Heliophysics research

(a) Sense of congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) NASA heliophysics research advances the scientific understanding of the Sun, its impact on the Earth and near-Earth environment, and the Sun’s interactions with other bodies in the solar system, the interplanetary medium, and the interstellar medium; (2) fundamental science supported by the Heliophysics division is critical to improving space weather observations and forecasting capabilities, which contribute to— (A) fortifying national security and other critically important space-based and ground-based assets; (B) improving the resilience of the Nation’s energy infrastructure; and (C) protecting human health in space; and (3) the Heliophysics Division should continue to maximize the scientific return on investment of its portfolio through maintaining a balanced portfolio that includes research and analysis, including multidisciplinary research initiatives, technology development, space-based missions and suborbital flight projects that include both directed and strategic missions and principal investigator-led, competitively solicited missions, informed by the science priorities and guidance of the most recent decadal survey in solar and space physics. (b) Program management The Administrator shall seek to— (1) maintain a regular Explorer Announcement of Opportunity cadence and alternate between small and mid-sized missions; and (2) enable a regular selection of Missions of Opportunity.