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

Data Distribution and Archiving
Data from space missions remain scientifically valuable long after the demise of the spacecraft
that provided them, but only if they are archived appropriately in a form readily accessible to the
community of users and if the archives are continually maintained for completeness and accuracy. The
Planetary Data System (PDS) provides the critical data archiving and distribution function to the
planetary science community. Over the past 20 years, the PDS has established a systematic protocol for
archiving and distributing mission data that has become the international standard. It is crucial that the
capabilities of the Planetary Data System be maintained by NASA, both to provide a permanent
archive of planetary data and to provide a means of distributing those data to the world at large.
High-level data products must be archived along with the low-level products typically produced
by instrument teams. For future missions, Announcements of Opportunity should mandate that
instrument teams propose and be funded to generate derived products before missions have
completed Phase E. In the interim, separate support should be provided for development of high-level
data products in cases where such support cannot be provided by mission funding.
Education and Outreach
The tremendous public interest in planets and planetary exploration points to a deeply rooted
resonance between the work done by planetary scientists and the broader populace Such curiosity can
lead to a greater appreciation of the role of that science in general and planetary science in particular can
play in fostering a vigorous and economically healthy nation. Exploration of the planets is among the
most exciting and accessible scientific activities funded by NASA, and indeed by any government
agency. NASA’s planetary program has a special opportunity, and therefore a special responsibility, to
reach out to the public.
Much effort is required to transform raw scientific data into materials of interest to the general
public, and such efforts should be directly embedded within each planetary mission. The committee
strongly endorses NASA’s informal guideline that a minimum of 1 percent of the cost of each
mission be set aside from the project budget for education and public outreach activities. Modest
additional funding must also be set aside to convey to the public the important scientific results from the
longer-term supporting research and analysis programs.
Research Infrastructure
The infrastructure supporting NASA’s spacecraft missions and related research activities includes
ground- and space-based telescopes, the Deep Space Network, and laboratory and sample curation
facilities.
NASA Telescope Facilities
Most bodies in the solar system were discovered using telescopes. Utilization of the enormous
discovery potential of telescopes is an essential part of our integrated strategy for solar system
exploration. Many spacecraft missions, including ones recommended in this report, are designed to follow
up on discoveries made using telescopes. Telescopes help identify targets to which spacecraft missions
can be flown, and provide ongoing support for spacecraft missions. NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility,
for example, is specifically tasked to assist with flight missions, and provides ongoing support for
missions such as Cassini, New Horizons, and MESSENGER.
Although most government-supported telescope facilities in the United States are funded by the
NSF (see below), NASA continues to play a major role in supporting the use of Earth-based optical and
PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION
S-15