Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
xi
Preface
Strategic planning activities within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and several National
Science Foundation (NSF) divisions draw heavily on reports issued by the National Research Council
(NRC), particularly those from the Space Studies Board (SSB). Principal among these SSB inputs is identification of priority science and missions and facilities in the decadal science strategy surveys. The first true
decadal strategy for the field of solar and space physics, The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: A Decadal
Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics, was published in 2003. That comprehensive study reviewed
relevant research and applications activities, listed the key science questions, and recommended specific
spacecraft missions and ground-based facilities and programs for the period 2003-2012. Supplemented by
several subsequent SSB studies—for example, A Performance Assessment of NASA’s Heliophysics Program
(2009); Distributed Arrays of Small Instruments for Solar-Terrestrial Research: Report of a Workshop (2006);
Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos (2004); Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere and the Local Interstellar
Medium: A Workshop Report (2004); and The Role of Solar and Space Physics in NASA’s Space Exploration
Initiative (2004)—the 2003 survey report provided key guidance for the SMD’s solar and space physics
(called heliophysics at NASA) programs and NSF’s related atmospheric and geosciences programs during
the first decade of the 21st century.
The successful initiation of many of the missions and programs recommended in the preceding studies,
combined with important discoveries by a variety of ground- and space-based research activities, demonstrated the need for a second decadal survey of solar and space physics. Thus, in March 2010, Edward
J. Weiler, NASA’s associate administrator for the SMD, requested that a new decadal strategy survey be
initiated (Appendix A). The request was seconded by the leadership of NSF’s Division of Atmospheric and
Geospace Sciences. Specific tasks outlined in the request included the following:
• An overview of the science and a broad survey of the current state of knowledge in the field, including a discussion of the relationship between space- and ground-based science research and its connection
to other scientific areas;
• Determination of the most compelling science challenges that have arisen from recent advances
and accomplishments;
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
xi
Preface
Strategic planning activities within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and several National
Science Foundation (NSF) divisions draw heavily on reports issued by the National Research Council
(NRC), particularly those from the Space Studies Board (SSB). Principal among these SSB inputs is identification of priority science and missions and facilities in the decadal science strategy surveys. The first true
decadal strategy for the field of solar and space physics, The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: A Decadal
Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics, was published in 2003. That comprehensive study reviewed
relevant research and applications activities, listed the key science questions, and recommended specific
spacecraft missions and ground-based facilities and programs for the period 2003-2012. Supplemented by
several subsequent SSB studies—for example, A Performance Assessment of NASA’s Heliophysics Program
(2009); Distributed Arrays of Small Instruments for Solar-Terrestrial Research: Report of a Workshop (2006);
Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos (2004); Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere and the Local Interstellar
Medium: A Workshop Report (2004); and The Role of Solar and Space Physics in NASA’s Space Exploration
Initiative (2004)—the 2003 survey report provided key guidance for the SMD’s solar and space physics
(called heliophysics at NASA) programs and NSF’s related atmospheric and geosciences programs during
the first decade of the 21st century.
The successful initiation of many of the missions and programs recommended in the preceding studies,
combined with important discoveries by a variety of ground- and space-based research activities, demonstrated the need for a second decadal survey of solar and space physics. Thus, in March 2010, Edward
J. Weiler, NASA’s associate administrator for the SMD, requested that a new decadal strategy survey be
initiated (Appendix A). The request was seconded by the leadership of NSF’s Division of Atmospheric and
Geospace Sciences. Specific tasks outlined in the request included the following:
• An overview of the science and a broad survey of the current state of knowledge in the field, including a discussion of the relationship between space- and ground-based science research and its connection
to other scientific areas;
• Determination of the most compelling science challenges that have arisen from recent advances
and accomplishments;