A Return on America's Investment

摘要

While the United States is reeling from an uncertain economy and questions about how and when it might improve, one certainty is that an investment in fundamental science research pays big dividends. Federal prioritization for science funding is vital for die health of our country, as emphasized in the prescient forecast and recommendations of the 2005 National Academy of Sciences report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," produced by a panel led by former Lockheed Martin Chief Executive Norm Augustine. The federal support for science is handled by several agencies, in particular NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. As we count down to the end of federal funding for fiscal 2011 and look to the future, the astronomical community anxiously awaits word on how its corner of the universe will fare. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as the Hubble Space Telescope heir-apparent, has received a lot of attention re-cendy because the House Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee zeroed its line out, in part to force NASA to get its house in order with a realistic budget and revised management strategies, as urged in the report of the Independent Comprehensive Review Panel led by John Casani of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Meanwhile, it is encouraging that the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee proposed to restore and augment the JWST line to a level consistent with a goal of meeting a 2018 launch, and we appreciate Sen. Barbara Mikulski's efforts in this regard.