NRC Planetary Science Decadal Survey Committee Update

The Survey Committee of the National Research Council’s Planetary Science Decadal Survey met at the NRC’s Beckman Center in Irvine, CA earlier this week. It was the second meeting for the Survey Committee, chaired by Steve Squyres, best known as the “father” of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

The Survey Committee is responsible for writing the decadal survey based on input from its five panels and the planetary science community at large. The output will be a consensus-based prioritized list of planetary science missions that should be undertaken in the decade 2013-2022.

Public sessions of the November Survey Committee meeting were devoted to presentations about the availability of launch services and of the Deep Space Network, as well as an update from NASA’s Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green and a summary of the NRC’s recent report on radioisotope power systems (RPS) by Ralph McNutt. Dr. McNutt co-chaired that NRC committee that produced the RPS report and also is a member of the Survey Committee. Presentations from the meeting are available under “National Research Council” on our left menu or by clicking here.