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A History of the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program: 1958-2022For decades, the public has been enraptured by popular high-resolution images and data taken of our multicolored planets by space-based telescopes. However, at the time NASA was established in October 1958, there was limited astronomical interest in planetary science with ground-based telescopes. Instead, stellar astronomy dominated most of the observing time at facilities, as astrophysics was considered the forefront of astronomical research. Once NASA determined that it wanted launch planetary missions to explore the solar system in detail, it became obvious that there were not enough high-quality solar system observations to lay the foundation for these missions. Therefore, the NASA Planetary Astronomy program (PAST) was established to fund ground-based research on solar system objects. This research covers the history of this important but little-known NASA program, which not only provided necessary support for planetary missions but also was responsible for rejuvenating astronomer interest in solar system research.
Document ID
20220013907
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
White Paper
Authors
Alyse N. Beauchemin
(Bryce Space and Technology)
Date Acquired
September 12, 2022
Publication Date
September 30, 2022
Subject Category
Astronomy
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80HQTR19A0001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
Single Expert
Keywords
NASA PAST Program
planetary science
planetary astronomy
NASA history
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