SBAG Findings
Findings from SBAG 28, January 24–25, 2023
- Finding #1 - Preservation of Arecibo Data and Tools
To ensure continued usability of the Arecibo radar data, SBAG recommends that NASA work with NSF to promptly establish a mechanism by which to preserve the data as well as necessary processing software and systems, including identifying an appropriate organization for hosting them and more importantly the responsible agency for supporting the endeavor. The Arecibo Observatory is currently scheduled to end science operations in April 2023 with discontinued access for the scientific staff after mid-August 2023. It is unclear to the community if the end-of-operations plan includes retaining Arecibo planetary radar data processing software and systems in addition to the radar data archive. - Finding #2 – Request for Information on PSD Mission Delays
SBAG recommends that NASA PSD compile the historical data for all competed missions to date and assess the full scope of mission delays, look for the root causes, and determine any common themes. Once NASA PSD has analyzed the data, SBAG encourages them to share their findings with the community. It is undeniable that NASA mission delays have cascading effects on selected flight missions in the queue and funding for and cadence of new AOs. In the most recent example presented in a full mission specific report (Psyche IRB), a delay in the Psyche launch has caused the demanifestation of Janus, a SIMPLEx mission catching a rideshare with Psyche now with an uncertain future, a delay in the unrelated launch of the VERITAS mission to Venus to no earlier than 2031, and an unknown delay in future Discovery and SIMPLEx announcements. Delays like this are detrimental to the existing mission teams and potentially the baseline science of selected flight missions and affect the next generation of mission teams who may not be provided with reasonable opportunities to participate in a timely mission proposal. While individual mission delays are investigated in detail by NASA, what is unclear to the community is why delays happen and if they can they be avoided or their impact lessened, what aspects of the missions tend to cause delays, are delays more common in a specific mission class, what are the final costs of missions especially compared to their original cost caps, and are there commonalities that may factor into the probability of a delay. If NASA shares the resulting conclusions with the community, SBAG will be better informed to discuss and identify appropriate findings for future situations that warrant community response. - Finding #3 – US Participation in the Hera Mission
SBAG encourages NASA to continue supporting international collaborations with other ongoing and developing international small body and planetary defense missions. SBAG especially recommends NASA support for US participation on ESA’s current Hera mission to the Didymos system that will explore the consequences of the impact caused by NASA’s DART spacecraft. SBAG is highly supportive of an equitable process and program to permit members of the small body community to participate in ESA’s Hera mission. - Finding #4 – Apophis SAT Endorsement
SBAG endorses the findings outlined in the SBAG Apophis Specific Action Team (SBAG Apophis SAT) report and encourages the community to identify a path forward for a coordinated remote sensing campaign that would take advantage of the unique 2029 close encounter of Apophis with the Earth. The SBAG Apophis SAT was formed and tasked by NASA to study the scientific opportunities surrounding Apophis’s Earth close approach in 2029. The SBAG Apophis SAT report is available on the “Documents” section of the SBAG website (https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/documents/Apophis_SAT.pdf) and provides detailed scientific and technical information that assesses the current predictions for the effects that may occur due to the Apophis close encounter, evaluates observing capabilities, and identifies possible investigations. - Finding #5 – Competed Planetary Defense Rapid Response Mission
SBAG recommends that the future planetary defense rapid response reconnaissance mission be selected by an open competitive process. Such a rapid response mission is consistent with the findings and recommendations from the 2018 National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan and the 2022 Planetary Decadal Survey (Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032) in support of planetary defense demonstration mission opportunities, which SBAG supports and echoes. The Decadal recommends the development, test, and implementation of a NEO Rapid Response Reconnaissance competed mission as the next planetary defense priority following DART and NEO Surveyor. SBAG feels that the benefits provided by greater community involvement and the potential for new ideas and strategies are compelling reasons to support a competed mission call. - Finding #6 – Urgency of the Inter-agency Radar Panel Outcomes
SBAG urges NASA to stress to all participants in the Inter-agency Radar Panel the urgency of their work, especially with respect to the future capabilities of planetary radar and planetary defense, and asks that the details of its findings and actions to the community are publicly released at the Panel’s conclusion. The loss of the Arecibo telescope has resulted in a significant impairment to the capacity to characterize hazardous asteroids and comets from the ground. While the SBAG community is encouraged that an inter-agency panel of interested parties is being established to determine how best to address this loss of capability, important for planetary defense and other small body science, SBAG wants to stress the urgency of this panel’s work and the significant interest in its outcomes to the planetary defense community. The outcomes of this panel will be critical in addressing urgent needs in the preservation of data and tools, development of new capabilities and facilities, initiative management and funding plans, and short- and long-term planning within the community. - Finding #7 – Community Input for the SIMPLEx Lessons Learned Document
SBAG eagerly awaits the public release of a SIMPLEx program lessons learned draft and recommends that there be a period of community engagement and stakeholder input before the document is finalized. SBAG acknowledges that a review of the small satellite program including creating a publicly available lessons learned document is necessary and underway. SBAG supports the SIMPLEx program to provide for innovative, economical, and efficient opportunities to explore small bodies as well as integrate early career scientists into mission concepts, proposals, and flight. SBAG recognizes the enhanced mission risk for a SIMPLEx-class mission yet feels that the advantages and science value of a flexible lower-cost small satellite mission opportunity has a place in a balanced NASA PSD portfolio, echoing the SIMPLEx finding in Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023- 2032. - Finding #8 – Small Body Considerations for the Uranus Flagship Mission
SBAG recommends that early mission design and planning for the Uranian Flagship mission consider the science cases and implementation of a flyby of an outer irregular moon or targeted flybys of the inner moons and is encouraged by the recently announced cross- discipline science workshop for the Uranus Flagship (July 2023). Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 prioritizes a mission to Uranus as NASA’s next flagship to the outer Solar System. Although the planet, rings, and main moons will be the focus of this mission, SBAG emphasizes that exploration of the small inner moons and the outer irregular moons of Uranus should be considered when designing the mission. Study of these small moons is important for understanding fundamental questions on the origin and evolution of the Uranian system and the Solar System in general. - Finding #9 – Technologies to Enable Small Body Exploration
SBAG will emphasize the connection between small body exploration and new innovative technologies in the coming year. The NASA SMD Technology Showcase in January 2023 highlighted the benefits of increased communication between planetary science mission proposal leaders and space technologists. The mission proposers benefit by having awareness of new capabilities that can increase the mission's science capabilities. The technologists benefit by better understanding the needs, constraints, and environment that the technology must operate in. First, SBAG will provide opportunities for technologists to participate at the community meetings. Second, SBAG will update and publicize its Technology goals document. This update will incorporate findings from the 2022 Decadal Survey and will be targeted towards engaging prospective technology developers, particularly those without previous mission experience.