The most significant event of this summer was the review of the U. S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) by the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Sustainable Development. This review, co-chaired by Ed Frieman (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) and Berrien Moore (University of New Hampshire), was held in La Jolla, July 19-28. This was the first part of a two-part review and, as such, focussed largely on NASA's contribution to the USGCRP, Mission to Planet Earth, and the Earth Observing System. A final report was delivered to all members of the U.S. Congress as well as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Among the many recommendations contained in this report were: (i) success in attacking the long-term scientific challenges of the USGCRP requires an adequate and stable level of funding that promotes management efficiencies and encourages rational resource allocation, and (ii) further budgetary reductions or imposed constraints on technical options could require the elimination of key sensors, slips in schedule, loss of data continuity, and the elimination of advanced technology development that could enhance future research and lower costs.
Some underlying tenets of the report included the need to: (i) maintain a science-driven approach to observational and information management technology, and (ii) implement the first group of EOS components without delay, including launching Chemistry-1 on schedule (December 2002) -- focusing the tropospheric components of Chemistry-1 on the global distribution of ozone and its precursor gases. With regard to EOSDIS, the report recommended: (i) streamlining the EOSDIS plans for data downlink (command and control of spacecraft and instruments) and level-0 and level-1B (calibrated, geolocated) data processing, and (ii) reconfiguring EOSDIS to transfer responsibility for product generation, publication, and user services to a competitively selected federation of partners from government, academia, and the private sector. Finally, the NRC report recommended expanding in situ observations, process studies, and large-scale modeling activities, a direction that the EOS program has already begun to aggressively pursue. The NRC report further discussed the role of small satellites in Earth observation, and concluded "in some cases, physics, economics, and engineering constraints may preclude the application of small satellites. A balanced architecture for MTPE employs satellites of various sizes as appropriate to scientific needs."
As a follow-up to the NRC review in La Jolla, and in order to prepare for a January review of the remaining agencies of the USGCRP, a Payload Panel meeting is being scheduled for November 28-30 in Annapolis. In particular, items for discussion at this meeting will include: (i) EOSDIS restructuring, including recompetition of some DAAC functions, (ii) EOSDIS costs, (iii) new satellite systems, including science involvement and prioritization of Earth System Science Pathfinder and New Millennium programs, (iv) NASA/NOAA/DoD convergence and the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), (v) the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and its role in tropospheric ozone and precursor gases, and (vi) spectrometer and interferometer concepts for temperature and moisture sounding from the polar orbiting satellites of the future. If time permits, some discussion on validation campaigns and plans may occur as well. Registration for this meeting can be done directly on World Wide Web from the Project Science Office home page.
The long-awaited NASA Research Announcement (NRA) for new investigations and investigators for the Earth Observing System will be available on the Internet (through both the Mission to Planet Earth and EOS Project Science Office home pages on the World Wide Web) on September 22. This method of distributing the announcement takes advantage of the breadth of EOS background information, such as the Mission to Planet Earth/Earth Observing System (MTPE/EOS) Reference Handbook, that currently resides on World Wide Web (http://eospso.gsfc. nasa.gov/eospso_homepage.html). The NRA solicits investigations in the following five categories: (i) Landsat Science Team Members and Team Leader, (ii) Team Members for EOS Facility Instruments (e.g., AIRS, MODIS, Microwave Imager), (iii) Interdisciplinary Investigations, (iv) New Investigators Program, equivalent to a Young Investigators solicitation, and (v) Science Education Grant Supplement. The first two categories are to be funded by my office, the third and fourth categories are to be funded by the EOS Program Scientist (Dr. Ghassem Asrar), and the last category is to be funded by the Education Program of the Office of Mission to Planet Earth (OMTPE). Neither the Radar Altimeter nor ODUS are included in this solicitation, nor is there a solicitation for a correlative measurement program. These three items will be included in a separate solicitation next year following further definition of the instrument and mission arrangements for the Radar Altimeter and ODUS instruments, as well as further definition of the gaps to be filled by a correlative measurement program.
After a lengthy process, Administrator Dan Goldin has authorized Bill Townsend, Deputy Associate Administrator of OMTPE, to sign the Common Spacecraft contract with TRW Inc. of Redondo Beach, CA. This cost-plus-award-fee contract for $398.7 M provides a firm contract for two spacecraft (PM-1 and Chemistry-1) along with options for two more spacecraft (for an additional $269.8 M). This very significant event allows EOS to proceed with the development of the PM-1 spacecraft for launch in December 2000.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Mr. Joseph Rothenberg for his selection as Director of Goddard Space Flight Center. His breadth of experience in both industry and NASA makes him an ideal person to lead Goddard in the years to come (see "Joseph H. Rothenberg Named Director of Goddard").