Space Policy Edition: Did NASA Ace its Midterms? With Special Guest Louise Prockter

We talk with planetary scientist and Lunar and Planetary Institute Director Louise Prockter, who co-led creation of a new report evaluating the performance of NASA's planetary science division. This comes five years after the release of the influential decadal survey. Given the massive budget cuts over the past few years, how did NASA do? Where do these reports come from and who puts them together? Why are they important? All will be answered in this month’s SPE! We also look into the report-within-a-report on the status of the robotic Mars Exploration Program, and find some recommendations that appear to have been inspired by a 2017 Planetary Society report.

Related Reading and References:

• Dr. Louise Prockter's Bio
• Visions into Voyages for Planetary Sciences in the Decade 2012-2023: A mid-term review [pdf]
• It's midterm evaluation time for NASA's planetary program (planetary.org)
• National Academies: NASA needs a plan for Mars (planetary.org)
• Mars in Retrograde: A Pathway to Restoring NASA’s Mars Exploration Program [pdf], The Planetary Society
• Pentagon Still Faces Possible CR, Even Government Shutdown (rollcall.com)
• Register for the 2019 congressional visits with The Planetary Society
• Enroll in Space Advocacy 101