Solar and Space Physics: Community Assessment

In early December 2000, the National Research Council (NRC) approved a study to assess the current status and future directions of U.S. ground- and space-based solar and space physics research programs. The study, "Solar and Space Physics: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future," has been organized by the Space Studies Board (SSB) and its Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP). The goal of the study is to identify the key science questions expected to occupy the solar and space physics communities for the decade 2003-2013; to outline the initiatives, missions, technologies, and infrastructure needed to address those questions; and to recommend research priorities.

An ad hoc 15-member Survey Committee is charged with overseeing the study, which is similar to the "decadal survey" that is regularly conducted by the astronomy and astrophysics communities. The Survey Committee will prepare a summary report based on inputs from five study panels, which are tasked with producing reports in the following subject areas:

magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere interactions (terrestrial and planetary)
solar wind/magnetosphere interactions (terrestrial and planetary)
solar and heliospheric physics
theory, computation, and data exploration
education and society.

The Survey Committee report and the panel reports will be published by the National Research Council. A brochure summarizing the Committee's findings and recommendations for a non-specialist readership will also be published. Publication of the reports is scheduled for summer/fall 2002.

A Community Assessment

The study is intended to be a community assessment. Thus the widest-possible involvement of all interested communities is essential to the work of the Survey Committee and the panels and to the ultimate success of the study. To facilitate community input, a number of outreach activities have been planned, including community forums in conjunction with the ISTP, GEM, and CEDAR workshops and a "town meeting" at the spring AGU meeting in Boston. In addition, two study panels have established interactive websites through which they are soliciting input from the communities that they represent. The SSB has set up a general Survey study website, which provides for public comment. Finally, interested individuals are encouraged to communicate their comments and suggestions directly to the members of the Survey Committee and panel members.