TheAstronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey is a review ofastronomy andastrophysics literature produced approximately every ten years by theNational Research Council of theNational Academy of Sciences in the United States. The report surveys the current state of the field, identifies research priorities, and makes recommendations for the coming decade. Thedecadal survey represents the recommendations of the research community to governmental agencies on how to prioritize scientific funding within astronomy and astrophysics. The editing committee is informed by topical panels and subcommittees, dedicatedconferences, and direct community input in the form ofwhite papers summarizing the state of the art in each subdiscipline. The most recent report, Astro2020, was released in 2021.[1][2][3][4]
The first report,Ground-Based Astronomy: A Ten-Year Program, was released in 1964.[5] The authoring committee was chaired byAlbert Whitford. The report recommends construction of national observing facilities, including especially mid-sized ground-based optical telescopes.[6][7]
The second report,Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1970s, was released in 1972.[8] The committee was chaired byJesse L. Greenstein. It recommends priorities for both space- and ground-based programs, and was instrumental in the eventual construction of theVery Large Array.[6][7]
The third report,Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1980s, was released in 1982.[7] The committee was chaired byGeorge B. Field. It recommended the launch of the "Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility", which was realized in 1999 as theChandra X-ray Observatory.[9] It also identified construction of theVery Long Baseline Array as a priority, in addition to briefly mentioning theHubble Space Telescope (before it received that name) and the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (laterSpitzer).[6]
The fourth report,The Decade of Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics, was released in 1991.[10] The committee was chaired byJohn N. Bahcall. It recommended the launch of the "Space Infrared Telescope Facility", realized in 2003 as theSpitzer Space Telescope,[11] the fourth and final in NASA'sGreat Observatories program.
The fifth report,Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium, was released in 2001.[12] The committee was co-chaired byChristopher McKee andJoseph H. Taylor. It gives highest priority to the construction and launch of Next Generation Space Telescope, now known as theJames Webb Space Telescope which launched on 25 December 2021.[13] The report reaffirms the 1991 recommendation for the completion of the Millimeter Array, now part of theAtacama Large Millimeter Array international collaboration. It also examines the benefits of a robust astronomy research program to the nation, and expresses concern regarding the percentage of funding tied to a few large projects.[14]
The sixth report,New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, was released in 2010. The committee was chaired byRoger D. Blandford. Recommendations for scientific questions to be answered include: the nature ofdark energy; the structure, distribution, and evolution ofexoplanetary systems; detailed examination of extreme processes includingsupernovae and the merger of superdense objects; and how galaxies and galaxy clusters formed from the early hot universe.[15]: 7 The report also examines technical readiness, scheduling, and funding issues as well as basic science. The recommendations consider a range of funding scenarios based on projected budgets for the major funding agencies,NASA, theNational Science Foundation, and theDepartment of Energy. The top priorities identified by the report include:
Other priorities includeLaser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) for measuringgravitational waves andInternational X-ray Observatory for investigating black holes and the evolution oflarge scale structure in the universe. The report also recommends augmenting theExplorer program for small and medium-sized missions with rapid turnaround and high scientific return, and the creation of a Midscale Innovations Program within theNational Science Foundation for funding projects in the $4–135 million range.[15][17]
The seventh report, released to the public at 11 am ET on Thursday, November 4, 2021, recommended scientific priorities and investments for the next decade to help achieve the following primary goals: search forhabitable exoplanets andextraterrestrial life, studyblack holes andneutron stars and study thegrowth and evolution of galaxies. The top priority recommended to the NSF was to combine theThirty Meter Telescope andGiant Magellan Telescope programs into one United States Extremely Large Telescope program. The top priority recommended to NASA was to establish a new Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation program that would conduct studies into 2030s-launched telescopes, with ahybrid ofLUVOIR (successor to Hubble) andHabEx (successor to Spitzer) as the first major project with an estimated cost of US$11 billion, to be followed by cheaperfar-infrared astronomy andX-ray astronomy designs (theOrigins Space Telescope andLynx X-ray Observatory) with an estimated cost from US$3 billion to US$5 billion each.[18][19][1] NASA formally endorsed and initiated the plans in 2024.[20][21]
