NASA's basic research capabilities are lagging to the point that they're putting the space agency's missions in jeopardy, according to a National Research Council report released this week.

On Tuesday, the council, which is associated with the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, called on Congress and NASA to upgrade the space agency's research equipment and operations.

The report noted that more than 80% of the research facilities at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Glenn Research Center, Langley Research Center, Ames Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory are more than 40 years old and need "significant" upgrades. It also said that improvements to annual maintenance procedures are needed. Moreover, the council found that the declining state of NASA's research facilities has forced the agency to increasingly rely on third-party contractors to work on projects.

"Solid basic research has always been a critical component for advancing NASA's missions," said John Best, co-chair of the committee that wrote the report, in a statement. "To ensure future success, it's imperative that NASA restore and maintain its basic research laboratories."

The report does not say how much NASA needs to spend to upgrade its facilities.

NASA officials have not yet responded to a request for comment on the report.

The report comes on the heels of the release of President Barack Obama's proposed budget that calls for NASA to abandon plans to return humans to the moon and instead focus on sending astronauts to Mars and farther into the solar system. The proposed fiscal 2011 federal budget also calls for NASA to contract with commercial companies to build space taxis.

The administration's plan, though, does call for spending more money on robotics research, and for developing next-generation engines to run the commercially built spacecraft.

Yesterday's report might put another crimp in the administration's plans if money needs to be rerouted to upgrading NASA's research facilities.

According to the report from the National Research Council, NASA is looking at a "staggering" repair and maintenance bill. Federal funding for maintenance, repairs and upgrades of NASA research facilities is currently "well below" accepted industry guidelines.

The maintenance problem has already compromised safety at NASA facilities, especially for personnel who work with the space agency's massive, high-powered equipment. "NASA should find a solution to these issues before any catastrophic failures occur that could seriously impact missions and research operations," the report adds.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her e-mail address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.