Synopsis
This report is a review by NASA’s Office of Inspector General assessing the management of NASA’s planetary science portfolio.
The key points are:
- NASA’s Planetary Science Division is generally meeting science goals set by the National Academies, including implementing recommended missions and allocating funding as advised.
- However, the costs of planetary science missions are increasing across all mission classes (Discovery, New Frontiers, Flagship). This may affect NASA’s ability to sustain the recommended mission cadence in the future.
- NASA faces deteriorating infrastructure that supports planetary science, including technical capabilities, workforce, Deep Space Network maintenance, and technology development funding. This places future missions at risk.
- Specifically, NASA is facing an impending wave of retirements in its science and engineering workforce. Workforce data to inform management decisions is lacking.
- The Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program is accepting undue risk with its Commercial Lunar Payload Services project. Issues cited include lack of common interfaces, due diligence of contractors, and safety plans.
- The Near-Earth Object Observations Program remains underfunded to meet the goal of cataloging 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters by 2020, now expected by 2040.
