through maintaining a strong program in 

 space science and exploration. 



• To bring the benefits of space and space 

 technology to bear for the direct and imme- 

 diate benefit of man through the monitoring 

 of the earth's resources from space, the 

 monitoring and predicting of the earth's envi- 

 ronment, the strengthening and maintenance 

 of U.S. leadership in world space communi- 

 cation, the demonstration of the potential of 

 space techniques to manufacture unique and 

 economically viable new products, the under- 

 taking of other R&D efforts in applications- 

 oriented activities, and to facilitate the trans- 

 fer and utilization of NASA technology in 

 cooperation with the wide range of users and 

 nonspace mission-oriented agencies. 



• To generate advances in aeronautics that 

 provide feasible, more economical, efficient, 

 and environmentally acceptable air transpor- 

 tation systems responsive to current and pro- 

 jected needs; to maintain the position of the 

 United States in the international aviation 

 market; and to provide support in maintain- 

 ing the superiority of the Nation's military 

 aircraft through an aeronautics research and 

 technology program. 



• To provide expanded space research and 

 technology options as a national resource 

 which can serve to evolve and provide tech- 

 nology readiness to support new initiatives in 

 space exploration, applications, and transpor- 

 tation. 



• To make space more accessible to both 

 domestic and foreign users through develop- 

 ment and operation of economical space 

 transportation and the operation of an effi- 

 cient tracking and data acquisition system. 



• To provide a supporting research and tech- 

 nology base in terrestrial energy and ground 

 propulsion and provide for the practical ap- 

 plication of aerospace technology to the de- 

 velopment of terrestrial energy conversion 

 systems and ground propulsion, including 

 establishing the practicability of "satellite 

 power system" concepts through a coopera- 

 tive energy applications R&D program with 

 the Energy Research and Development Ad- 

 ministration (ERDA) and other agencies. 



Definition of Basic Research 



NASA defines basic research as work directed 

 toward an increase in fundamental knowledge, 

 both general and specific, of physical and life sci- 

 ence properties and processes relevant to aero- 



nautical and space activities. By way of contrast, 

 applied research is defined as the application of 

 the knowledge gained through basic research to 

 specific problems associated with the conduct of 

 aeronautical and space activities. 



NASA does not use the categories of basic re- 

 search and applied research in structuring and 

 managing its research programs, but does analyze 

 its research and development (R&D) programs to 

 determine relative funding proportions in basic 

 and applied research. Those data are provided 

 annually to the Office of Management and Budget 

 (0MB) and the National Science Foundation 

 (NSF). In that report, all of NASA's aeronautics 

 programs are classified as basic or applied re- 

 search. In the space programs, however, NASA 

 excludes from research the funds associated with 

 development of the spacecraft and launch vehi- 

 cles, and development and operation of tracking 

 and data acquisition systems, which make certain 

 of the research possible. Included in the research 

 category are: 



• Theoretical and experimental laboratory re- 

 search 



• Other ground-based research (including anal- 

 ysis of samples returned from space flight 

 missions) 



• Analysis of data (including data returned by 

 space flight missions) 



• Studies of future scientific mission objectives 



• Development of scientific instruments and 

 payloads 



• Development and launch of small satellites 

 and sounding rockets (when carried out for 

 research purposes). 



In addition, when they are readily identifiable, 

 the basic (or applied) research portions of major 

 space flight projects, such as development of sci- 

 entific instruments and payloads, are included as 

 basic (or applied) research. 



The principal disciplines in which NASA's ba- 

 sic research is conducted are: 



• Physical sciences, e.g., astronomy, astro- 

 physics, cosmology, solar physics, physics of 

 the interplanetary medium. 



• Environmental sciences, e.g., earth and plan- 

 etary atmospheres, geology and planetolo- 

 gy, seismology, oceanology. 



• Life sciences, e.g., exobiology, space medi- 

 cine, environmental biology. 



• Engineering sciences, e.g., fluid mechanics, 

 aerodynamics, electronics, materials, struc- 

 tural mechanics, power, propulsion. 



Included in the preceding list are both disci- 

 plines that are directly associated with aeronautics 

 and space and others that, though not directly 

 associated, have elements that can best be investi- 

 gated using aeronautical or space systems. Some 



NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 1 85 



