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Date: Sept. 5, 2007
Contacts: Paul Jackson, Media Relations Associate
Kimberly Berryman, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail <news@nas.edu>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
'Beyond Einstein' Research Should Begin With Mission to Study Dark Energy
WASHINGTON -- NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy should pursue the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) as the first mission in the "Beyond Einstein" program, according to a new report from the National Research Council. Beyond Einstein is NASA's research roadmap for five proposed mission areas to study the most compelling questions at the intersection of physics and astronomy. The committee that wrote the report added that another proposed mission to detect gravitational waves using the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) should eventually become the flagship mission of Beyond Einstein, given that it is likely to provide an entirely new way to observe the universe. However, LISA needs more testing before a launch can be planned, whereas the Joint Dark Energy Mission is ready now for a competitive selection of mission concept proposals.
Prompted by Congress and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA and DOE asked the committee to assess the five proposed mission areas and recommend one for first development and launch. NASA’s Beyond Einstein program, set to begin in 2009, is comprised of two astronomical observatories, Constellation-X and LISA, as well as a series of probes: the Inflation Probe (IP), the Black Hole Finder Probe (BHFP), and JDEM.
"All of the mission areas in the Beyond Einstein program have the potential to fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe," said committee co-chair Charles F. Kennel, distinguished professor and director of the Environment and Sustainability Initiative at the University of California, San Diego. "But JDEM will provide direct insight into a key Beyond Einstein science question, and is the most technically feasible option for immediate development."
Of particular interest to researchers is whether the acceleration of the expansion of the universe varies over time. So far, three specific mission plans have been studied in this area: the Supernova Acceleration Probe (SNAP), the Dark Energy Space Telescope (DESTINY), and the Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT), but the eventual JDEM could be any one of the three or be based on a different option altogether. The committee found that the underlying technology for a dark energy mission is, for the most part, in the prototype phase, and will require less development than most of the other missions. The potential gains for JDEM also outweigh its scientific risks, such as the possibility that the mission may not provide substantial insight beyond that provided by telescopes on the ground. The report recommends that NASA and DOE proceed immediately with a competition for mission proposals that will investigate the nature of dark energy with high precision.
The committee also recommended that NASA invest additional Beyond Einstein funds in technology development of the LISA program. LISA, which is funded through a partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), is designed to detect gravitational waves arising from, among other phenomena, the merging of black holes. The committee found that LISA will open up new ways of observing the universe, but must await results from ESA's "LISA Pathfinder" mission first. Scheduled for launch in 2009, LISA Pathfinder will test many of the new technologies required for the LISA program. Yet, some critical technologies, such as extended use of micro-Newton thruster technology, will not be tested. The report recommends that the development of these technologies should be a high priority for the Beyond Einstein program.
The report indicates that the three elements of Beyond Einstein that are not being recommended for immediate implementation are still important endeavors that should receive continued support. The committee found that because the Constellation-X mission is a general-purpose x-ray observatory capable of broad contributions to astrophysics, it should be funded and assessed in a broader context than the Beyond Einstein program. The Black Hole Finder Probe and Inflation Probe missions will also make important scientific contributions; however, because of scope and technical readiness issues, they fell behind JDEM and LISA. The committee recommended that Constellation-X, Black Hole Finder Probe, and Inflation Probe receive continued support to prepare them for the next decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics.
The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. A committee roster follows.
Copies of NASA's Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. The cost of the report is $45.00 (prepaid) plus shipping charges of $4.50 for the first copy and $.95 for each additional copy. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above). In addition, a podcast of the public briefing held to release this report is available at http://national-academies.org/podcast.
[ This news release and report are available at http://national-academies.org ]
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Space Studies Board
And
Board on Physics and Astronomy
Committee on NASA's Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation
Charles F. Kennel* (co-chair)
Distinguished Professor and Former Director
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and
Director
The Environment and Sustainability Initiative
University of California
San Diego
Joseph H. Rothenberg (co-chair)
President
Universal Space Network
Darnestown, Md.
Eric G. Adelberger*
Professor of Physics
University of Washington
Seattle
Bill Adkins
President
Adkins Strategies LLC
Washington, D.C.
Thomas Appelquist
Professor of Physics
Yale University
New Haven, Conn.
James S. Barrowman
Independent Consultant
Arnold, Md.
David A. Bearden
Principal Director for NASA Programs
Aerospace Corp.
Pasadena, Calif.
Mark Devlin
Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Joseph Fuller Jr.
Founder and President
Futron Corp.
Bethesda, Md.
Karl Gebhardt
Professor of Astronomy
University of Texas
Austin
William C. Gibson
Vice President
Space Science and Engineering
Division
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio
Fiona A. Harrison
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Space Radiation Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena
Andrew J. Lankford
Professor of Physics and Chair
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of California
Irvine
Dennis McCarthy
Aerospace Consultant
Chestertown, Md.
Stephan S. Meyer
Professor
Department of Astronomy and
Astrophysics, Department of Physics,
and Enrico Fermi Institute
University of Chicago
Chicago
Joel R. Primack
Professor of Physics
University of California
Santa Cruz
Lisa J. Randall
Professor of Theoretical Physics
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.
Craig L. Sarazin
W.H. Vanderbilt Professor of
Astronomy
University of Virginia
Charlottesville
James S. Ulvestad
Assistant Director
National Radio Astronomy
Observatory, and
Director
Very Large Array and Very Long
Baseline Array operations
Sorocco, N.M.
Clifford M. Will*
James S. McDonnell Professor of
Physics, and
Member of McDonnell Center for the
Space Sciences
Washington University
St. Louis
Michael S. Witherell*
Vice Chancellor for Research, and Professor of Physics
University of California
Santa Barbara
Edward L. Wright
Professor of Astronomy
University of California
Los Angeles
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Brian D. Dewhurst
Study Co-director
Sandra Graham
Study Co-director
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