Last week, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft to orbit, making SpaceX the first commercial company in history to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The National Research Council’s America’s Future in Space recommends directions for U.S. civil space activities. According to this book, the U.S. civil space program is an essential national resource with the potential to address pressing national needs in a substantial way.
Other NRC titles make recommendations and lay out steps to advance discoveries about the solar system, astronomy and astrophysics, and identify research needed for advancements in human spaceflight. All are free to download.
America’s Future in Space: Aligning the Civil Space Program with National Needs106 pages | Paperback | Price: $25.87As civil space policies and programs have evolved, the geopolitical environment has changed dramatically. Although the U.S. space program was originally driven in large part by competition with the Soviet Union, the nation now finds itself in a post-Cold War… [more]
Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era442 pages | Paperback | Price: $77.17More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human… [more]
Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022400 pages | Paperback | Price: $49.50In recent years, planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge. Deposits of water ice exist at the Moon’s poles. Discoveries on the surface of Mars point to an early warm wet climate, and perhaps conditions under which life could have… [more]
New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics324 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.95Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to… [more]
Report of the Panel on Implementing Recommendations from the New Worlds, New Horizons Decadal Survey36 pages | Paperback | Price: $13.50The 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey report, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (NWNH), outlines a scientifically exciting and programmatically integrated plan for both ground- and space-based astronomy and… [more]
Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Spacecraft Missions to Icy Solar System Bodies100 pages | Paperback | Price: $36.00NASA’s exploration of planets and satellites during the past 50 years has led to the discovery of traces of water ice throughout the solar system and prospects for large liquid water reservoirs beneath the frozen ICE shells of multiple satellites of the giant… [more]
Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA’s Implementation of the Decadal Survey122 pages | Paperback | Price: $34.20Understanding the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment and their implications requires a foundation of integrated observations of land, sea, air and space, on which to build credible information products, forecast models, and… [more]
Sharing the Adventure with the Public: The Value and Excitement of ‘Grand Questions’ of Space Science and Exploration: Summary of a Workshop92 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.10On November 8-10, 2010, the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board (SSB) held a public workshop on how NASA and its associated science and exploration communities communicate with the public about major NASA activities and programs. The… [more]
Panel Reports–New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics548 pages | Paperback | Price: $49.50Every 10 years the National Research Council releases a survey of astronomy and astrophysics outlining priorities for the coming decade. The most recent survey, titled New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, provides overall… [more]
Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era of Space Exploration: An Interim Report46 pages | Paperback | Price: $13.95In response to requests from Congress, NASA asked the National Research Council to undertake a decadal survey of life and physical sciences in microgravity. Developed in consultation with members of the life and physical sciences communities, the guiding… [more]