Sec. 204. Foundational engineering
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Congress makes the following findings: The Nation’s basic research and foundational engineering activities support innovation and can provide novel and transformative solutions to complex problems. NASA investments in basic research, foundational engineering, and technology development have advanced the NASA mission, including through supporting materials design, modeling, and manufacturing. NASA investments in basic research, foundational engineering, and the development of early-stage technologies remain critical to NASA's long-term mission.
Congress reaffirms its support, as articulated in section 20102 of title 51, United States Code, for NASA’s efforts to expand understanding in the aeronautical and space sciences and to identify long-term opportunities relevant to operating in the atmosphere and in space. Congress further affirms the importance of technology development in supporting national leadership in these areas. The Administrator shall ensure that NASA maintains a core capability to identify and support activities related to foundational engineering.
The purpose of this capability shall be— to forecast NASA’s future capability needs, including those needs not directly related to current missions; to develop or identify potentially transformative technology concepts relevant to achieving the needs under paragraph (1); to determine and implement an agency-wide strategy, that may include increasing research capacity and coordinating with external partners, for supporting research in foundational engineering; and to support translating basic scientific research into new technology development.