The stated goal of LWS, that of achieving an understanding of those aspects of the Sun-Earth system that have direct impact on life and society, poses two great challenges for the LWS Science program:

1. The LWS Science must tackle large-scale problems that cross discipline and technique (e.g., data analysis, theory, modeling, etc.) boundaries
2. The LWS Science must identify how this new understanding will have a direct impact on life and society

To address these requirements, the LWS Program Analysis Group (LPAG) identifies a set of Focused Science Topics to be emphasized each year. In addition, NASA desires a balance of research investigation techniques for each Topic, including:

Once selected, these investigators will form a team in order to coordinate their research programs (similar to the PIs selected for a NASA hardware mission who form a coordinated science working group). These teams will:

• Define a plan for structuring their work into an integrated research program
• Address the Focused Science Topic more comprehensively than any single investigation could
• Define success measures and deliverables for their integrated program
• Develop strategies for disseminating their results to the science community and NASA
• Prepare an integrated final Team Report at the end of the three-year duration