planet Systems, Venus, Ocean Worlds, and Dwarf Planets are included. Each reviewed the white papers and identified three priority science questions and recommended which mission proposals would help address them.
The steering committee for the decadal survey is chaired by Robin Canup, who is also the co-chair of the National Academies.
“This report sets out an ambitious but practicable vision for advancing the frontiers of planetary science, astrobiology, and planetary defense in the next decade. This recommended portfolio of missions, high-priority research activities, and technology development will produce transformative advances in human knowledge and understanding about the origin and evolution of the solar system, and of life and the habitability of other bodies beyond Earth.”
The committee identified twelve priority science questions, which were divided into three categories. There were a number of major areas of investigation in each category. The committee looked at the many robotic and crewed mission proposals that are meant to happen in the next decade.
The Decadal Survey gave priority to missions that they felt would best fulfill the objectives identified. They identified which concepts NASA should pursue in the coming decade as Large Strategic Science Missions.
A robotic mission that would explore Uranus was the highest priority for a Flagship mission. This mission would deliver an in-situ atmospheric probe into the atmosphere of the ice giant. The study of the interior, atmosphere, magnetosphere, satellites, and rings are some of the objectives of the UOP.
The UOP was first recommended as part of the Visions and Voyages of the Planetary Science Decadal Survey in 2011. The missions to Mars and the Jovian system were considered to be more important. The proposed mission will launch in the early 2030s if NASA funds it.
The Enceladus Orbilander is a surface lander that will study the active gas and particles in the southern polar region. During a two-year landed mission, the mission will study the Enceladus plumes. The objectives will be to find evidence of life in the plumes and to get a geochemical and geophysical context for life detection experiments.
Medium-priority New Frontier missions are identified by the Survey. A competitive process is required to select the PI-led missions with specific themes. The committee used the scientific questions and priorities they identified to select additional missions.
The sample return mission would address questions arising from previous observations, as well as those conducted by NASA's Dawn mission. This mission would consist of an lander that would land on the surface of the dwarf planet to obtain a sample from its icy crust and return it to Earth for analysis. Their findings would help scientists better understand the composition of the largest body in the Main Asteroid Belt.
The Jovian system's surface and activity for signs of life should be surveyed by the Europa Clipper and Europa Lander concepts. The mission to Enceladus was the reason why the Europa Clipper was deprioritized this time. The committee believes that the radiation environment around Jupiter is favorable for an Astrobiology mission.
To fulfill established science objectives, eight other missions were prioritized for the program. There were also a comet surface sample return, an Enceladus orbiter that would conduct multiple flybys, and a Venus In-Situ Explorer. The Survey Report contains more information on these missions.
The highest scientific priority was the Mars Sample Return mission, according to the committee. The Perseverance rover would be used to retrieve samples from the ground and return them to Earth for analysis. Chapter 22 of the Survey Report is summarized in the following way:
The Perseverance rover is collecting samples from Jezero Crater, a former lake basin with a feeding channel system that was carved into Noachian. The geological record of a time interval will be important for understanding Mars's environmental evolution and, potentially, its biology.
Sample return will allow for future analyses by instruments and techniques not yet developed, as well as provide geologic materials that are not represented among Martian meteorites. Future analyses of the Apollo samples from the Moon are expected to yield profound results for many decades.
Priority is given to a Mars Life Explorer mission, which would build on NASA's Mars Exploration Program, which the Report identifies as a scientific success story.
The 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), and Mars Atmosphere and Perseverance rovers are just some of the missions that are included in the long list. The mission proposal for the MLE envisions a near-surface water ice investigation that would prove in-situ resource utilization technologies that crewed missions would depend on to provide a steady water supply.
NASA's plans for sending crewed missions to the Moon in the near future is one of the major priorities identified in the Report. The ambitious goals of this program, which include establishing a sustained program of lunar exploration, make it necessary for considerable investment and research and development to be done now.
The future of human exploration efforts is dependent on the exploration and science goals of the LDEP. The way a sustained program of lunar exploration will continue fostering industry partnerships and innovation is exemplified by the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, where NASA has contracted.
The committee indicated that the sample return mission should be the highest priority. Similar to theMSR, this mission would see a medium-class lunar rover delivered to the Moon's South Pole Aitken Basin through the CLPS program, which would then collect high-value samples from key locations around the Moon. The Artemis astronauts would return the samples to Earth for analysis.
The Report states that an LDEP would demonstrate the potential for synergy between robotic and human missions.
“The Endurance-A sample return mission, a medium-class robotic mission to collect samples from key lunar locations for later retrieval by Artemis astronauts, exemplifies this synergy. This mission would enable the highest priority lunar science not possible through the local collection of limited samples and could revolutionize our understanding of the Moon and the early history of the solar system.”
Human exploration is a priority because of its commercial, technological, and scientific benefits. It is a source of inspiration for people all over the world, encouraging them to pursue careers in space exploration and the sciences. Current plans to explore the Moon and Mars in the next decade are addressed by the committee.
The Artemis missions and related efforts to establish the infrastructure to support a long-term Moon presence are scheduled to be completed by 2028. NASA has a long-term plan to send crewed spaceships to Mars. The committee states in Chapter 19 that science activities should be used to support human flight activities.
For this decade with a near-term plan for human exploration of the Moon, the decadal survey emphasizes the importance of carefully crafted collaboration.
The planetary defense against potentially-hazardous Near-Earth objects is of paramount importance. On very rare occasions, asteroids that periodically cross Earth's path collide with Earth. The extinction of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago was caused by an impact from a NEO. The Paleoogene extinction event took place in the middle of the last century.
The capacity to understand these asteroids and the long-term ability to prevent a potential impact is being developed by NASA and other government agencies. The committee strongly recommends a robust program that will enable the creation of a U.S. planetary defense community in the coming decade.
Two missions are prioritized to ensure this, including NASA's NEO Surveyor and Double Asteroid Redirection Test. Chapters 19 and 22 provide detailed assessments of these missions. A dedicated space-based mid-infrared space survey telescope will be used to discover and characterize most of the potentially hazardous NEOs.
The DART mission will rendezvous with the Didymos asteroid later this year. The Didymos will be hit by the _kinetic impactor_ method of planetary defense when it arrives. A follow-up mission will launch from Earth in 2024 and arrive around Didymos in 2027, at which point it will analyze Dimorphos. The committee recommends it.
“The highest priority planetary defense demonstration mission to follow DART and NEO Surveyor should be a rapid-response, flyby reconnaissance mission targeted to a challenging NEO, representative of the population of objects posing the highest probability of a destructive Earth impact (~50-to-100 m in diameter). Such a mission should assess the capabilities and limitations of flyby characterization methods to better prepare for a short-warning-time NEO threat.”
The committee made several recommendations regarding the State of the Profession, which includes issues of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility in the planetary science enterprise. This included acknowledging the progress that has been made in recent decades and the efforts needed to build upon this during the next decade. The committee made recommendations.
In order to support continued American leadership in planetary science and Astrobiology, these measures are essential.
There is tremendous potential for exciting missions and investigations in the coming decade. These missions have the potential to reveal scientific discoveries. There are revelations about the history of the Solar System, the formation and evolution of the planets, and enduring questions about the emergence of life. The most exciting thing about these missions is how they could allow the next generation to explore even further into the Solar System.
You can download a PDF copy of the Decadal Survey report here. The interactive version of the Science Questions and Planetary Mission Program and Priorities can be accessed here.
Further reading is about Nasem.
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