Jean-Claude Worms

ESSC-ESF position paper - Science-driven scenario for space exploration: Report from the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC)

In 2005 the then ESA Directorate for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration (D-HME) commissioned a study from the European Science Foundations (ESF) European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) to examine the science aspects of the Aurora Programme in preparation for the December 2005 Ministerial Conference of ESA Member States, held in Berlin. A first interim report was presented to ESA at the second stakeholders meeting on 30 and 31 May 2005. A second draft report was made available at the time of the final science stakeholders meeting on 16 September 2005 in order for ESA to use its recommendations to prepare the Executive proposal to the Ministerial Conference. The final ESSC report on that activity came a few months after the Ministerial Conference (June 2006) and attempted to capture some elements of the new situation after Berlin, and in the context of the reduction in NASAs budget that was taking place at that time; e.g., the postponement sine die of the Mars Sample Return mission. At the time of this study, ESSC made it clear to ESA that the timeline imposed prior to the Berlin Conference had not allowed for a proper consultation of the relevant science community and that this should be corrected in the near future. In response to that recommendation, ESSC was asked again in the summer of 2006 to initiate a broad consultation to define a science-driven scenario for the Aurora Programme. This exercise ran between October 2006 and May 2007. ESA provided the funding for staff support, publication costs, and costs related to meetings of a Steering Group, two meetings of a larger ad hoc group (7 and 8 December 2006 and 8 February 2007), and a final scientific workshop on 15 and 16 May 2007 in Athens. As a result of these meetings a draft report was produced and examined by the Ad Hoc Group. Following their endorsement of the report and its approval by the plenary meeting of the ESSC, the draft report was externally refereed, as is now normal practice with all ESSC-ESF reports, and amended accordingly. The Ad Hoc Group defined overarching scientific goals for Europes exploration programme, dubbed Emergence and co-evolution of life with its planetary environments, focusing on those targets that can ultimately be reached by humans, i.e., Mars, the Moon, and Near Earth Objects. Mars was further recognized as the focus of that programme, with Mars sample return as the recognized primary goal; furthermore the report clearly states that Europe should position itself as a major actor in defining and leading Mars sample return missions. The report is reproduced in this article. On 26 November 2008 the Ministers of ESA Member States decided to give a high strategic priority to the robotic exploration programme of Mars by funding the enhanced ExoMars mission component, in line therefore with the recommendations from this ESSC-ESF report.

TECHBREAK: a technology foresight activity for the European Space Agency points the way to future space telescopes

We report on a joint European Science Foundation-ESA “Forward Look” project called TECHBREAK aimed at identifying technological breakthroughs for space originating in the non-space sector. We show how some of the technologies highlighted may impact future space programmes, in particular novel ideas to enable future long-life large telescopes to be deployed. The study’s final report was presented to ESA’s High level Science Policy Advisory Committee (HISPAC) in late 2014. The goals of the study were to forecast the development of breakthrough technologies to enable novel space missions in the 2030-2050 timeframe, and to identify related partnerships through synergies with non-space specialists. It was not prepared to serve as a definitive guide for very specific technologies to be developed for future space missions, but to inform on and flag up the main developments in various technological and scientific areas outside space that may hold promise for use in the space domain. The report does this by identifying the current status of research for each domain, asserting the development horizon for each technology and providing some entry points, in the form of key European experts and institutions with knowledge of the domain. The identification of problems and solutions specific to the space area led us to focus the discussion around the concept of “Overwhelming Drivers” for space research and exploration, i.e. long-term goals that can be transposed into technological development goals. Two of these overwhelming drivers are directly relevant to ambitious future telescope projects, and we will show how some of the technologies we identified such as biomimetic structures, nanophotonics, novel materials and additive manufacturing could be combined to enable revolutionary new concepts for space telescopes.

40 Years: Decay or “Half-Life” Crisis?

The European Science Foundation (ESF)—and its collaborators, several Expert Boards and Committees that are nearly as venerable—turned 40 last year. The celebration was a lively one, highlighting an eventful past. The event applauded the achievement of thousands of researchers over these four decades and the great benefits of European collaboration in science. NuPECCs chair Angela Bracco attended the event, along with chairs of Expert Boards and Committees and Scientific Review Groups.

NuPECC: A 25-Year-Old Expert Board of the 40-Year-Old European Science Foundation

It has been decided by the editorial board to inform the readers in brief on the European Science Foundation (ESF). NuPECC is an expert board of this organization, which is largely and continuously benefitting from this position.