When was the idea behind the DESCANSO Book Series first conceived, by whom, and what is its “mission”?

Question

When was the idea behind the DESCANSO Book Series first conceived, by whom, and what is its "mission"?

When I'm looking for information on deep space issues including communications and orbital mechanics (especially Volume 2), I often run across troves of goddies in an on-line copy of some article from a DESCANSO Book.

Putting all of this scholarly and practical information together is a significant amount of work, and for many organizations publishing the "company goodies" would be the last thing anyone would consider. But NASA has always taken the high road here.

In this case, what was the origin of this project? Who decided to do it (person? committee? mandate?), when, and why?

Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series

Joseph H. Yuen, Editor-in-Chief

The Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series, authored by scientists and engineers with many years of experience in their respective fields, lays a foundation for innovation by communicating state-of-the-art knowledge in key technologies. The series also captures fundamental principles and practices developed during decades of deep-space exploration at JPL. In addition, it celebrates successes and imparts lessons learned. Finally, the series will serve to guide a new generation of scientists and engineers.

*Hard copies of the DESCANSO books are now published by John Wiley & Sons.

*This series has been translated into Chinese by Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Volume 1
    Radiometric Tracking Techniques for Deep-Space Navigation
        Catherine L. Thornton  (About the Author)
        James S. Border  (About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 2.5 MB)
Volume 2
    Formulation for Observed and Computed Values of Deep Space Network Data Types for Navigation
        Theodore D. Moyer  (About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 3.0 MB)
Volume 3
    Bandwidth-Efficient Digital Modulation with Application to Deep-Space Communications
        Marvin K. Simon  (About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 2.3 MB)
Volume 4
    Large Antennas of the Deep Space Network
        William A. Imbriale (About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 23.9 MB)
Volume 5
    Antenna Arraying Techniques in the Deep Space Network
        David H. Rogstad (About the Author)
        Alexander Mileant (About the Author)
        Timothy T. Pham (About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 1.56 MB)
Volume 6
    Radio Occultations Using Earth Satellites: A Wave Theory Treatment
        William G. Melbourne
            Full Version (pdf - 7.87 MB)
Volume 7
    Deep Space Optical Communications
        Hamid Hemmati, Editor (About the Editor)
            Full Version (pdf - 22 MB)
Volume 8
    Spaceborne Antennas for Planetary Exploration
        William A. Imbriale, Editor (About the Editor)
            Full Version (pdf - 24 MB)
Volume 9
    Autonomous Software-Defined Radio Receivers for Deep Space Applications
        Jon Hamkins, Editor (About the Editor)
        Marvin K. Simon, Editor (About the Editor)
            Full Version (pdf - 3.5 MB)
Volume 10
    Low-Noise Systems in the Deep Space Network
        Macgregor S. Reid, Editor (About the Editor)
            Full Version (pdf - 14.7 MB)
Volume 11
    Coupled-Oscillator Based Active-Array Antennas
        Ronald J. Pogorzelski (About the Author)
        Apostolos Georgiadis (About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 6.96 MB)
Volume 12
    Low-Energy Lunar Trajectory Design
        Jeffrey S. Parker (About the Author)
        Rodney L. Anderson(About the Author)
            Full Version (pdf - 7.7 MB)
Volume 13
    Deep Space Communications
        Jim Taylor, Editor (About the Editor)
            Full Version (pdf - 20.45 MB)

Answer 1

From the foreword of Volume 1:

The Deep Space Communications and Navigation Systems Center of Excellence (DESCANSO) was recently established for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). DESCANSO is chartered to harness and promote excellence and innovation to meet the communications and navigation needs of future deep-space exploration.

DESCANSO’s vision is to achieve continuous communications and precise navigation—any time, anywhere. In support of that vision, DESCANSO aims to seek out and advocate new concepts, systems, and technologies; foster key scientific and technical talents; and sponsor seminars, workshops, and symposia to facilitate interaction and idea exchange.

The Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series, authored by scientists and engineers with many years of experience in their respective fields, lays a foundation for innovation by communicating state-of-the-art knowledge in key technologies. The series also captures fundamental principles and practices developed during decades of deep-space exploration at JPL. In addition, it celebrates successes and imparts lessons learned. Finally, the series will serve to guide a new generation of scientists and engineers.

So the book series is a consequence of the charter of the Deep Space Communications and Navigation Systems Center of Excellence, which was established at JPL around 2000.