Academy Weighs in on NASA Science Plan

A Review of NASA’s 2006 Draft Science Plan: Letter Report, NAS

“However, the committee does have some concerns about the draft plan. The committee found that the lack of a comparison of the current plan to plans produced in 2003 obscured the fact that NASA’s space science plans have been significantly scaled back due to budget changes, and it recommends that NASA include a comparison between the current plan and those produced in 2003 for the Earth and space sciences.”

“The committee further notes that the NRC’s recent report An Assessment of Balance in NASA’s Science Program is largely neglected in the draft Science Plan. Although the NRC report was released shortly before the completion of the draft Science Plan, NASA representatives informed the committee that they had sufficient time to consider it. The committee acknowledges that the draft plan is based on the assumptions contained in the FY 2007 budget request and that the Balance report was critical of the adequacy of the budget to accomplish the total NASA plan. Nevertheless, the committee believes that the Balance report’s recommendations are worthy of consideration and, where appropriate, incorporation in the NASA Science Plan.”