1 Overview of NASA's 2006 SSE Strategic Roadmap James A. Cutts, Tibor S. Balint, Andrea P. Belz, Craig E. Peterson Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology 4800 Oak Grove Drive, M/S 301-345 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-354-4120 James.A.Cutts@jpl.nasa.gov Abstract—In the 2003 Solar System Exploration (SSE) Decadal Survey, the National Research Council (NRC) prioritized scientific targets and recommended missions to explore them. Taking these into account, NASA’s 2006 Solar System Exploration (SSE) Strategic Roadmap (SRM) identified a set of large Flagship, medium New Frontiers (NF) and small Discovery class missions, addressing key exploration objectives. Discovery and NF missions are competed, and due to their lower cost caps, address fewer science objectives than the large missions, while mostly utilizing existing technologies. Directed Flagship class missions are considered necessary to answer some of the most important questions on Solar System formation and habitability. They also provide drivers for technology development, which in turn would benefit all mission classes. Additionally, this SSE SRM offers a comprehensive discussion on science objectives for Solar System exploration, and technologies enabling these missions. It outlines Research and Analysis (R&A), which is required to maintain the proposed program, and to post process scientific data. Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) communicates NASA’s activities to the public of all ages, and as discussed, is considered an important part of the Agency’s programs. These elements are connected through interdependencies and links to other programmatic activities, including the Mars and New Millennium Programs. The Roadmap also explores potential implementation trades, suggesting multiple ways to execute a balanced program that consist of all mission classes and supported by technology development, R&A, and E/PO, while staying within a projected budget allocation for SSE. In this paper we outline this proposed SSE Strategic Roadmap, representing NASA’s exploration plans for the next three decades. 1 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................... 1 2. SCIENCE OBJECTIVES ........................................... 1 3. MISSIONS ............................................................... 2 4. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.............................. 4 5. RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS .................................... 4 6. EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH................... 7 7. INTERDEPENDENCIES ............................................ 7 8. ROADMAP IMPLEMENTATION............................... 7 9. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............ 8 1 1 1-4244-0525-4/07/$20.00 ©2007 IEEE. 2 IEEEAC paper # 1567, Version 3, Updated December 18, 2006 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................... 9 REFERENCES............................................................. 9 BIOGRAPHY ............................................................ 10 1. INTRODUCTION Our Solar System, which includes the Sun’s system of planets, moons and smaller debris, can provide clues to the origin and development of the universe, and within it the origin of life. Exploration of our Solar System is the first step towards the exploration of the Universe, which is not only scientifically relevant, but also technologically challenging. NASA’s 2006 Solar System Exploration Roadmap [1] provides an exploration plan that spans over the next 30 years, and while it targets most bodies of the Solar System, it excludes the Sun, the Moon and Mars, which are covered in other Roadmaps. This 30-years planning horizon draws upon the Presidential Initiative – “The Vision for Space Exploration” [2] – and provides flexibility by offering a number of distinct scenarios that will meet the science goals with staggered project initiation dates. It also builds upon previous NASA Roadmaps and the NRC Decadal Survey of Solar System Exploration [3]. 2. SCIENCE OBJECTIVES The science objectives of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Roadmap [1] are set to answer fundamental questions, pointing to five science goals, which are rooted in the NRC’s Decadal Survey [3], and linked to the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration [2] (see Figure 1). These are: (1) How did the Sun’s family of planets and minor bodies originate? (2) How did the Solar System evolve to its current diverse state? (3) What are the characteristics of the Solar System that led to the origin of life? (4) How did life begin and evolve on Earth and has it evolved elsewhere in the Solar System? (5) What are the hazards and resources in the Solar System environment that will affect the extension of human presence in space?