Beyond-Einstein.pdf

prepared by

The Structure and Evolution of the Universe

Roadmap Team

January 2003

Einstein images are used by permission of Roger Richman Agency representing Hebrew University and the

Albert Einstein estate. Image of Einstein riding bicycle (pg. 91) courtesy of the Archives, California Institute of

Technology.

Time magazine cover (pg. 21). Time is a trademark of AOL-Time-Warner, Inc., which has no connection to the

NASA program.

Photo of Richard Feynman (pg. 13) by Floyd Clark/Courtesy of Caltech Archives.

Einstein letter to Georges Lemaître (pg. 13). Permission to quote granted by the Albert Einstein Archives, the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as by the Einstein Papers Project.

Preface

At the beginning of time, the Universe was formless energy. This energy transformed into

the richly complex matter of which we and all we touch are made. The Structure and

Evolution of the Universe (SEU) theme within NASA’s Office of Space Science seeks to

explore and understand the dynamic transformations of energy in the Universe—the en-

tire web of biological and physical interactions that determine the evolution of our cosmic

habitat. This search for understanding will enrich the human spirit and inspire a new

generation of explorers, scientists, and engineers.

This roadmap is about the future of the SEU theme. Many science objectives encom-

passed by the SEU theme have been given high priority by the science community through

working groups, roadmap teams, and strategic planning processes. This roadmap draws

upon broad community input, including the specific recommendations of recent consen-

sus reports of the National Academy of Sciences such as Astronomy and Astrophysics in

the New Millennium (2001) and Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos (2002).

Many of the community’s science priorities could be realized within the next 25 years.

This roadmap recognizes that, within the resources available, not all of these science ob-

jectives can be undertaken immediately. Constructing a roadmap clearly entails making

hard choices.

In this roadmap, the science objectives for SEU are presented and prioritized. The

research programs and space missions required to address the science objectives are iden-

tified. The roadmap lays out a path that begins at the completion of the present program

and leads to the future.

The SEU theme’s highest priorities are presented

in the Beyond Einstein program (Part I). A roadmap

is presented for realizing these objectives starting

now. The science objectives described in the Cycles

of Matter and Energy program (Part II) are presented

with the understanding that this program will be

undertaken after Beyond Einstein has begun. Part

III details continuing activities vital to maintaining

the technical base to implement these missions and

develop future ones.