The following excerpt is from the NASA website:
“WASHINGTON -- NASA has received the National Research Council (NRC)
report "NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities," which
provides the agency with findings and recommendations on where best
to invest in technologies needed to enable NASA's future missions in
space. The NRC report will help define NASA's technology development
priorities in the years to come.
One year ago, NASA provided 14 draft space technology area roadmaps to
the NRC and asked the council to examine and prioritize technologies
for the agency. The technologies were prioritized in each of the 14
areas and then across all categories.
The report finalizes the NRC's review and identifies 16 top-priority
technologies necessary for NASA's future missions, which also could
benefit American aerospace industries and the nation. The 16 were
chosen by the NRC from its own ranking of 83 high-priority
technologies out of approximately 300 identified in the roadmaps.
"The report strongly reaffirms the vital importance of technology
development to enable the agency's future missions and grow the
nation's new technology economy," said Mason Peck, chief technologist
at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The report confirms the value of
our technology development strategy to date. NASA currently invests
in all of the highest-priority technologies and will study the report
and adjust its investment portfolio as needed."
The technology priorities the report identifies are aligned with NASA
missions to extend and sustain human activities beyond low Earth
orbit, explore the evolution of the solar system and the potential
for life elsewhere, and expand our un¬derstanding of Earth and the
universe in which we live.
The report observes that "technological breakthroughs have been the
foundation of virtually every NASA success. In addition,
technological advances have yielded benefits far beyond space itself
in down-to-Earth applications." It also states "future U.S.
leadership in space requires a foundation of sustained technology
advances."
During the coming months, NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist will
lead an agency-wide analysis and coordination effort to update the 14
technology area roadmaps with the NRC report's findings and
recommendations.
To review a copy of the report, visit:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13354 “
