Consistent with the direction in the Explanatory Statement accompanying the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161), the National Research Council will organize a decadal survey to establish priorities and provide recommendations for life and physical sciences research in microgravity and partial gravity for the 2010-2020 decade. The committee will develop criteria for the prioritization.The decadal survey will define research areas, recommend a research portfolio and a timeline for conducting that research, identify facility and platform requirements as appropriate, provide rationales for suggested program elements, define dependencies between research objectives, identify terrestrial benefits, and specify whether the research product directly enables exploration or produces fundamental new knowledge. These areas will be categorized as either those that are required to enable exploration missions or those that are enabled or facilitated because of exploration missions.The decadal survey should:- - Define research areas that enable exploration missions or that are enabled by exploration missions;- - For each of the two categories above, define and prioritize an integrated life and physical sciences research portfolio and associated objectives;- - Develop a timeline for the next decade for these research objectives and identify dependencies between the objectives;- - Identify terrestrial, airborne, and space-based platforms and facilities that could most effectively achieve the objectives;- - Explain how the objectives could enable exploration activities, produce knowledge, or provide benefits to space and other applications;- - Identify potential research synergies between NASA and other US government agencies, as well as with commercial entities and international partners; and- - Identify potential research objectives beyond 2020.The results of the decadal survey will assist in defining and aligning life and physical sciences research to meet the needs of exploration missions. The recommendations regarding the timeline and sequence of research are intended to allow NASA to develop an implementation plan that will impact future exploration missions. The survey should focus on the aforementioned tasks and should not recommend budgetary levels. This decadal survey should build upon the findings and recommendations of previous National Academies' studies conducted in this area.This project is sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.The approximate starting date for the project is 11/01/2008.A Final Report will be issued at the end of the project in approximately 24 months.