A Decadal Strategy for Solar and Space Physics

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The National Research Council will conduct a decadal survey to assist the federal government in coordinating and optimizing activities and resources across NASA (flight programs and focused missions), NSF (basic research programs), and NOAA (operational programs). The decadal surveys in space science have been widely praised for having a positive impact on federal agency planning and decision-making, in addition to promoting unity within the space science community. This survey is designed to draw widespread community participation, engage the community in consensus-building, and set specific discipline-specific science targets and priorities for the coming decade. The study will have the following impact: provide scientific direction for the field of solar and space physics; organize the scientific community and the relevant agencies, particularly NASA, NSF, and NOAA; inform other decision-makers in the legislative and executive branches (particularly OMB and OSTP); document the needs for a scientifically- and technically-trained workforce in solar and space physics; and communicate the societal benefits of solar and space physics (e.g., interdisciplinary connections, education, workforce training, public outreach). The report will also contribute to the general public?s greater understanding of recent accomplishments and future goals in solar and space physics. In conducting this assessment, there will be an emphasis on developing a systems approach to the theoretical, ground-based and space-based research programs that comprise the flight programs and focused campaigns of NASA, the ground-based and basic research programs of NSF, and the complementary operational programs of other agencies such as NOAA. This new decadal survey will update and extend the NRC's previous survey in solar and space physics, The Sun to the Earth--and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics (2003). The survey committee, informed by three study panels that will also be established by the Board and supplemented by informal working groups, will broadly canvas the field of solar and space physics. The committee report will reflect an awareness of the science and space mission plans and priorities of potential industry, international, and U.S. agency partners and identify opportunities for cooperation and possibilities for growth or expansion. The survey will solicit and aggregate inputs from across the solar and space physics community via town hall meetings, sessions at professional meetings, and the solicitation of white papers.