Space Science in the United States

MAY 01, 1988

The US space program continues to gather data from scientific spacecraft and from airborne experiments, despite the 1986 shuttle catastrophe. NASA has laid out an ambitious research program for the next five to ten years.

DOI: 10.1063/1.2811412

Joseph K. Alexander

Frank B. McDonald

Space research began as an exploratory endeavor, representing a natural evolution of science in which new opportunities were exploited and new capabilities were developed. The exploratory disciplines that originated with these early efforts, such as space physics, Earth remote sensing, planetary science and astronomy, have evolved and matured. They remain, in one way or another, fields that one might collectively describe as the science of space. On the other hand, several new disciplines that pertain to the pursuit of science in space are still in the early, developmental phase. These “microgravity sciences” involve investigations into basic physical, chemical and biological processes in very low gravity. Although research in these fields once possessed a certain Edisonian character—“let’s try it and see what happens”—one now can see strong signs of sharpening scientific focus, maturing experimental capability and the promise of important scientific impact.

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References

1. Astronomy Survey Committee, National Research Council, “Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1980s,” National Academy P., Washington, D.C. (1982).
2. Solar System Exploration Committee, NASA Advisory Council, “Planetary Exploration Through Year 2000: A Core Program” (1983).
Earth Systems Science Committee, NASA Advisory Council, “Earth Systems Science: a Program for Global Change” (1986).
Life Sciences Strategic Planning Study Committee, NASA Advisory Council, “Exploring the Living Universe,” in press.
Committee on Solar and Space Physics, Space Science Board, National Research Council, “Space Physics: An Implementation Plan for Priorities in Solar System Space Physics,” National Academy P., Washington, D.C. (1985).
3. NASA Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee, “The Crisis in Space and Earth Science: A Time for a New Commitment” (November 1986).
4. National Commission on Space, Pioneering the Space Frontier, Bantam, New York (1986).
5. Space Science Board, National Research Council, “Space Science in the 21st Century—Imperatives for the Two Decades 1995–2015,” National Academy P., Washington, D.C., in press.

More about the authors

Joseph K. Alexander, NASA Headquarters.

Frank B. McDonald, NASA Goddard Space, Flight Center.