Administering and managing the u.s. And soviet space programs

This raises a fundamental question about the management, in its largest sense, of the U.S. space program and the other activities undertaken in response to the Sputnik experience. Has the whole operation represented but another highly successful one-shot exercise in crisis management, or has it represented incorporation into American society of a new way to organize, systematically and purposefully, the development and use of scientific and technological resources to the furtherance of national goals? It is too early to discern the answer to this question. But how it is answered will heavily weight any final appraisal of the comparative results of the U.S. and Soviet space programs.     

Planetary Contamination II: Soviet and U.S. Practices and Policies

The accompanying article of Horo witz et al. concluded with the view that the COSPAR recommendations re garding Mars should be adjusted to re flect new environmental information. Specifically, it was concluded that viable terrestrial microorganisms which are transported to Mars inside solid components in sealed spaces have a low probability of being released to the sur face or atmosphere, and that, if any are released, they are not likely to in fect the planet. We suggest, in addition, that both the COSPAR recommenda tions and U.S. planetary quarantine policy should be altered to take into account past and continuing Soviet prac tice regarding the. exploration of Mars and Venus. No amount of analysis by COSPAR, or of costly, self-imposed restrictions by the U.S. on its own planetary exploration program, can reduce the probability of contamination of either Venus or Mars below what the Soviets have already made it, or will make it as they continue their large planetary effort. All that U.S. policy can accomplish is to insure that U.S. efforts do not significantly increase the probability above that level. Any rec ommended policy which would require the U.S. to apply significantly more stringent restrictions is illogical in that, in effect, the U.S. would be asked to increase greatly the cost and complexity of its planetary program without achieving any significant reduction in the probability of actual contamination. There exists some parallelism be tween the problem of planetary quaran tine and that of radioactive fallout from atmospheric nuclear testing, al though the desirable solution to the quarantine problem is not merely to stop all activity. Both are multilateral problems, and individual national policy necessarily must reflect the policy of other nations. Thus, the real questions that must be faced by COSPAR, and by the U.S., are, (i) What is the prob able number of viable terrestrial micro organisms alreadyr transported to Venus and to Mars? and (ii) What is the to tal number to be expected in the next decade or so from foreseeable Soviet efforts alone? Then COSPAR can rec ommend, and the U.S. can decide, that the total U.S. contribution should be equal to some specified fraction of the total present and future Soviet contribu tion. This approach in turn suggests that every effort should be made to induce the Soviets to supply additional de tails on the Zond 2 and Venus 3 mis sion and trajectory and, particularly, on the procedure used for sterilizing the components and assembly of both space craft. With such information, the proba ble number of viable terrestrial microor ganisms deposited on Venus and Mars could be estimated well enough to per mit a. realistic quantitative analysis of what U.S. policy and practice should be. However, if more complete informa tion on Soviet practice cannot be ob tained, then, it seems to us, the U.S. has no logical alternative but to per mit greater engineering freedom in lander delivery technique and to ac cept gaseous and other nonthermal sterilization procedures, where neces sary, in its own program. By relying on the demonstrated U.S. spacecraft reliability to insure that the U.S. con tribution to planetary contamination will remain significantly less than the Soviet contribution, we could reduce significantly the cost and time required to carry out serious scientific investiga tions of the surfaces of Venus and Mars.     

U.s.-European cooperation in space science: a 25-year perspective

In the past 25 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has engaged in a range of cooperative activities in space with other countries and international organizations, most of the scientific interactions being with Europe. The character of U.S.-European cooperation in space science is changing as a result of the increased maturity and level of space capability which Europe is bringing to the partnership; the consequent addition of a competitive dimension to the relationship; the increasing cost of space science missions; and the relative scarcity of funds available for space science. A number of issues flow from the current situation, but in general the outlook is for continued productive cooperation between the United States and Europe in space science..     

Astronomy. Laser telemetry from space

Space missions currently on the drawing boards are expected to gather data at rates exceeding the transmission capabilities of today's telemetry systems by many orders of magnitude. Even on current missions, onboard data compression techniques are being implemented to compensate for lack of transmission speed. But while data compression can minimize the loss of data, it is no substitute for transmitting all of the data through a faster communications link. The transmission problem will soon reach crisis proportions and will affect astronomical, Earth resources, geophysical, meteorological, planetary and other space science missions. To overcome this communications bottleneck, the authors advocate the implementation of telemetry systems based on near-infrared laser transmission techniques. The fiber-optics communications industry has developed most of the basic components required for signal transmission in this wavelength band, which should make such a system affordable on scales relevant to the cost of anticipated space science missions.     

HISTORY OF SCIENCE: Science and Sputnik

Sputnik led to an energetic U.S. space program and new discoveries about the cosmos.     

“农业面源和重金属污染农田综合防治与修复技术研发”专项组织实施进展分析

按照国家科技计划管理改革的整体部署,国家重点研发计划启动了"农业面源和重金属污染农田综合防治与修复技术研发"重点专项。按照"基础研究、共性关键技术研发、技术集成创新研究与示范"全链条设计、一体化实施,专项聚焦产业发展问题,为实现农业面源和重金属污染农田有效防治、农业生态环境健康和农产品质量安全有效提升的多重目标提供科技支撑。通过介绍农业面源专项的整体情况,分析目前专项组织实施的最新进展,总结专项管理机制方面的实践探索,以期为有关科研人员和行业部门提供参考。     

Science's Role in the World Health Organization

One hears often of the financial contributions made by the United States to the support of activities within the U.N. system, but much less frequently about benefits obtained. A particular instance of the latter is worth citing. An analysis was recently made by N.W. Axnick and J.M. Lane (3) of the costs associated with the protection of the United States against smallpox in 1968. This was estimated to be $153.8 million, of which $0.7 million was contributed to WHO specially earmarked for its smallpox eradication program, and $3 million in U.S. bilateral assistance to 19 countries in West Africa. Ihe success of the WHO-directed smallpox eradication program throughout the world has resulted in a 1972 decision by U.S. authorities to discontinue routine vaccination of the general population and of smallpox vaccination requirements for international travel to smallpox-free countries, which was estimated to involve economic costs of $135.7 million during 1968. The total current U.S. contribution (1972) to all activities of WHO is $27.6 million. Thus it will be seen that very substantial savings, probably exceding $100 million annually, wili accrue to the United States from the work of WHO on smallpox alone.     

The space shuttle program: a policy failure?

The 5 January 1972 announcement by President Richard Nixon that the United States would develop during the 1970's a new space transportation system-the space shuttle-has had fundamental impacts on the character of U.S. space activities. In retrospect, it can be argued that the shuttle design chosen was destined to fail to meet many of the policy objectives established for the system; the shuttle's problems in serving as the primary launch vehicle for the United States and in providing routine and cost-effective space transportation are in large part a result of the ways in which compromises were made in the 1971-72 period in order to gain White House and congressional approval to proceed with the program. The decision to develop a space shuttle is an example of a poor quality national commitment to a major technological undertaking.     

Food production and the energy crisis

The principal raw material of modern U.S. agriculture is fossil fuel, whereas the labor input is relatively small (about 9 hours per crop acre). As agriculture is dependent upon fossil energy, crop production costs will also soar when fuel costs increase two- to fivefold. A return of 2.8 kcal of corn per 1 kcal of fuel input may then be uneconomical. Green revolution agriculture also uses high energy crop production technology, especially with respect to fertilizers and pesticides. While one may not doubt the sincerity of the U.S. effort to share its agricultural technology so that the rest of the world can live and eat as it does, one must be realistic about the resources available to accomplish this mission. In the United States we are currently using an equivalent of 80 gallons of gasoline to produce an acre of corn. With fuel shortages and high prices to come, we wonder if many developing nations will be able to afford the technology of U.S. agriculture. Problems have already occurred with green revolution crops, particularly problems related to pests (57). More critical problems are expected when there is a world energy crisis. A careful assessment should be made of the benefits, costs, and risks of high energy-demand green revolution agriculture in order to be certain that this program will not aggravate the already serious world food situation (58). To reduce energy inputs, green revolution and U.S. agriculture might employ such alternatives as rotations and green manures to reduce the high energy demand of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. U.S. agriculture might also reduce energy expenditures by substituting some manpower currently displaced by mechanization. While no one knows for certain what changes will have to be made, we can be sure that when conventional energy resources become scarce and expensive, the impact on agriculture as an industry and a way of life will be significant. This analysis is but a preliminary investigation of a significant agricultural problem that deserves careful attention and greater study before the energy situation becomes more critical.     

Rifkin takes aim at USDA animal research

Jeremy Rifkin has filed a lawsuit to block U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) experiments involving the transfer of human growth hormone genes into sheep and pigs, which he rejects on environmental, economic, and ethical grounds. His real target is the Department's animal breeding program; his ultimate aim is "to establish the principle that there should be no crossing of species barriers in animals." USDA officials have not yet responded to the lawsuit but they intend to continue the experiments, which they consider crucial to the progress of research, until told to stop.     

Erratum

The briefing "GAO points up military use of shuttle" (News and Comment, 14 May, p. 717) states that Defense Department missions will occupy 49 percent of the space shuttle's flights over the next 3 years. The percentage is correctly applied to total missions during the next 13 years.     

SPACE SCIENCE: Europe Set to Work on Hubble's Replacement

NASA scientists and engineers working on the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) got a boost from across the Atlantic last week. On 15 September in Paris, the European Space Agency's top science advisory committee recommended that the agency become a major partner in the project. The recommendation puts NGST--along with a handful of other missions the committee also endorsed last week--one short step away from officially becoming part of Europe's space program.     

Bioterrorism. DOD retreats on plan for anthrax vaccine

Anthrax bacterium, once the deadly scourge of goat-hair workers, has become the bane of the U.S. defense establishment. Without infecting a single soldier, it has created a logistical headache for the Pentagon, as military contractors have fallen far short of supplying a vaccine that will protect all troops and be acceptable to health authorities. Last week military officials were forced to beat a hasty retreat in their current efforts, raising the hackles of legislators who already had serious doubts about the program.     

Are we winning the war against posttraumatic stress disorder?

The most methodologically rigorous epidemiological study on American military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan found that 4.3% of troops developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among deployed combatants, 7.6% developed PTSD, whereas 1.4% of deployed noncombatants did so. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a program ensuring that all veterans with PTSD will receive evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy, and the Army has developed Battlemind postdeployment early interventions that reduce risk for the disorder.     

中美农业技术进步贡献率比较分析与展望

作为衡量经济增长方式的主要方法,全要素生产率对经济增长贡献大小的核算已成为学界的研究热点,与之相关的实证方法有增长核算法、随机前沿法和DEA-Malmquist生产率指数法。利用3种实证方法和FAO数据库中1980—2007年中美农业相关数据,考察了中关农业技术进步情况,通过对技术进步贡献率的比较分析,找出中关农业技术进步的差距,为中国农业发展指明方向。     

Mining the apollo and amor asteroids

Earth-approaching asteroids could provide raw materials for space manufacturing. For certain asteroids the total energy per unit mass for the transfer of asteroidal resources to a manufacturing site in high Earth orbit is comparable to that for lunar materials. For logistical reasons the cost may be many times less. Optical studies suggest that these asteroids have compositions corresponding to those of carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites, with some containing large quantities of iron and nickel; others are thought to contain carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen, elements that appear to be lacking on the moon. The prospect that several new candidate asteroids will be discovered over the next few years increases the likelihood that a variety of asteroidal resource materials can be retrieved on low-energy missions.     

Marine science and the 1974 law of the sea conference

More intensive and varied use of the oceans and their resources requires a more comprehensive legal reégime than previously. Three years of preparatory work have been completed leading toward the Law of the Sea Conference that opened on 20 June in Caracas, Venezuela. Although the details of the new reégime are still to be negotiated, it appears certain that the coastal nations will gain some form of jurisdiction over the fisheries and mineral resources off their shores. It is probable that a new "economic zone" will be established between a relatively narrow (12-mile) territorial sea and the international ocean space beyond. If, as seems likely, this economic zone is 200 miles wide, it will encompass some 37 percent of the ocean as shown in Fig. 1. Unless the scientific community can gather more support than it has to date, it seems probable that scientific research within this economic zone will only be possible with the consent of the coastal nation. The United States has proposed a compromise solution which attempts to balance the interests of the scientific community with those of the coastal state. Under the U.S. proposal, a research group abiding by certain specific obligations to the coastal state would be free to carry out its research activities without obtaining explicit consent from the coastal state. To date the U.S. proposal has received little official support from any nation, even from nations with major oceanographic interests.     

美苏农业生产比较研究

本文将美国和苏联自50年代以来的农业生产进行了初步的比较研究。总的讲来,苏联的农业落后于美国.除自然条件和某些技术外,最主要的原因是苏联的农业政策和组织管理都过于刻板,过份强调集中计划而忽略生产者的自决权.文章最后提及近年来苏联对农业进行改革已初见成效.只要坚持改革,苏联的农业前景将有所改观。     

Genomics. Plant biology in 2010

The completion of the Arabidopsis sequence will be followed by a new ten-year project that will determine the function of all angiosperm genes. Funding for the U.S. component of this multinational project will originate from a new initiative from the U.S. National Science Foundation called the 2010 Project. Progress toward completion of this ambitious project will necessitate significant changes in how the plant biology community selects and approaches research objectives. The plan envisions that the project will facilitate the development of a computational model of a virtual plant that will allow predictive queries about basic mechanisms underlying plant growth and development.     

Myths and realities of u.s. Competitiveness

Most discussion of U.S. competitiveness misstates the problem, focusing on the trade deficit and on fears that an economy whose productivity lags that of its rivals will face economic disaster. In fact, strong automatic forces ensure that the U.S. economy will remain in business and indeed roughly balance its trade even if its productivity performance is dismal. The real issue is the effect of international competition on the mix of goods that the U.S. economy produces. In some industries high productivity is an effect as well as a cause of international competitiveness. There is an intellectually respectable but politically problematic case for government action to create or preserve advantage in such industries.