Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the - Solar System ...

NASA should periodically evaluate the strategic alignment and funding level of all its SRA programs
to ensure they remain healthy and productive.
Mission Flight Teams
The science return from planetary missions, especially complex ones like Flagship missions,
is maximized by effective communication and data sharing among all the scientists involved in the
mission. Science teams for large missions should be put together so that data sharing is built into the
mission structure from the outset, and free data access among all instrument teams on a mission
should be strongly encouraged. Such policies should be defined in the Announcement of Opportunity
so that teams are aware of them and can plan for them from the start. Where science instruments are
competed, there should be mechanisms, such as an interdisciplinary scientist or participating
competition after instrument selection, to allow the most qualified scientists to be part of the mission
even if they are not members of a selected instrument team. Particular attention should be paid to
addition and full participation of younger scientists in long-duration missions.
Theory and Modeling
Theory and modeling play an important and growing role in planetary science. Simulations
have strong visual appeal, can clarify complex processes, and can test hypotheses. Numerical
modeling is an essential tool for extracting information from spacecraft observations by explaining
new phenomena. Such modeling must be based on physical principles, validated with spacecraft data
and, in many cases, must be supported by additional laboratory measurements. General circulation
models (GCMs) for the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, Titan, and the giant planets are one of the best
examples of the interplay between data and theory. These circulation models are fundamental tools in
the study of planetary atmospheric processes. They are also useful as mission planning tools, for
example in predicting the winds that will be encountered by planetary entry probes and landers.
Significant advances in many planetary fields have occurred during the past decade largely
due to the availability of increasing computing power and more sophisticated software, but also
because of improved understanding of physics and chemistry. Examples include the following:
• Improved modeling of planetary accumulation process and how they relate to the isotopic
constraints on cosmochronology,
• Efforts to relate observable aspects of bodies (e.g., tectonics, volcanism, and magnetic fields)
to internal state and evolution,
• Models for tidal heating and plumes on Enceladus,
• Impact dynamics and the physical processes in small bodies,
• Magnetohydrodynamic models that provide insight into the dynamical responses within the
magnetospheres that envelop Jupiter and Saturn,
• Modeling of orbital histories (e.g., the accumulation of bodies, the delivery of meteoroids, the
solar system’s structure, and a lunar impact origin),
• Identification of chaos (e.g., mean-motion and secular resonances and their overlap) in the
solar system, and
• The inclusion of moist convection and cloud microphysics in atmospheric modeling.
Although many of the processes of interest have Earth analogs and well-developed codes for Earth
science problems, planetary applications often require going far beyond terrestrial experience and
validation of codes in unusual situations is often needed.
PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION
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