Space Science in the Twenty-First Century: Imperatives for the Decades 1995 to 2015: Mission to Planet Earth

Early in 1984, NASA asked the Space Science Board to undertake a study to determine the principal scientific issues that the disciplines of space science would face during the period from about 1995 to 2015. This request was made partly because NASA expected the Space Station to become available at the beginning of this period, and partly because the missions needed to implement research strategies previously developed by the various committees of the board should have been launched or their development under way by that time. A two-year study was called for. To carry out the study the board put together task groups in earth sciences, planetary and lunar exploration, solar and space physics, astronomy and astrophysics, fundamental physics and chemistry (relativistic gravitation and microgravity sciences), and life sciences. Responsibility for the study was vested in a steering group whose members consisted of the task group chairmen plus other senior representatives of the space science disciplines. To the board's good fortune, distinguished scientists from many countries other than the United States participated in this study.