Reference Information

NASA's Heliophysics Division delivered supplemental information as input to the 2024 Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey Committee. The purpose of the deliveries was to provide the Decadal Survey Committee and its panels with programmatic context to inform their discussions and eventual recommendations. These documents contain high-level, non-exhaustive descriptions, and identify where NASA could provide additional information upon request.

The deliveries describe the current state of NASA Heliophysics’ programs, on-going work, and future plans. Some of the documents were promised by the Statement of Task package, some respond to findings and recommendations in the Decadal Survey Mid-term Assessment, and others contain programmatic information that recent decadal surveys suggest that the Committee may request or require.

The goal of the Heliophysics Division’s preparation activities is to provide information to the Decadal Survey Committee that would benefit their production of effective and implementable recommendations.

Any questions about NASA Heliophysics’ preparation for the Decadal Survey should be directed to Jared Leisner.

NASA, NSF, and NOAA are supporting community discussions in preparation for participating in the decadal survey process. These center around the Heliophysics 2050 Workshop, where the community will discuss the scientific topics that will enable the field to advance and expand in the next and following decades.

Both before and after Workshop, the community is encouraged to participate in medium-group discussions. Before, these will prime topics that will be more fully discussed at the Workshop. After, they will pull at the threads identified at the Workshop and develop those ideas for incorporation into decadal survey white papers.

To enable the decadal survey’s multi-decadal strategy and the role of NASA’s spaceflight missions in that strategy, NASA is supporting community-conducted discussions and studies into architecture of and missions for the Solar Terrestrial Probes and Living With a Star programs.

NASEM and NASA's Science Mission Directorate have produced a series of webinars in preparation for the upcoming Astrophysics and Planetary Science decadal surveys. NASA's Heliophysics Division and NASEM have plans to continue those webinars in order to help the solar and space physics community likewise prepare for the next heliophysics decadal survey.

Topics of these webinars focused on the decadal survey process, the writing and use of decadal white papers, and the nomination and selection process for the Decadal Survey Committee. The topics in preparation for the solar and space physics decadal survey have not been finalized, but are likely to build off those previous webinars.

These webinars are likely to be conducted in the early-2021 timeframe. Details on these webinars are being developed and, once settled, will be posted here and published via community announcements.

NASA is working with the Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP) ahead of the decadal survey initiation. These discussions focus on what work NASA Heliophysics can do early to help the decadal survey later.

The two currently planned topics of discussion are: ​

Please email Jared Leisner with any questions.