NASA's Earth science program: The bureaucratic struggles of the space agency's Mission to Planet Earth

The purpose of this research was to present a case study of NASA's Earth science program from 1972 to 2006, with an emphasis on the planning for, initiation and implementation of the satellite-based Earth Observing System (EOS) and related research activities. To provide a framework for the events discussed in the dissertation, the author applied and explored theories regarding agenda setting in American public policy, the development of American science policy, the behavior and purposes of government organizations, and the rights and responsibilities of professional scientists in American public administration.;The dissertation explored three themes about the conduct of modern government science programs. The dissertation's first theme is that NASA's Earth science program represents a particular strain of modern big science: the utilization in government programs of large teams and expensive instruments on behalf of a goal or goals deemed important to society. The second theme is that the successes and failures of NASA's Earth science program were strongly influenced by how Earth science fit in the agency's unique organizational culture and in terms of NASA's mission priorities. The third theme is that events in the history of NASA's Earth science program illustrate classic Public Administration debates about the rights and responsibilities of government employees, specifically the issue as to whether scientists have the right to speak freely about their scientific conclusions and related policy issues.;A case study methodology was used to explore the factors that led to the initiation and implementation of NASA's "Mission to Planet Earth" in 1991. The case study divided the history of NASA's modern Earth science program in four stages: Program Planning (1972-1986); Agenda Access and Program Adoption (1987-1990); Program Restructuring (1991-1996); and Program Implementation (1997-2006).;This study concluded that NASA's Earth science program could be the focus renewed public policy attention due to the confluence of the following problem, policy and political streams: increasing public concerns about global warming and climate change following Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the development of a priority-setting National Research Council Decadal Survey on Earth Science and Applications from Space; and the changes in the makeup of the Congress following the 2006 elections.