I’ve been thinking a lot about a similar concept, but orthogonal application of that concept: when immediate/short-term incentives are not there, how do you reward workers in the trenches (scientists and engineers in this case) to push forward and make the best decision for science, even if it’s not the best decision for the business/entity?

Isn't that kind of the default position for these types of builds? Nobody wants to be the team that built a thing that died on day 101 when the mission was designed for 100 days. Everyone wants the science to stop not because the platform stopped working but because bean counters shut it down. Everyone wants to be the team that built Curiosity long outliving its mission duration while continuing to do science. Otherwise, the bids will go to the teams that build Voyagers or Curiosity and never come to the team that builds systems that last exactly mission duration

Where does the "best decision for the business" come into play here? It's not the best decision just because the top level leadership decided it.