Beyond Einstein Program Assessment Committee AAAC Feb 8

Beyond Einstein Program Assessment Committee: AAAC Feb 8, 2007, Washington DC Brian Dewhurst BEPAC Staff

Origin of the Beyond Einstein Program § 2000 release of § § § “Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium” 2002 release of “Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos” 2003 NASA SEU Roadmap entitled “Beyond Einstein” 2004 OSTP releases “Physics of the Universe”

Beyond Einstein Missions § Einstein Great Observatories § Constellation-X (Con-X) § Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) § Einstein Probes § Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) § Inflation Probe § Black Hole Finder Probe

Study Origins § Committee Report, Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, 2007 § § The Committee is concerned that the joint mission between the Department of Energy and NASA is untenable because of NASA’s reorganization and change in focus toward manned space flight. The Committee directs the Department to immediately begin planning for a single-agency space-based dark energy mission…. . Committee Report, House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, 2007 § …NASA has failed to budget and program for launch services for JDEM. Unfortunately, in spite of best intentions, the multi-agency aspect of this initiative poses insurmountable problems that imperil its future. Therefore, the Committee directs the Department to begin planning for a single-agency dark energy mission with a launch in fiscal year 2013. Committee Report, Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill, 2007 § The National Academy of Sciences has recommended that NASA and the Department of Energy work together to develop a Joint Dark Energy Mission [JDEM]. The Committee strongly supports development of the JDEM through full and open competition with project management residing at the appropriate NASA center. OSTP Meeting, August 2006 § Dr. Marburger calls meeting with NASA Administrator, DOE Science Undersecretary, SSB Chair, BPA Chair, and AAAC Chair to encourage a fair, jointagency process for going forward on a Beyond Einstein mission. § NASA and DOE request NRC to assess the Beyond Einstein missions and produce report by September 8, 2007

Committee Charge 1. Assess the five proposed Beyond Einstein missions (Constellation- X, Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, Joint Dark Energy Mission, Inflation Probe, and Black Hole Finder probe) and recommend which of these five should be developed and launched first, using a funding wedge that is expected to begin in FY 2009. The criteria for these assessments include: § § Potential scientific impact within the context of other existing and planned space-based and ground-based missions; and Realism of preliminary technology and management plans, and cost estimates. 2. Assess the Beyond Einstein missions sufficiently so that they can act as input for any future decisions by NASA or the next Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey on the ordering of the remaining missions. This second task element will assist NASA in its investment strategy for future technology development within the Beyond Einstein Program prior to the results of the Decadal Survey.

Committee Members § Eric Adelberger, U , Washington § William Adkins, Adkins William Adkins, § Andrew Lankford, UC Irvine Andrew Lankford, § Dennis Mc. Carthy, Swales Dennis Mc. Carthy, § § § § Strategies, LLC Thomas Appelquist, Yale , James Barrowman, NASA James Barrowman, (retired) David Bearden, Aerospace David Bearden, Corp. Mark Devlin, U Mark Devlin, Pennsylvania Joseph Fuller, Futron Corp. Joseph Fuller, Karl Gebhardt, U , Texas William Gibson, SWRI William Gibson, Fiona Harrison, Caltech Fiona Harrison, Charles Kennel, UCSD, co. Charles Kennel, chair § § § (retired) Stephan Meyer, U. Stephan Meyer, Chicago Joel Primack, UC Santa Cruz , Lisa Randall, Harvard Lisa Randall, Joseph Rothenberg, Universal Joseph Rothenberg, Space Network, co-chair Craig Sarazin, U , Virginia James Ulvestad, NRAO , Clifford Will, Washington Clifford Will, University Michael Witherell, UC Santa , Barbara Edward Wright, UCLA Edward Wright,

Ground Rules for Beyond Einstein Missions § Some missions are well-defined, others are concepts - how to compare? § Science assessment of “platonic ideal” of the missions § Assessment of specific projects to evaluate technical, cost, and schedule risk to achieving science goals § Cost estimates § NRC expects to acquire independent cost estimates § Uniformity across missions and projects § Assessment needs to be fair and balanced § Consistent approach to assessment of each mission

Schedule and Milestones: Overview § November – April Data Gathering § February – April Town Hall Meetings/ Independent Cost Est. § April – September Writing and Review § September 2007 Delivery to NASA & DOE

Process for Community Input § 4 Town Hall meetings will allow science community to express comments and interests about BE missions § Comments on the study can also be emailed to: beyondeinstein@nas. edu § Academy website provides information on study for the public § § Statement of task Agendas Meeting presentations http: //www 7. nationalacademies. org/ssb/Beyond. Einstein. Public. html

Meeting Schedule § Nov 6 -8, 2006 § Jan 30 -Feb 1, 2007 1 st Meeting, Wash, DC 2 nd Meeting, Irvine, CA § § Feb 1, 2007 Feb 12, 2007 Mar 14, 2007 Apr 4, 2007 Town Hall, Irvine, CA Town Hall, Cambridge, MA Town Hall, Baltimore, MD Town Hall, Chicago, IL § § Apr 5 -7, 2007 Jun 6 -8, 2007 3 rd Meeting, Chicago, IL 4 th Meeting, Wash, DC

Town Hall Speaker Format § What are the most valuable science opportunities of the Beyond § § § Einstein program? What are the long-term goals for the science, beyond the science goals of the mission projects; are we opening a new field or resolving existing questions? To what degree can ground-based or existing space-based capabilities solve some of these questions? What is the degree of precision needed from the measurements to move the science forward? 1. Greg Madejski, Stanford University 2. Katja Pottschmidt, UC, San Diego 3. Matt Malkan, UC, Los Angeles 4. Richard Rothschild, UC, San Diego 5. Robert Cahn, LBNL 6. Richard Ellis, Caltech 7. Eric Linder, UC, Berkeley 8. Alexandre Refregier, CEA Saclay 9. Alan Weinstein, Caltech 10. Daniel Holz, LANL/Univ. of Chicago 11. Albert Lazzarini, Caltech 12. Brent Ware, JPL 13. Kip Thorne, Caltech 14. Harald Pfeiffer and Mark Scheel, Caltech 15. Michael Seiffert, JPL § 4: 30 - Open Microphone, 2 minutes per speaker

Contact Information § Sandra Graham, SSB Study Director § 202/ 334 -3477 or sgraham@nas. edu § Brian Dewhurst, BPA Study Director § 202/ 334 -2998 or bdewhurs@nas. edu