ABSTRACT

The strongest myths handicapping the space program have to do with the Apollo program. The Apollo paradigm is primarily characterized by a focus on transportation, i.e. getting into space and thence on to the Moon. If National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were to make science top priority that would be a major reversal from the emphasis on manned spaceflight and on missions for their own justification. The recommendation for a smaller-scale approach to Mission to Planet Earth is echoed by the Frieman engineering study of the proposed Earth Observing System and by the August 1991 report of NASA's Space Science and applications Advisory Committee, both of which saw the value of smaller missions. A new policy player, the National Space Council struggles for a policy-making role. Change is in the air, if still incomplete. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.