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2007 Wa the ESA Very Sign the Scie ESA Cou Resoluti Cosmic V Annual Report 2007 → SCIENCE 2007 was another exciting, challenging and defining year for The wider significance of the SPRT Report the ESA Science Programme. It was marked, in addition to to other parts of ESA and the broader European space community has been very significant successes of its missions, by the adoption of acknowledged both within and outside the the Science Programme Review Team (SPRT) Report by the agency. ESA Council in March 2007, with its associated implementing 2007 was the 50th anniversary of man’s Resolution and by the issuing of the Call for Proposals to the first space launch, and the later footsteps of great explorers who opened up new worlds Cosmic Vision 2015–25 Plan. to us, are also marked by the inception Mission successes included the two of the Cosmic Vision 2015–25 Plan which, successful Earth swingbys of Rosetta and similar to those events, puts another the continuation of the excellent scientific challenge before mankind. There can be no returns coming from Ulysses, SOHO, Cluster, greater challenge than seeking the answers Mars Express, Venus Express and the to the four central themes of Cosmic Vision. JAXA/ESA Hinode missions. The worldwide interest shown in ESA’s two high-energy No matter how challenging these scientific astronomical observatories, XMM-Newton objectives may seem, we need only and Integral, has resulted in a large over- point to what ESA, through the Scientific subscription for observing time, leading Programme, has already achieved – even to the extension of both missions. Taking in recent years – to give the assurances account of the SPRT Report, the Science necessary that, given sufficient resources Programme Committee approved the and a continuation of the trust that has extensions based on a coupling of the two been placed in the programme by its missions, combining their operations into a stakeholders, the Scientific Programme is single integrated mission operations centre. up to the challenge of providing the skills and management to lead the search for The financial limits set on the Solar Orbiter these answers. mission were reviewed within ESA and European industry, leading to the possibility for the mission to enter its Definition Phase, subject to obtaining a launch through international cooperation with NASA. The corresponding Announcements of Opportunity were released on 18 October by ESA and 22 October by NASA and the mission is now on course to meet a launch schedule of mid-2017. The martian moon Phobos as seen by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board ESA’s Mars Express in January 2007 (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin) 10 11 Annual Report 2007 → SCIENCE 2007 was another exciting, challenging and defining year for The wider significance of the SPRT Report the ESA Science Programme. It was marked, in addition to to other parts of ESA and the broader European space community has been very significant successes of its missions, by the adoption of acknowledged both within and outside the the Science Programme Review Team (SPRT) Report by the agency. ESA Council in March 2007, with its associated implementing 2007 was the 50th anniversary of man’s Resolution and by the issuing of the Call for Proposals to the first space launch, and the later footsteps of great explorers who opened up new worlds Cosmic Vision 2015–25 Plan. to us, are also marked by the inception Mission successes included the two of the Cosmic Vision 2015–25 Plan which, successful Earth swingbys of Rosetta and similar to those events, puts another the continuation of the excellent scientific challenge before mankind. There can be no returns coming from Ulysses, SOHO, Cluster, greater challenge than seeking the answers Mars Express, Venus Express and the to the four central themes of Cosmic Vision. JAXA/ESA Hinode missions. The worldwide interest shown in ESA’s two high-energy No matter how challenging these scientific astronomical observatories, XMM-Newton objectives may seem, we need only and Integral, has resulted in a large over- point to what ESA, through the Scientific subscription for observing time, leading Programme, has already achieved – even to the extension of both missions. Taking in recent years – to give the assurances account of the SPRT Report, the Science necessary that, given sufficient resources Programme Committee approved the and a continuation of the trust that has extensions based on a coupling of the two been placed in the programme by its missions, combining their operations into a stakeholders, the Scientific Programme is single integrated mission operations centre. up to the challenge of providing the skills and management to lead the search for The financial limits set on the Solar Orbiter these answers. mission were reviewed within ESA and European industry, leading to the possibility for the mission to enter its Definition Phase, subject to obtaining a launch through international cooperation with NASA. The corresponding Announcements of Opportunity were released on 18 October by ESA and 22 October by NASA and the mission is now on course to meet a launch schedule of mid-2017. The martian moon Phobos as seen by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board ESA’s Mars Express in January 2007 (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin) 10 11 Annual Report 2007 → COSMIC VISION PLAN 2015–25 FOUR THEMES What are the conditions How does the Solar What are the fundamental How did the Universe begin for life and planetary System work? laws of the Universe? and what is it made of? Planning for the future The new long-term plan, Cosmic formation? – the ‘Cosmic Vision’ Vision 2015–25 This will be a global attempt to A century after Einstein’s The origin and early evolution The first ‘Call for Mission Proposals’ in This theme looks at the understand the Solar System as theory of relativity was of the Universe is still largely Implementation of the current plan March 2007 marked the beginning of the emergence of life not only in a whole, from the Sun to the proposed, physics remains unknown. Less than 5% of (2005–15) implementation of the new Cosmic Vision our Solar System but also in limits of its sphere of influence, a vast field for investigation. the mass of the Universe has The year saw the consolidation of the 2015–25 and was an important milestone. ‘exoplanets’ orbiting other as well as the formation The laws of physics as currently been identified, the rest being collaboration with Japan with the signature By June, 50 proposals were received. The stars. This requires the study mechanisms of gaseous giants formulated do not apply at composed of mysterious ‘dark on 29 April 2007 of the Memorandum of significance of ESA Science on the world stage of how and where stars form, and their moons, and the role extreme conditions, and are not matter’ (23%) and ‘dark energy’ Understanding (MoU) with JAXA on the is shown by the fact that half of the proposals how planets emerge from this of small bodies and asteroids at all understood for the first – one of the most surprising BepiColombo mission to Mercury, whereby included international partners (i.e. outside process, and the appearance in the process of planetary fractions of seconds after the recent discoveries. the Institute of Space and Astronautical ESA Member States). The main potential of signs of life (bio-markers) formation. Big Bang. Some implications, Science (ISAS) within JAXA will provide the international partners are NASA (USA), JAXA in other stellar systems as well like the behaviour of matter at magnetospheric orbiter. ESA Science also (Japan), CNSA (China) and RSA (Russia). as our own. extremely high temperatures continued collaborations with the Chinese and energies or the existence space agency on the Double Star mission The competitive evaluation process by the of gravity waves, still have to and on the Chang’E 1 mission to the Moon Science advisory bodies and the Executive be explored. which was successfully launched in October. was concluded in mid October with the selection for assessment studies made by The collaborations with NASA on the James the Space Science Advisory Committee. In Call for Proposals (5 March 2007) Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and on the preparation for the mission assessment LISA Pathfinder mission were formalised studies in 2008 and 2009, the Executive with the signature of the respective MoU on started working with potential collaborating 50 Proposals received by 29 June 2007: 18 June 2007. agencies to agree on their participation in the study activities. 19 Proposals in Astronomy and Astrophysics Regarding LISA, the gravitational wave 19 Proposals in Study and Exploration in the Solar observatory planned as a joint mission The Science Programme, with its new System Science including the Sun with NASA, the report of the NASA Beyond Cosmic Vision 2015–25, remains the flagship 12 Proposals in Fundamental Physics Einstein Program Assessment Committee of ESA and its Member States. (BEPAC) concluded that LISA will open up an entirely new way of observing the Universe, Missions in operation or SELECTION BY SSAC 16-17 OCTOBER 2008 OF 8 CANDIDATE MISSIONS with immense potential to enlarge our archived phase understanding of physics and astronomy in unforeseen ways. Within ESA, LISA has been ESA continued to obtain exciting scientific replanned to become candidate for the data from 17 science satellites in orbit L-class mission launch slot in 2018, the first mission in the (including those in collaboration with other new Cosmic Vision 2015–25 plan. space agencies). These missions range from an orbiting telescope (NASA/ESA Hubble The provision by NASA of the launch Space Telescope), two satellites in orbit TANDEM/ XEUS services for Solar Orbiter in the frame around the Sun (NASA/ESA Ulysses and LAPLACE of the collaboration with their Sentinels SOHO), missions to other planets (Mars mission has been confirmed in a Letter of Express, Venus Express and NASA/ESA/ASI Agreement signed by the NASA Associate Cassini-Huygens), a comet lander (Rosetta), Administrator for the Science Mission two observatories (XMM-Newton and M-class mission Directorate, and addressed to the ESA Integral) and a formation-flying mission Science Director.
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