NASA at a Crossroads

Since its formation more than 60 years ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has served as a global leader in science, aeronautics, and exploration, propelled technological innovation, and inspired youth to pursue careers in science and engineering, while often accomplishing the seemingly impossible. However, despite its critical and transformative role, NASA faces an uncertain future due to declining national investment as a percentage of gross domestic product and systemic issues that compromise its infrastructure, workforce, and capacity for technological innovation.


As requested by Congress in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an independent expert committee to evaluate whether NASA's current workforce, infrastructure, technological capabilities, and their interfaces can meet its strategic goals. NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology Preeminence in the Coming Decades considers the critical facilities and emerging technologies necessary to fulfill NASA's mission, as well as the workforce skills and organizational structure required to perform and support the work of the mission directorates, both now and in the future.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
2 Systemic Issues
3 Technology Issues
4 Infrastructure Issues
5 Workforce Issues
6 Summary List of Findings
7 Summary List of Recommendations
Appendixes
Appendix A: Legislative Direction for This Report
Appendix B: Statement of Task
Appendix C: Acronyms and Abbreviations
Appendix D: Committee and Staff Biographical Information
Appendix E: Disclosure of Unavoidable Conflict of Interest
Appendix F: Information Gathering
Appendix G: NASA 20-Year Critical Missions
Appendix H: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education in the United States and Abroad
Appendix I: NASA Employment Data
Appendix J: Technology Survey Papers
Appendix K: The Transition from Engineer to Manager: The Roles of Cognitive and Affective Qualities at the Individual and Social Levels