Earth science space missions in the 21st century

In 2007, the National Research Council (NRC) published “Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, 2007”, commonly known as the “Decadal Survey”. This report called for a balanced set of Earth Science Missions across the Earth Science research spectrum. In response, in February 2008, NASA´s Earth Science Division reorganized into two program offices: The Earth Systematic Missions Program Office (ESM PO) at Goddard Space Flight Center which includes satellites making continuous measurements of the Earth´s climate, and the Earth System Science Pathfinder Program Office (ESSP PO) at Langley Research Center which develops pathfinder missions through Announcements of Opportunity. In June 2010 NASA published its plan to achieve the goals of the Decadal Survey, “Responding to the Challenge of Climate and Environmental Change: NASA´s Plan for a Climate-Centric Architecture for Earth Observations and Applications from Space.” This plan includes support for the Decadal Survey missions as well as a set of “climate continuity missions” to address the scientific need for data continuity of key climate observations. In 2011 the NRC revisited the Decadal Survey report and published “Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA´s Implementation of the Decadal Survey”. This report notes that progress on the Decadal Survey plan has been slower than planned due to budget shortfalls and launch vehicle failures, and stresses that the goals of the Decadal Survey are as important as ever and must still yield a scientifically-balanced program. This paper will discuss the current status of the mission/mission study portfolios of the ESMP Program and the Earth Venture solicitations of the ESSP Program and how the Programs support the goals established and reiterated by the NRC, and will discuss the risks and challenges faced by t- e Programs as together they strive to meet these goals.