APD Responses to Decadal
The following table provides a snapshot of Astrophysics Division accomplishments and plans in response to the 2020 decadal survey “Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s”. We employ the shorthand notation used in the report’s tables S-1 through S-6 for the recommendation name. The column titled APD Response briefly indicates the current plan or strategy for that recommendation. The final two columns list where documentation for the APD action can be found and when the next update on that recommendation will be reported if appropriate.
| Brief Recommendation Description (from report Tables S-1 through S-6) | APD Response | Latest Action Date/Community Update Links | Next Planned Action Date/Community Update |
| Faculty diversity and early career faculty awards | APD may seek new initiatives through the FY25 budget process | Release of President’s FY25 Budget Request for NASA (Mar 2024) | |
| Workforce development/diversity, bridge programs and minority serving institutions partnerships | APD will participate in the SMD bridge program | Call for SMD Bridge Seed Funding 4/24/2023 | SMD Bridge: Seed grant 4th call and 1st full-bridge call expected no earlier than 09/24 |
| Undergraduate and graduate "traineeship" funding | APD may seek new initiatives through the FY25 budget process | Release of President’s FY25 Budget Request for NASA (Mar 2024) | |
| Independent postdoc fellowship | NASA supports postdoctoral researchers through its Hubble Fellowships and the NASA Postdoctoral Program | See the Hubble Fellowship Report | Winter AAS243 meeting charts |
| Treat discrimination and harassment as professional misconduct | The NASA Office of the Chief Scientist preparing to publish agency-wide policy update on this topic | OSTP has reviewed and approved agency policy NASA Policy Directive No. 1920 (NPD1920) | Online publication of NPD 1920 expected Q1 2024. |
| Collecting, evaluating and reporting demographic data and indicators pertaining to equitable outcomes | Regular reports for R&A program demographics are presented at Astrophysics Advisory Council (APAC) meetings as well as Winter and Summer AAS meetings | See charts presented at 10/19-20/2023 APAC meeting Summary of the 2022 Annapolis NASA TDAMM Workshop APD Technology Development / Small Mission Balance TDAMM Initiative and ACROSS Pilot Project | Winter AAS243 meeting charts |
| Establish community astronomy model for observatory sites | IRTF participating through Maunakea Observatories, Cultural Heritage of Maunakea | ||
| Mitigation of radio-frequency and optical interference from sources including satellite constellations | The NASA Science Mission Directorate monitors and mitigates risks for the agency associated with satellite constellation interactions with NASA science missions. This ongoing effort includes monitoring the increased danger from satellite conjunctions, satellites in the field of view for celestial observations, and interference from satellites that fly under active-sensing Earth-observing missions (e.g., laser and lidar). | ||
| Climate change mitigations actions | The Astrophysics Division is guided by the NASA Climate Action plan. Additionally, most proposal reviews are conducted remotely, reducing travel requirements for thousands of reviewers annually. Almost all NASA meetings for projects and missions have hybrid participation. | ||
| Compile and regularly report on proposal submissions and success rates | R&A submission and success rates reported regularly at APAC and AAS meetings. | See charts presented at 6/27-28/2023 APAC meeting Summary of the 2022 Annapolis NASA TDAMM Workshop APD Technology Development / Small Mission Balance TDAMM Initiative and ACROSS Pilot Project | Winter AAS243 meeting charts |
| Augmentation and restoration of annual proposal call for ATP | Plans reflected in budget requests | ||
| Improve coordination among U.S. data centers supported by NSF and NASA | NASA and NSF are planning an initial workshop on the topic | "The Future of Astrophysical Data Infrastructure” workshop was held Feb 13-16. A ‘Roadmap’ report is available. A Windows on the Universe meeting was held Oct 16-18, 2023 and the resulting white paper is available. | Future, more specialized workshops on each stage of the Data Lifecycle are being organized. |
| Augmentation and improved coordination of laboratory astrophysics funding | Joint Laboratory Astrophysics study with NSF | Joint Laboratory Astrophysics study report | NASA and NSF will coordinate a report response, Fall 2024 |
| End SOFIA operations by 2023 | SOFIA operations ended | NASA's Press Release 9/29/2022 | Action complete |
| Augmentation to NASA R&A program | Plans reflected in budget requests | See Fiscal 2024 President's Budget Request for NASA | Winter AAS243 meeting charts |
| Continue SAT program and expand eligibility to Explorer and Probe mission development | SAT program will continue but will not cover Explorer programs by design. Explorer mission technology development is funded through the APRA program. | Action complete | |
| Review balloon program for optimal balance | Balloon Program review process begun. Final report due 3/2024 | See charts presented at 10/19-20/2023 APAC meeting Summary of the 2022 Annapolis NASA TDAMM Workshop APD Technology Development / Small Mission Balance TDAMM Initiative and ACROSS Pilot Project | Winter AAS243 meeting charts |
| Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation program | First flagship to enter this process underway | HWO Website | Winter AAS meeting charts |
| Near-IR/Opt/UV telescope with high-contrast imaging capability | (part of HWO) | ||
| TDAMM | APD formulating plans for how its current and future programs will enhance the community's capability to perform time domain and multi-messenger astrophysics | See charts presented at 10/19-20/2023 APAC meeting Summary of the 2022 Annapolis NASA TDAMM Workshop APD Technology Development / Small Mission Balance TDAMM Initiative and ACROSS Pilot Project | Winter AAS243 meeting charts |
| Probe Missions Program | Probe Announcement of Opportunity issued | Proposals Received November 16, 2023 | CSRs due Dec. 18, 2025 |
