ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS SURVEY 2010

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AbstractAST-0743899PI: ShaperoInst: National Academy of SciencesFor the last 50 years, on ten-year intervals, the astronomy community has carried out assessments of the field that establish priorities for investment and future development in the discipline. These studies, known as ?decadal surveys,? rely on broad community input to identify compelling scientific opportunities and define and prioritize the tools and resources necessary to realize them. This award to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) provides support to carry out the next such survey recommending priorities for the most important scientific and technical activities in space- and ground-based astronomy and astrophysics for the period 2010-2020. The principal goals of the study will be to carry out an assessment of activities in astronomy and astrophysics, including both new and previously identified concepts, and to prepare a report that will be addressed to the agencies supporting the field, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, and the scientific community. The process for carrying out this survey is expected to include a number of significant revisions from previous surveys, among those being more extensive community input, including projects recommended in the previous survey that had not yet been realized, providing more robust cost estimates for recommended projects and missions, and establishing guidelines for revising priorities in the event of changing budgetary situations.