Report Calls For NASA Lab Upgrades

NASA must invest more in maintaining and upgrading its basic research labs if it wants to meet major mission goals such as planet exploration or understanding the origins of the universe, according to a National Research Council report released on May 11. The report, which looks at six NASA centers, finds that the facilities and equipment in use are on average “marginally adequate” to conduct high-quality basic research. And without including the new science building at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the analysis, more than 80% of the research labs are 40 years old or more and need significant maintenance and upgrades yearly. To improve the research conditions, the report recommends, NASA should balance long-term research with short-term mission programs and find a way to solve its growing deferred-maintenance problems, which have ballooned from requiring a budget of $1.8 billion in 2004 to $2.5 billion in 2009. “Solid, basic research has always been a critical component for advancing NASA’s missions,” says John T. Best, NRC report committee cochair. “To ensure future success, it’s imperative that NASA restore and maintain its basic research laboratories.”