New Investments Are Needed to Sustain NASA’s Instrumentation and Facilities for Future Extraterrestrial Sample Analyses, Says New Report
News Release
Last update December 20, 2018
WASHINGTON - NASA’s investment in new instruments to analyze extraterrestrial samples is insufficient to provide for replacement of existing instruments, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. If NASA does not invest additional funds into the replacement of current instrumentation and development of new technologies, technical staff support, and training for the next generation of analysts, current capabilities cannot be sustained, and the full scientific impact afforded by returned samples might not be realized.
The United States possesses a treasure-trove of extraterrestrial samples brought to Earth by space missions over the past four decades. Today, there are two missions underway -- JAXA’s Hayabusa2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx -- that are expected to return samples in the 2020s from primitive asteroids, remnants from early in the formation of the solar system. Having the instrumentation, facilities, and qualified personnel to undertake analysis of returned samples, especially from missions that take up to a decade or longer from launch to return, is of paramount importance if NASA is to capitalize fully on the investment made in these missions.
“Planetary science may be entering a golden era of extraterrestrial sample return,” said Roberta Rudnick, chair of the committee that wrote the report and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Now is the time to assess how prepared the scientific community is to take advantage of these opportunities.”
Without changes in the funding program, currently robust analytical infrastructure for the study of extraterrestrial samples could suffer from attrition and the addition of new technological innovations could stretch current funding programs. The report recommends that the NASA Planetary Science Division place high priority on investment in analytical instrumentation and curation sufficient to provide for both replacement of existing capacity and development of new capabilities. This will maximize the benefit from the significant investment necessary to return samples for laboratory analysis from asteroids, comets, the moon, and eventually Mars and outer solar system moons.
No current missions include the return of extraterrestrial cryogenic materials, but efforts are underway to design missions that could, within the next few decades, return gases and eventually ice from Earth's moon, comets, or the icy moons of outer planets. If one or more of these mission concepts is pursued, it could reap tremendous scientific advances. Samples returned would likely include gases, ice, and organic matter. Appropriate investments in the development of novel instrumentation and analytical techniques, specifically for curation as well as characterization and analysis of non-traditional samples, must start now because they will take decades to complete.
The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the world leader in curating and tracking returned samples. The impact of the JSC curatorial efforts go well beyond their immediate duties of curation, as they have been instrumental in helping to train the next generation of extraterrestrial materials scientists and to develop curatorial facilities at international partner institutions. The NASA Planetary Science Division should increase support for JSC to develop appropriate facilities necessary for future sample returns of organic matter, ice, and gases, says the report. The division should also accelerate planning for curation of returned Martian samples, seeking partnerships with other countries as appropriate.
The study was sponsored by NASA. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. For more information, visit nationalacademies.org. A committee roster follows.
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Follow us on Twitter: @theNASEM
Follow us on Instagram: @the NASEM
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Contacts:
Kacey Templin, Media Relations Officer
Andrew Robinson, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
Newsroom
Copies of Strategic Investments in Instrumentation and Facilities for Extraterrestrial Sample Curation and Analysis are available from the National Academies Press on the Internet at www.nap.edu or by calling 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Space Studies Board
Committee on Extraterrestrial Sample Analysis Facilities
Roberta L. Rudnick1 (chair)
Professor of Geology
Department of Earth Science
University of California
Santa Barbara
George D. Cody
Senior Scientist
Geophysical Laboratory
Carnegie Institution for Science
Washington, D.C.
James H. Crocker2
Vice President (retired)
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.
Denver
Vinayak P. Dravid
Abraham Harris Chaired Professor, and
Founding Director
NUANCE (Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization) Center
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill.
John M. Eiler1
Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry, and
Director
Caltech Microanalysis Center
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena
Abby Kavner
Professor
Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences
University of California
Los Angeles
Timothy J. McCoy
Supervisory Research Geologist and Curator of Meteorites
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C.
Clive R. Neal
Professor of Planetary Geology
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Ind.
Frank M. Richter1,3
Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus
Department of Geophysical Sciences
University of Chicago
Chicago
Hanika Rizo
Assistant Professor of Geochemistry
Department of Earth Sciences
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
Kimberly T. Tait
Teck Endowed Chair and Curator of Mineralogy
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto
STAFF
Abigail A. Sheffer
Staff Officer
1Member, National Academy of Sciences
2Member, National Academy of Engineering
3Resigned from committee 4/13/2018
The United States possesses a treasure-trove of extraterrestrial samples brought to Earth by space missions over the past four decades. Today, there are two missions underway -- JAXA’s Hayabusa2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx -- that are expected to return samples in the 2020s from primitive asteroids, remnants from early in the formation of the solar system. Having the instrumentation, facilities, and qualified personnel to undertake analysis of returned samples, especially from missions that take up to a decade or longer from launch to return, is of paramount importance if NASA is to capitalize fully on the investment made in these missions.
“Planetary science may be entering a golden era of extraterrestrial sample return,” said Roberta Rudnick, chair of the committee that wrote the report and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Now is the time to assess how prepared the scientific community is to take advantage of these opportunities.”
Without changes in the funding program, currently robust analytical infrastructure for the study of extraterrestrial samples could suffer from attrition and the addition of new technological innovations could stretch current funding programs. The report recommends that the NASA Planetary Science Division place high priority on investment in analytical instrumentation and curation sufficient to provide for both replacement of existing capacity and development of new capabilities. This will maximize the benefit from the significant investment necessary to return samples for laboratory analysis from asteroids, comets, the moon, and eventually Mars and outer solar system moons.
No current missions include the return of extraterrestrial cryogenic materials, but efforts are underway to design missions that could, within the next few decades, return gases and eventually ice from Earth's moon, comets, or the icy moons of outer planets. If one or more of these mission concepts is pursued, it could reap tremendous scientific advances. Samples returned would likely include gases, ice, and organic matter. Appropriate investments in the development of novel instrumentation and analytical techniques, specifically for curation as well as characterization and analysis of non-traditional samples, must start now because they will take decades to complete.
The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the world leader in curating and tracking returned samples. The impact of the JSC curatorial efforts go well beyond their immediate duties of curation, as they have been instrumental in helping to train the next generation of extraterrestrial materials scientists and to develop curatorial facilities at international partner institutions. The NASA Planetary Science Division should increase support for JSC to develop appropriate facilities necessary for future sample returns of organic matter, ice, and gases, says the report. The division should also accelerate planning for curation of returned Martian samples, seeking partnerships with other countries as appropriate.
The study was sponsored by NASA. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. For more information, visit nationalacademies.org. A committee roster follows.
Social Media:
Follow us on Twitter: @theNASEM
Follow us on Instagram: @the NASEM
Follow us on Facebook: @National Academies
Contacts:
Kacey Templin, Media Relations Officer
Andrew Robinson, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
Newsroom
Copies of Strategic Investments in Instrumentation and Facilities for Extraterrestrial Sample Curation and Analysis are available from the National Academies Press on the Internet at www.nap.edu or by calling 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Space Studies Board
Committee on Extraterrestrial Sample Analysis Facilities
Roberta L. Rudnick1 (chair)
Professor of Geology
Department of Earth Science
University of California
Santa Barbara
George D. Cody
Senior Scientist
Geophysical Laboratory
Carnegie Institution for Science
Washington, D.C.
James H. Crocker2
Vice President (retired)
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.
Denver
Vinayak P. Dravid
Abraham Harris Chaired Professor, and
Founding Director
NUANCE (Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization) Center
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill.
John M. Eiler1
Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry, and
Director
Caltech Microanalysis Center
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena
Abby Kavner
Professor
Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences
University of California
Los Angeles
Timothy J. McCoy
Supervisory Research Geologist and Curator of Meteorites
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C.
Clive R. Neal
Professor of Planetary Geology
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Ind.
Frank M. Richter1,3
Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus
Department of Geophysical Sciences
University of Chicago
Chicago
Hanika Rizo
Assistant Professor of Geochemistry
Department of Earth Sciences
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
Kimberly T. Tait
Teck Endowed Chair and Curator of Mineralogy
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto
STAFF
Abigail A. Sheffer
Staff Officer
1Member, National Academy of Sciences
2Member, National Academy of Engineering
3Resigned from committee 4/13/2018
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