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What’s Ahead
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| An illustration of NASA’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars using a parachute and skycrane maneuver. Perseverance is set to touch down on Thursday. (Image credit – NASA) |
Perseverance Rover Arrives at Mars
Following a half-year journey from Earth, NASA’s Perseverance rover is arriving at Mars on Thursday and will immediately attempt a landing that employs the same parachute and skycrane maneuver that the Curiosity rover used in 2012. On Mars, Perseverance will investigate the Jezero Crater, a location believed to have once been covered in water, and it will search for signs that life existed there. The rover will also deploy a helicopter called Ingenuity as a technology demonstration and cache samples for a future mission to collect and return to Earth. The mission cost $2.4 billion to develop and its prime phase will last through June 2023, though it could ultimately be extended for up to the lifespan of Perseverance’s radioisotope power source, which is expected to last at least 14 years. NASA is holding a series of events this week to promote the landing, and the Department of Energy is hosting an event on Tuesday to discuss its role in the mission. Two other missions that were also launched last summer arrived at Mars last week: the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter and China’s Tianwen-1 mission, which is in orbit and will deploy a rover to the surface at a later date.
Report on Pathway to US Fusion Pilot Plant Set for Release
The National Academies is hosting a webinar on Wednesday to mark the release of a report outlining scientific and technological steps that are required to develop a fusion pilot plant capable of generating electricity by 2040. The report is a follow-on to the Academies’ 2019 study on burning plasma research, which recommended the U.S. initiate an R&D program to develop a compact fusion pilot plant at the “lowest possible capital cost.” A 10 year strategic plan recently released by the Department of Energy’s fusion advisory committee also endorses the goal of building a pilot plant by the 2040s and recommends DOE pivot its research program towards developing fusion reactor materials and technologies. The committee formally transmitted the plan to DOE earlier this month after incorporating revisions to a draft version it approved in December.
Senate Settles on Science Agency Appropriators
The Senate Appropriations Committee has announced the rosters of its 12 subcommittees, which together draft the annual spending legislation for the federal government. Among the changes bearing on science agency budgets, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) is now ranking Republican on the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Department of Energy, replacing Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), a vocal advocate for DOE who retired last year. With the Senate now under Democratic control, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is taking over from Alexander as subcommittee chair. In addition, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) will chair the Interior-Environment subcommittee, which funds the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Geological Survey, taking over as top Democrat from retired Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM). Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is shifting from chair to ranking member. Due to a power-sharing agreement within the Democratic caucus, Sen. John Tester (D-MT) is now chairing the subcommittee for the Department of Defense, which currently spends more than $100 billion per year on research, development, and testing activities, taking over from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) as the top Democrat. Aside from the switch in party control, leadership is unchanged for the subcommittees that have jurisdiction over the National Institutes of Health, NASA, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
House Science Committee Shifts Into Gear
The House Science Committee is undertaking its first public business of the new legislative session this week, holding an organizational meeting on Thursday and its first hearing on Friday, addressing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Last week, its Democratic majority announced the rosters for its five subcommittees. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) will now chair the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, which has exclusive jurisdiction over NASA, and freshman Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) will lead the Energy Subcommittee, which oversees the Energy Department’s non-defense R&D programs. Former Fermilab physicist Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) is returning as chair of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) will continue to chair the Environment Subcommittee, which oversees research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Environmental Protection Agency as well as climate change research generally. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) will again chair the Research and Technology Subcommittee, which oversees the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Standards and Technology as well as STEM education and innovation policy, and she will also serve as vice chair of the full committee.
The Republican minority also announced its lead subcommittee members last week. Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX) and Randy Weber (R-TX) return as the respective ranking members of the Space Subcommittee and Energy Subcommittee. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) replaces Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) as chair of the Research and Technology Subcommittee and freshman Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) is the new ranking member of the Environment Subcommittee, replacing Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who was elected to the Senate. Freshman Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) replaces Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) as chair of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee. More updates on changes to legislative and executive branch positions can be found at FYI’s Federal Science Leadership Tracker.
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In Case You Missed It
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| The HL-LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project magnets, which use conductors made of niobium-tin, are capable of generating a stronger magnetic field compared to predecessor technology. (Image credit – Dan Cheng / Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) |
Large Hadron Collider Upgrade Project Gets DOE Go-Ahead
The Department of Energy has given the green light for construction to commence on an upgrade to the accelerator system of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The upgrade will increase the number of particle collisions the accelerator can produce by a factor of 10 by using stronger magnets and niobium “crab cavities” that increase the likelihood of collisions. Although installation of the upgrade will not start until 2025, the administrative milestone will allow work on components to move ahead at full speed. CERN estimates that the material costs of the entire project will be in the range of $1 billion, and DOE’s contribution to the upgrade is expected to cost $243 million, though the department has indicated that figure could increase due to pandemic-related disruptions. In addition to the accelerator upgrade, DOE and the National Science Foundation are also supporting associated upgrades to the collider’s ATLAS and CMS detectors, which do not yet have a baseline cost. The upgraded facility is expected to start operations by the end of 2027.
David Turk Nominated as Deputy Energy Secretary
Last week, President Biden announced he is nominating David Turk to be deputy secretary of the Department of Energy. Turk, who has a law degree, was a member of the agency review team for DOE during the presidential transition period and has been serving as deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency, where he has worked since 2016. During the Obama administration, he was DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for international climate and technology and helped develop Mission Innovation, an initiative launched in concert with the Paris agreement that called on participants to multiply their energy R&D funding. Before that, Turk served at the State Department as deputy special envoy for climate change, focusing on crafting a range of bilateral and multilateral partnerships to combat climate change.
White House Advances ‘ARPA-Climate’ Concept
Last week, the White House announced it has created an interagency “Climate Innovation Working Group” to advance President Biden’s campaign proposal to establish a “cross-agency” Advanced Research Projects Agency focused on mitigating climate change, or ARPA–C. The White House listed 10 technology areas the working group will focus on, which encompass efforts in energy efficiency and storage, carbon mitigation, and alternative fuels. The group will be co-chaired by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, and the newly formed Office of Domestic Climate Policy. The White House coordinated its announcement of the working group with the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy’s latest “open” solicitation for technology development grant proposals, which allows applicants to advance ideas that fall outside the agency’s more focused programs. Its last open solicitation took place in 2018, awarding $199 million to 77 projects.
Europa Clipper Switching to Commercial Rocket
Europa Clipper project scientist Robert Pappalardo affirmed at an advisory group meeting last week that the mission will launch using a commercial rocket rather than NASA’s in-development Space Launch System. Congress gave the agency the option to use a commercial vehicle in its latest appropriation, relaxing prior firm direction to use SLS, and in January NASA issued a request for information from companies offering launch services. The agency had repeatedly sought leeway to use an alternative because it plans to use all available SLS rockets in its lunar exploration program and because the switch would save the mission more than $1.5 billion. However, using SLS was a priority for some members of Congress, including Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who is the Senate’s top Republican appropriator and represents the state where the SLS is produced. They had justified the move as reducing the flight time to under three years, accelerating exploration of Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter with a subsurface ocean that could be hospitable to life. NASA is now seeking a rocket that will be ready for a launch window opening in October 2024 and can propel the Clipper along a trajectory that will bring it to the Jupiter system in 2030, commencing an investigative program spanning dozens of fly-bys.
Nuclear Propulsion Needs Boost If Wanted for Mars Mission
The National Academies released a report last week that concludes NASA must “invigorate” its investment in space nuclear propulsion technology if the agency hopes to use it for a notional crewed mission to Mars in 2039. The report finds that an aggressive development program could produce a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system in time for such a mission, preceded by testing on cargo missions beginning in 2033. It concludes that steeper challenges face nuclear electric propulsion (NEP), stating, “As a result of low and intermittent investment over the past several decades, it is unclear if even an aggressive program would be able to develop an NEP system capable of executing the baseline mission in 2039.” Nevertheless, the report recommends NASA advance both systems in parallel. Congress has recently favored NTP, appropriating $110 million for it this fiscal year despite NASA’s request for flexibility to use the funds on NEP and nuclear surface power projects. The report was produced by an 11 member committee co-chaired by Robert Braun of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Roger Myers, a former aerospace executive. The Academies is holding a briefing on the report next Monday.
Pandemic Relief Bill Advances Over Republican Objections
A roughly $2 trillion pandemic relief package continued to wind its way through Congress last week, with several committees advancing legislative proposals for inclusion in the final bill. On a party-line vote, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved its contribution to the package, which would provide nearly $100 billion for vaccines, testing and contact tracing, and efforts to address health disparities. The House Science Committee did not hold a hearing on how to allocate its $750 million share of the package, drawing criticism from committee Republicans. Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) argued that committee members have a responsibility to weigh in on how the funds should be spent, adding that he is committed to advancing relief measures such as the bipartisan Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act, which calls for about $25 billion to be allocated for mitigating disruptions to researchers and their projects. Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee attempted to secure funding for a portion of the RISE Act through an amendment, but Democrats on the panel opposed the measure on the grounds it would take away funds from other priorities for the bill. The House is aiming to vote on the overall pandemic package next week and send a final bill to the president in March.
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Events This Week Monday, February 15
Tuesday, February 16
Wednesday, February 17
Thursday, February 18
Friday, February 19
Monday, February 22
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Opportunities Senate Commerce Committee Hiring Science Staff
The Democratic majority of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is hiring a professional staff member to lead “civil and commercial space and science policy work,” and a separate staffer to lead “oceans and atmosphere policy work.” The committee oversees NASA, the National Science Foundation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other agencies. Ideal candidates will have a connection to the Pacific Northwest, the home region of Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
Heising-Simons Foundation Hiring Science Program Officer
The Heising-Simons Foundation, a nonprofit based in California, is hiring a program officer to manage its science grantmaking portfolio, which involves identifying prospective grantees, monitoring grantee progress, and exploring new grantmaking areas. Candidates must have an advanced degree in the physical sciences, environmental sciences, or an area related to STEM diversity, as well as at least one to three years of relevant post-degree work.
Congressional Research Service is Hiring S&T Analyst
The Congressional Research Service, which provides nonpartisan policy analysis to members of Congress, is accepting applications for a science and technology analyst position as part of its 2021 Graduate Recruit Program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and either be currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a relevant advanced degree program. Applications are due March 1.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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- Biden’s China tech policy at crossroads over Commerce Department security pick (Wall Street Journal)
- Biden’s ambitious plan to push back against techno-autocracies (Washington Post, perspective by David Ignatius)
- ‘Major stones unturned’: COVID origin search must continue after WHO report, say scientists (Nature)
- White House demands transparency from WHO, China on early COVID findings (Politico)
- ‘Politics was always in the room.’ WHO mission chief reflects on China trip seeking COVID-19’s origin (Science)
- Chinese State Council budget tracker (CSET)
- Scientific fraud or false claim? China confronts a research crisis (South China Morning Post)
- EU wants better access terms for its researchers in China, but increased scrutiny of the relationship with Beijing makes the outcome uncertain (Science|Business)
- Chinese spying fears revived by security probe into Australian universities (South China Morning Post)
- HMRC accuses British universities of inadvertently aiding Chinese military (The Times)
- UK scientists call for debate on allowing ‘big wave of infection’ (Financial Times)
- A new science agency is part of plans to transform research in Britain (The Economist)
- UK ARPA is a brand in search of a product, MPs warn (E&T)
- The Horizon Papers and the need for fair play in EU research (Science|Business, perspective by Richard Hudson)
- Science in the Dutch parliament (Science for Policy Podcast, audio)
- India must protect the independence of its landmark science agency (Nature, editorial)
- Putin orders creation of special commission on development of science and technology (TASS)
- Russian academics decry law change that threatens scientific outreach (Nature)
- Kim Jong Un wants to boost the economy through science, tech and state control (NK News)
- The push for a ‘science-based economy’ under Kim Jong Un (ISDP, report)
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