2016 Senior Review of Operating Missions

The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) conducts independent, comparative reviews of operating missions within each division to maximize the scientific return from these missions within finite resources. NASA uses the findings from the Senior Review to define an implementation strategy and give programmatic direction to the missions and projects concerned through the next four fiscal years.

The 2016 Astrophysics Senior Review was conducted in February and March, 2016. As in the 2014 Senior Review, there were individual panels for the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory that were separate from the main comparative panel. Both the Hubble and Chandra reviews were undertaken as incremental reviews from those held in 2014. For additional information on the review process, please see the Call for Proposals document below:

Call for Proposals (PDF)


The panel reports and the NASA Response document for the 2016 Senior Review are provided below. For prior Senior Review Reports, please visit the Astrophysics Documents page.

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The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

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