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NASA Ball NASA
Procedural
Requirements
NPR 4310.1A
Effective Date: May 12, 2014
Expiration Date: May 12, 2025
COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY FOR NASA EMPLOYEES
Printable Format (PDF)

Subject: Artifact Identification and Disposition Revalidated w/Change 1

Responsible Office: Office of Strategic Infrastructure


| TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | ALL |

Chapter 2. Roles, Relationships, and Responsibilities

2.1 NASA Headquarters Logistics Management Division (LMD). The LMD Director or designee is responsible for personal property disposition and for establishing the policy for the identification and disposition of NASA artifacts. The LMD Director or designee serves as a co-chair of the NASA Artifact Working Group (AWG) (see section 2.10) and is responsible for the allocation of artifacts to eligible recipients.

2.2 NASA Office of Communications (OCOM). The Associate Administrator for Communications or designee is responsible for developing and executing Agency communications strategy governing the use of historical artifacts as they pertain to the overall communications function. Within this office, the Manager for Exhibits and Artifacts serves as a co-chair of the AWG and shall provide guidance for the identification and appropriate placement of artifacts allocated by the AWG.

2.3 NASA Program/Project Offices. NASA Program Offices (PO) are the most intimately aware of how their property is used, the potential historical relevance, and the property's potential as an artifact. Under their disposition and decommissioning roles in NPR 7120.5, POs shall work closely with NASA Historians, Public Affairs Officers (PAOs), Exhibit Managers, Historic Preservation Officers (HPOs), Supply and Equipment Management Officers (SEMOs), and the Center Property Disposal Officer (PDO) to ensure artifacts are identified and screened for disposition to eligible recipients.

2.3.1 The NASA PO shall identify an item's potential as an artifact before or after a determination that the property is no longer required by the program or NASA activity and turned in for disposal.

2.4 NASA Exhibit Managers. Exhibit Managers at NASA Centers and Headquarters, including those representing Mission Directorates, are focal points and shall provide guidance on the identification, management, and placement of artifacts to support outreach. Artifacts typically are held by NASA Exhibit Managers for education, public outreach, and exhibits relating to the development, demonstration, and application of aeronautical and astronautical science and technology of flight.

2.5 NASA Historians. The History Program Office (in OCOM) and the Center Historians determine an item's historical significance and relevance to agency history and identify any curatorial standards that should be observed during the disposition process. They also help to determine the item's potential as an artifact for historical research and display purposes.

2.6 NASA Historic Preservation Officers (HPOs). HPOs help to determine an item's potential as an artifact.

2.6.1 HPOs shall provide support to determine if an item has the potential to be classified as an artifact and to determine historical provenance of real and personal property assets.

2.6.2 Prior to removal or excessing of historically significant elements/equipment (i.e., artifacts) that could alter or change the character of the historic property that contributes to its historic significance, the Center's HPOs shall comply with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's implementing regulations, 36 CFR Part 800, Protection of Historic Properties.

2.7 NASA Property Disposal Officers (PDOs). PDOs are a Center's point of contact for the disposition of NASA personal property after the property is excess to a program's needs and has been turned in for disposition. PDOs depend on Program/Project Offices, PAOs, Historians, HPOs, SEMOs, and Exhibit Managers to identify potential artifacts. Once received by the PDO, the PDO shall document the program-provided salient characteristics and provide a picture of the potential artifact to support advertisement in the artifact module (See section 3.2.).

2.7.1 The PDO shall coordinate with NASA LMD to ensure artifacts are screened for allocation to NASA Exhibit Managers, NASA Visitor Centers, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM), eligible museums, and educational institutions.

2.8 Contracting Officers (COs). COs shall work with the Center HPO, SEMOs, and the Center Industrial Property Officer (IPO) as required by the NFS to ensure the correct insertion of clauses in any contract related to the production of property that may, by its use in NASA programs, be considered historic in nature and a future artifact.

2.9 Supply and Equipment Management Officers (SEMOs). SEMOs shall ensure that Exhibit items meeting the criteria for control are recorded in PP&E in accordance with NPR 4200.1. Equipment and material records will provide sufficient detail to allow potential users to determine the source of the items. To the degree that additional information providing a history of manufacture, use, or historic significance of the item is available, the information should be linked to the item's equipment or material record..

2.10 NASA Artifact Working Group (AWG). The AWG shall serve as a forum that meets periodically to review and approve requests for NASA artifacts. An AWG quorum requires five of the seven primary members to be present. The AWG is co-chaired by the LMD Director (or designee) and the OCOM's Exhibits and Artifacts Manager. Together they provide guidance for identification and appropriate placement of artifacts allocated by the AWG. The AWG reports at least annually and elevates unresolved issues to the Communications Coordinating Council for review and resolution as required.

2.10.1 AWG has seven primary members:

a. LMD Director (or designee) - co-chair.

b. OCOM Exhibits and Artifacts Manager - co-chair.

c. Industrial Property Officer Representative or designee (2 each).

d. Agency Disposal Warehouse Manager or representative.

e. Center PDO (2 each).

2.10.2 AWG has secondary membership:

a. Other NASA offices or subject matter experts (General Counsel, Historian, PO, HPO, ITAR, etc.) are invited to attend as needed.

b. General Services Administration (GSA), as needed.

2.11 The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM). NASM serves as the Nation's primary repository for aeronautical and astronautical artifacts. NASM identifies, collects, studies, displays, stores, and lends artifacts that are preserved in the National Collection. However, unlike in the past when NASM accepted many space artifacts simply to ensure their preservation or to be able to satisfy loan requests, the museum is now collecting more judiciously. With diminishing storage space and resources to maintain extra assets and with the rise of other professionally operated aerospace museums and NASA Visitor Centers, NASM has adjusted its curatorial focus. Today, NASM primarily collects the most significant artifacts that distinctly merit addition to the National Collection and no longer collects multiples for lending, preferring instead a strategy of shared responsibility with other institutions for preserving the wealth of additional artifacts.

2.12 NASA Communications Coordinating Council (CCC). The NASA CCC is responsible for executing NASA's strategic direction, planning, and implementation of NASA's communications efforts. The CCC arbitrates any AWG placement disagreements among NASA Visitor Centers. Additionally, with respect to Appendix C, the CCC serves as the NASA pre-brief forum to discuss a NASA position prior to participating in a NASA/NASM Joint Artifact Committee meeting. The Charter of the CCC is published as NC 1000-31.

2.13 Joint Artifact Committee (JAC). NASA and NASM share a common interest in preserving, exhibiting, and advocating for exhibition of NASA artifacts. This relationship is formalized by an agreement between NASA and NASM (see Appendix C) and recognizes a preeminent role for NASM to preserve and interpret space and aeronautic artifacts. The JAC provides a forum to discuss the transfer and management of artifacts between NASA and NASM and the appropriateness of display determinations. Should NASM no longer wish to retain an artifact acquired from NASA, NASM is obligated, per the agreement, to offer the artifact back to NASA deaccession.



| TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | ALL |
 
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