solar_system_reportcard_010313 HOUSTON, Texas -- Although space budgets are tight, NASA must strive for balance between inner and outer planet exploration. Furthermore, in order to harvest a wealth of data streaming to Earth from across the solar system, now and in future years, attention must be paid to refreshing an aging space science work force.
Over 1,100 space researchers have gathered here at the 32nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, being held March 12-16. The program is sponsored by NASAs Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI).
Mars exploration dominates space science program. Photo credit: Cornell University.
The wealth of new data about
Mars, Jupiter and its moons, meteorites and asteroids is seen as prelude to the promise of even grander discoveries in decades to come. High and dry
"Weve got a healthy [space science] program, for the most part," said David Black, director of the LPI. Todays rich bounty of science results stands in stark contrast to the mid 1990s when a downturn in the fortunes of space science seemed apparent, he said.
| 32nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference |
Check in with SPACE.com each day this week for compelling news and updates from the 32nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. |
Find out how scientists are responding to President Bushs budgetblueprint for fiscal year 2002. |
"In some quarters, the sense was that we were on a going-out-of-business budget line," Black told SPACE.com. "We seem now to have a fairly robust and stable program. Theres always going to be a hue and cry for more, but in fact, the frequency of missions in planetary science and in other space sciences is quite high," he said.
Black said "on the face of it," the recently released
blueprint of NASAs new budget signals a heavy emphasis on the terrestrial inner planets, with a very strong Mars program. "But one might, I think, mistakenly interpret that there is a withdrawal from the outer planets," he said."Its too early to think that programs have been deserted and left high and dry. My sense is that, over the years, programs that truly have merit will happen," Black said.
Get the most science
Black said, however, care should be taken not to have funding shortfalls cripple the analysis of data gleaned by distant spacecraft.
"We need to get the most science out of the data, because thats where the payoff comes, not only for the science community, but for the country. After all, they are the ones that pay for this," he said.
~
G. Jeffrey Taylor, a planetary geologist at the University of Hawaii, said that a glut of data raining down on Earth from space could become a people issue.
"It may be a problem to handle all the data were going to get. The system isnt geared up to train students. Nobody has addressed the whole work force issue. This is a neglected topic," Taylor said.
Panorama of worlds
Progress in science can best be served by getting to as many destinations as you can, said
Donald Brownlee, a University of Washington astronomy professor in Seattle. Brownlee is also principle investigator for NASAs Stardust missions now en route to catch up with comet P/Wild 2 in January 2004.
Stardust - the comet explorer. Image credit: JPL
"There has to be some sort of balance in activity," Brownlee said. "You need to get data from as many bodies as you can...the asteroids, the comets and all the planets -- including that wonderful planet, Pluto," he said.
Brownlee said that by studying the panorama of worlds available to us we also better understand our own
Earth. "Comparing our planet with the Moon, Mars, Venus, and how they differ, is a wonderful and necessary perspective. You cannot study the Earth by only studying the Earth," he said.
Similar in view is Jim Head, space scientist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "There is excitement and a deep need to understand all these bodies. Unfortunately, in the last few months, weve come up against the realities of the short-term budget situation," he said.
"I hope that there will be a way found to, in fact, continue in a vigorous way outer planet missions such as the exploration of Pluto and the Europa Orbiter. But its dealing with budget priorities thats the real problem," Brown said.
To the planets via patience
To fully explore some solar system targets, endurance of purpose is often necessary. Such is the case for
Mercury, the closest known planet to the Sun.Mercurys first and last visitor was the U.S. Mariner 10 that made three flybys of that hot spot of a world in the early 1970s.
"It is perhaps ironic that we will be launching Messenger 30 years to the month after the first flyby of Mercury by Mariner 10," said Sean Solomon, principal investigator for NASAs Messenger mission that departs in 2004.
Solomon is also director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington, D.C.
NASAs off-again, on again
Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission is admittedly frustrating, Solomon said. "Its an enormously appealing mission scientifically, even though its technically challenging and a very long mission," he said."Im more of an optimist at the moment. Weve got a nice mix of programs...admittedly, a big Mars emphasis, but for good reasons. It is frustrating because theres a lot of things we want to do. And we want to do them faster. And we want to do them now," Solomon said.
"Good scientific objectives can be achieved in planetary exploration, eventually," Solomon said. "It takes patience and good genes to last long enough."
advertisement
