Recently, the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academies released the report “Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society.” This report from the council’s Committee on a Decadal Strategy for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) is the second NRC “decadal survey” in solar and space physics. It outlines programs, initiatives and investments in the field that will promote fundamental advances in scientific knowledge of the space environment — from the interior of the sun, to the atmosphere of Earth, to “space weather.” Considering scientific value, urgency, cost, risk and technical readiness, the report identifies the highest-priority targets in the period 2013-2022. (A prepublication version of the report is now available.)
Author Archives: Thomas Zurbuchen
Thomas Zurbuchen is a professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan.