Outer Planets Assesment Group (OPAG) Findings

The Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) has posted eight findings from the recent OPAG meeting in Hampton, Virginia, on February 21-23. The findings can be found at: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/meetings/feb2017/findings.pdf/.

The findings address:

• Europa exploration and the decade of darkness
  
• Status of CDAP and NFDAP
  
• Ice Giant exploration
  
• Workforce issues in the next Decadal Survey
  
• RPS for the next Discovery mission
  
• Ocean Worlds National Academies study
  
• Pre-Decadal mission studies
  
• OPAG technology

The Outer Planets Assessment Group was established by NASA in 2004 to identify scientific priorities and pathways for exploration in the outer solar system. The group consists of a 15-person steering committee, which actively solicits input from the scientific community and reports its findings to NASA Headquarters. OPAG provides input to NASA but does not make recommendations.

For more about astrobiology and the outer planets, read Issue #4 of Astrobiology: The Story of Our Search for Life in the Universe, available at: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/resources/graphic-histories/. This installment of the Astrobiology Program’s graphic histories describes missions to the outer Solar System that have made valuable contributions to the development of astrobiology.