# Presentation: 128683

## Universe Division UpdatePresentation to the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee

- Michael Salamon
- Universe Division, Science Mission Directorate
- May 16, 2005
- NSF Headquarters

## Universe Division Update

- Griffin’s Testimony to Congress
- FY2005 Operating Plan Update (May, 2005)
- Science Updates to the Press
- Status of Missions
- JWST--will cover via telecon on Tuesday
- HST Update
- Fate of ST-7 and Implications for LISA
- ROSES Announcement of Call for JDEM Concept Studies
- NASA Roadmapping Update
- R&A Update
- Divisional Personnel Changes

## Griffin’s Testimony to Congress

- May 12, 2005 testimony on NASA’s FY 2006 budget to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science can  be found at: _[http://www1.nasa.gov/pdf/115069main_mg_senate_051205.pdf](http://www1.nasa.gov/pdf/115069main_mg_senate_051205.pdf)_
- Major quotes:
- “The President has reaffirmed his commitment to the Vision...the $16.46B requested for NASA reflects an increase of 2.4% over FY 2005.”
- “I want to thank this Committee and the Congress for providing NASA additional flexibility in the FY 2005 appropriations bill to address the challenges facing the Agency.”
- “Several missions will have to be delayed, deferred, or cancelled in order to pay for the missions where the priorities were set by the President and Congress.”
- “In order to service the HST and provide for a safe deorbit, NASA will need to defer work on even more advanced space telescopes like the SIM and TPF.  The extent of this deferral and an appropriate follow-onstrategy for the Origins program is currently under review.”
- “CEV [Crew Exploration Vehicle] development must be accelerated in order to minimize the gap between the Space Shuttle retirement and the first operation flight of the CEV.”
- “Space Shuttle return-to-flight planned for mid-July.”
- “The Space Shuttle will be retired by 2010.”
- “The CEV will conduct missions in Earth orbit, including missions to the ISS, but its primary mission will be to support exploration of the Moon and other destinatons.”
- “By 2010, the Science budget will increase by 23% over current levels.”

## Griffin’s Letter to Sen. Shelby on FY2005 Operating Plan

- FY05 Congressional “earmarks” to NASA total $426M; Space Science budget reduced by $76M, Earth Science by $89M to support these.
- Space Science reduced by $20M, Earth Science by $35M for our share of return-to-flight FY05 costs (totaling $762M).
- Management responsibility for potential Shuttle servicing mission for HST and de-orbit is consolidated within the SMD.
- Zero Base Review of Biological and Physical Research portfolio (old Code U) completed:
- High priority areas such as space radiation health and shielding, environmental control, life support, advanced EVA, and human health will be maintained/augmented.
- Low priority tasks include fundamental research in physics, material science and combustion--no link to exploration requirements.

## FY05 Operating Plan Update

- 					April 		Changes		May
- 	(in $M)				Operating				Operating
- 					Plan Update			Plan Update
**Astronomical Search for Origins****	****	****1,135.7****	****	****-37.5****	****	****1,098.2**
- 	HST Development			115.3		116.0		231.3
- 	Kepler Development			125.4		-30.2		95.2
- 	SOFIA Development			62.5		9.0		71.5
- 	Operations			22.4		6.8		29.2
- 	Research			209.9		-29.3		180.6
- 	SIM				142.9		-43.0		99.9
- 	JWST				313.6		-26.7		286.9
- 	TPF				51.8		-11.2		40.6
- 	Keck Interferometer			12.2		0.5		12.8
- 	Other ASO			79.7		-29.4		50.3
**Structure and Evolution of the Universe****	****377.5****	****	****-0.5****	****	****376.9**
- 	GLAST Development			101.7		9.6		111.4
- 	SEU Small Development Projects		19.5		6.6		26.1
- 	Swift				3.1		0.0		3.1
- 	Operations			4.2		0.8		5.1
- 	Research			209.0		-1.9		207.1
- 	Con-X				11.8		-2.1		9.7
- 	LISA				18.7		-5.0		13.7**
- 	Other SEU			9.3		-8.6		0.7
**	****	****	**

## Spitzer Detects Extra-solar Planets

**Notes:**
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has for the first time captured the light from two known planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. The findings mark the beginning of a new age of planetary science, in which "extrasolar" planets can be directly measured and compared.
In the new studies, Spitzer has directly observed the warm infrared glows of two previously detected "hot Jupiter" planets, designated HD 209458b and TrES-1. Hot Jupiters are extrasolar gas giants that zip closely around their parent stars. From their toasty orbits, they soak up ample starlight and shine brightly in infrared wavelengths. To distinguish this planet glow from that of the fiery hot stars, the astronomers used a simple trick. First, they used Spitzer to collect the total infrared light from both the stars and planets. Then, when the planets dipped behind the stars as part of their regular orbit, the astronomers measured the infrared light coming from just the stars. This pinpointed exactly how much infrared light belonged to the planets. "In visible light, the glare of the star completely overwhelms the glimmer of light reflected by the planet," said Charbonneau. "In infrared, the star-planet contrast is more favorable because the planet emits its own light." The Spitzer data told the astronomers that both planets are at least a steaming 1,000 Kelvin (727 degrees Celsius, 1340 Fahrenheit). These measurements confirm that hot Jupiters are indeed hot. Upcoming Spitzer observations using a range of infrared wavelengths are expected to provide more information about the planets' winds and atmospheric compositions.

## Largest Explosion in the Universe

- Chandra data (red)
- VLA data (blue)

**Notes:**
This Chandra image shows two vast cavities - each 600,000 light years in diameter - in the hot, X-ray emitting gas that pervades the galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 (MS 0735 for short). Although the cavities contain very little hot gas, they are filled with a two-sided, elongated, magnetized bubble of extremely high-energy electrons that emit radio waves. The cavities appear on opposite sides of a large galaxy at the center of the cluster, which indicates that a gigantic eruption produced by the galaxy's supermassive black hole created the structures. The magnitude of the eruption suggests that as a large amount of gas swirled rapidly toward the central black hole, it generated intense electromagnetic fields that ejected a fraction of the gas in the form of powerful jets of high-energy particles.  As these jets blasted through the galaxy into the surrounding multimillion degree intergalactic gas, they pushed the hot gas aside to create the cavities. The mass of the displaced gas equals about a trillion Suns, more than the mass of all the stars in the Milky Way.  Chandra has discovered evidence of similar outbursts in the form of other, but the cavities in MS 0735 are easily the largest and most powerful. To create such an enormous eruption, the supermassive black hole must have swallowed about 300 million solar masses of gas over the last hundred million years

## Stellar Weight Limit

**Notes:**
astronomers have taken an important step toward establishing a weight limit for stars. Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers made the first direct measurement within our Milky Way Galaxy that stars have a limit to how large they can form. Studying the densest known cluster of stars in our galaxy, the Arches cluster, astronomers determined that stars are not created any larger than about 150 times the mass of our Sun, or 150 solar masses.
"Standard theories predict 20 to 30 stars in the Arches cluster with masses between 130 and 1,000 solar masses. But we found none. If they had formed, we would have seen them. If the prediction was only one or two stars and we saw none, then we could claim that our result could be due to statistical errors.”
Figer used Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer to study hundreds of stars ranging from 6 to 130 solar masses. (Although Figer did not find any stars larger than 130 solar masses, he conservatively set the upper limit at 150 solar masses.) The Arches cluster is a youngster, about 2 to 2.5 million years old, and resides 25,000 light-years away in our galaxy's hub, a hotbed of massive star formation. In this rough-and-tumble region, huge clouds of gas collide to form behemoth stars.

## Selected Recent Science News Updates

- Chandra “observes” early X-ray history of our Sun by viewing X-ray flares of new ~1 solar-mass stars in Orion Nebula.  X-ray flares likely ionized protoplanetary disk, inducing turbulence which may have saved Earth by preventing its migration to the Sun. (May, 2005)
- Brightest cosmic flash ever detected seen by Swift, VLA, RHESSI, and others.  Likely source:  A magnetar (10^15 G neutron star) undergoing magnetic reconnection in our Galaxy.  Approx 10^40 W in 0.1 sec; deflected our ionosphere.
- 15th Anniversary of HST.
- Swift detects short GRB (GRB 050509B)--50 msec; very faint afterglow.  Location supports picture of merging older NS’s and/or BH’s. (May 11, 2005)
- GALEX finds massive young galaxies in nearly Universe (~1 Gpc distance)
- Spitzer sees signs of alien asteroid belt around a Sun-like star. (April, 2005)
- Chandra, HST, JCMT find that young galaxies with intense star formation are also growing their central massive black holes concurrently, likely due to galaxy collisions (April, 2005).

## HST Update

- Management of HST development has been transferred back to the Science Mission Directorate;  the Exploration Directorate is no longer involved.
- The full $291M appropriated by Congress for FY05 to be dedicated to Hubble reservicing option with Shuttle.
- HST Program Office is studying Shuttle based servicing, to include a deorbit module as well as science instruments.
- NASA will make a decision on executing the Shuttle servicing mission after completion of two successful return-to-flight missions (this year).
- Plan to enter 2-gyro mode preemptively this summer late this summer or early this fall, as a measure of saving gyroscope capability (i.e. adding about 9 months of extra observing time, potentially).  The point spread function is as good for 2-gyro mode as for 3.  The only potential loss is observing efficiency, since in 2-gyro mode you cannot access all of the sky at any one time.

## ST-7 Descope

- New Millenium Program mission ST-7 competitively selected in July, 2001 to advance technologies of gravitational reference systems (Stanford U) and micro-Newton thrusters (Busek Corp.).  Confirmed for Implementation in July 2003.
- First user of technology is LISA (Disturbance Reduction System); ST-7 and ESA’s LISA Test Package to be launched in 2008 as an ESA SMART-2 mission, LISA Pathfinder.
- LISA Pathfinder is a critical risk-reducing technology mission for LISA.  Will determine magnitude of acceleration noise in drag-free masses and values of unknown parameters such as transverse control cross-coupling.
- Due to cost overrun (~$34M for original cap of ~$60M), PMC recommends descope to flight with micro-newton thrusters only.
- Approval by Al Diaz delayed by recent budget exercises.

## Upcoming Call for JDEM Concept Studies

- Final decision to issue an amendment to the 2005 NASA ROSES (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science) that calls for JDEM Concept Study proposals is expected shortly.
- If approved,the ROSES amendment will be out by June, with JDEM Concept Study proposals due ~6 months later.
- Will support one or more teams up to $2M/yr for two years.
- No restriction on methodology for determining dark energy parameters.
- (JDEM was listed as the highest priority Probe in the Universe Strategic Roadmap.)
- (Dark Energy Task Force will provide input on target parameter accuracies.)
- (JDEM SDT meets next in June, 2005.)

## Status of Other Missions

- GLAST:  On track for Sept ‘07 launch.
- SOFIA:  Latest first flight moved back to Nov. 2005.  New structural analysis raises concerns; safety shutdown in Feb contributes to delay.
- FUSE:  Current operation limited and inefficient due to operation with only 2 (not 3) gyros and 1 (not 4) reaction wheels.  Next Senior Review for operating missions in April, 2006; fate of FUSE determined then.
- Kepler, WISE reduced funding in FY05 to help other costs to Universe Division.
- JWST:  Update will be given tomorrow by the JWST Program Scientist, Eric Smith.

## NASA Roadmap Update

- NASA’s new Administrator has terminated work on all but the science and ISS strategic roadmaps (SR’s).
- Summaries of the six SMD SR’s are being “assembled” into a single document which will be used internally at HQ.
- The six SMD strategic roadmaps, due May 20 at HQ, will each retain their identity, being compiled into a separate volume.
- NRC review of the science roadmaps (promised to Congress) will occur June 13-15, 2005 in Washington DC.  Kathy Flanagan and Adam Burrows, External Co-Chairs of the UD’s two roadmaps, will present.
- Capability roadmaps will be “integrated” in a final APIO effort on May 16-20.
- All SR documents will be available shortly on NASA’s web site.

## R&A plus GO Funding

- HST

- CXO

- SST

- R&A

## Universe Division Theory Funding

*(Units $M)*

## R&A Theory Split

*(Units $M)*

## R&A Re-alignment Options

- Total investment in Theory of $14M (ATP, BEFS, APRA, HST, Chandra, Spitzer, TPF/ Origins Solar System) is ~15% total R&A + DA budget, and ~25% of the R&A budget.
- Example Options for incrementing ATP by $3M are as follows.
- Overall reduction of 10% to technology development programs across all wavelengths (suborbital, detector development, supporting technology, laboratory astrophysics, ground based), and origins of solar systems research.
- Eliminate 2 balloon payloads (1 cosmic rays, 1 gamma rays), 2 detector programs (1 IR, 1 UV), 3 Lab Astro projects.
- Slow down work by reducing funding for 4 balloon payloads, 6 detector programs, 6 Lab Astro projects.
*** ******Potential*** ***Impact:**** Loss of 3 to 4 groups in affected technology areas, or slow down of work in several areas.   Could cause laboratories at Universities and NASA Centers to close.  Laboratory data required for interpreting space based spectroscopic data will not be available. *
***CAA Recommendation: “****The theory challenges should be planned and budgeted as an integral part of the project or mission.  The funds should be allocated through open competition in the national community rather than as add-ons to observational or instrumentation grants or contracts, and under no circumstances should they divert funds from existing grants programs for broadly based theory.”*

## Divisional Personnel Changes

- Leaving:
- Phil Crane, Navigator Program Scientist
- Lou Kaluzienski (1 year detail to GSFC)
- Paul Hertz, SMD AAA for Science
- Joining:
- Steve Ridgway, from NOAO
- Pamela Marcum, from TCU
- Ron Hellings, from Montana State U. (Theory IPA)