Long‐range space objectives

Abstract

At the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the National Research Council's Space Science Board has undertaken a special study of the long‐term (post‐1985) objectives of U.S. research in the space sciences. The study will continue over approximately 2 years and will involve two to three summer sessions as well as disciplinary group meetings during the intervals between the summer sessions. This special study is intended to build upon and considerably extend the strategy reports in the various space science disciplines that the board has been involved in formulating over the past few years.In the first meeting of the entire study, held at Woods Hole, Mass., August 20–29, each of the disciplinary panels formulated a draft report on the present status of their sciences and the expected space science missions to the year 1995. These expected missions are based upon the science strategies as contained in the reports of the several committees of the Space Science Board. The individual task groups also developed, in a very preliminary fashion, scientific objectives and space science missions that might well be considered for implementation in the post‐1995 era.