Climate and Space Leina Hutchinson April 8, 2019
NASA Background Originally founded as NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) in 1915 Became NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1958 Federal agency for space science Currently receives <0.5% of US federal budget Maximum received was about 5% of federal budget during Apollo era Image credit: NASA
NASA Operations Administrator: Jim Bridenstine Highest ranked NASA official New administrator selected every time new president enters office (with a few exceptions) Responsibilities include articulating the Agency's vision, setting its programmatic and budget priorities and internal policies, and assessing Agency performance 10 centers focusing on various aspects of space exploration Image credit: NASA
NASA Operations Objectives and missions can be at the whim of the president and congress Apollo - initiated by mandate from the president We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard - John F. Kennedy Space Shuttle - encouraged by president (Nixon), extended by Congress (15 years extended to 30 years), cancellation initiated by president (Bush) George W. Bush wanted to go back to the Moon, Barack Obama wanted to go to Mars Trump administration proposed cutting funding for WFIRST (telescope), PACE (monitors health of oceans), and CLARREO (climate observatory)
Satellite Climate Science Data Uses Provide imagery and readings on a global scale For over 30 years, satellites have been used to collect data on: Solar activity Sea level rise Temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans state of the ozone layer Air pollution Changes in sea ice and land ice Image credit: NASA
Satellite Climate Science Data Challenges Relatively short time span for satellite data (about 30 years) Difficult to use data to analyze long term trends No requirement for observation length When instruments stop functioning they are either not immediately replaced or not replaced at all Data ends up being not continuous Uncertainties associated with sensors Resolution Calibration Retrieval algorithms (converting electrical signals to climate variable measurements) Inconsistencies in baseline inputs No universally accepted baseline for calibration or validation methods
Other NASA Activities Education Hold competitions to encourage innovative designs to solve current space problems (eg. how to get to Mars) Provides educational material, internship/grant opportunities, opportunities to fly experiments, etc. Collaboration Government, scientists, educators, students, community Deep space exploration International Space Station Human factors in space
Discussion Question 1: How can the government, scientists, community, etc. help better support NASA s climate science initiatives? Question 2: What can NASA do to encourage and/or support climate initiatives within the government, scientists, community, etc.? Image credit: NASA
References Chapter 2 - Roles and Responsibilities. NASA Handbook. https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codez/plans/handbook00/chap2.html. History NASA Science Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA, NASA, 24 Feb. 2017, climate.nasa.gov/nasa_science/history/. Space Shuttle Program. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/space_shuttle_program#retirement. Weitering, Hanneke. Trump's 2020 NASA Budget Would Cancel Space Telescope, Earth Science Missions (Again). Space.com, Space Created with Sketch. Space, 11 Mar. 2019, www.space.com/trump-nasa-2020-budget-cancels-wfirst-earth-missions.html. Yang, Jun, et al. The Role of Satellite Remote Sensing in Climate Change Studies. Nature Climate Change, doi:10.1038/nclimate1908.