COVER 7/11/05 4:55 PM Page 1 SP-1288 SP-1288 Research and Scientific Research Report on the activities of the Support Department Research and Scientific Support Department 2003 – 2004 Contact: ESA Publications Division c/o ESTEC, PO Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Tel. (31) 71 565 3400 - Fax (31) 71 565 5433 Sec1.qxd 7/11/05 5:09 PM Page 1 SP-1288 June 2005 Report on the activities of the Research and Scientific Support Department 2003 – 2004 Scientific Editor A. Gimenez Sec1.qxd 7/11/05 5:09 PM Page 2 2 ESA SP-1288 Report on the Activities of the Research and Scientific Support Department from 2003 to 2004 ISBN 92-9092-963-4 ISSN 0379-6566 Scientific Editor A. Gimenez Editor A. Wilson Published and distributed by ESA Publications Division Copyright © 2005 European Space Agency Price €30 Sec1.qxd 7/11/05 5:09 PM Page 3 3 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 5 4. Other Activities 95 1.1 Report Overview 5 4.1 Symposia and Workshops organised 95 by RSSD 1.2 The Role, Structure and Staffing of RSSD 5 and SCI-A 4.2 ESA Technology Programmes 101 1.3 Department Outlook 8 4.3 Coordination and Other Supporting 102 Activities 2. Research Activities 11 Annex 1: Manpower Deployment 107 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 High-Energy Astrophysics 14 Annex 2: Publications 113 (separated into refereed and 2.3 Optical/UV Astrophysics 19 non-refereed literature) 2.4 Infrared/Sub-millimetre Astrophysics 22 2.5 Solar Physics 26 Annex 3: Seminars and Colloquia 149 2.6 Heliospheric Physics/Space Plasma Studies 31 2.7 Comparative Planetology and Astrobiology 35 Annex 4: Acronyms 153 2.8 Minor Bodies 39 2.9 Fundamental Physics 43 2.10 Research Activities in SCI-A 45 3. Scientific Support Activities 53 3.1 Astrophysics Missions Division 56 3.2 Solar and Solar-Terrestrial 64 Missions Division 3.3 Planetary Missions Division 70 3.4 Fundamental Physics Missions Division 78 3.5 Space Telescope Operations Division 80 3.6 Science Operations and Data Systems 83 Division 3.7 Science Payload and Advanced Concepts 89 Office Sec1.qxd 7/11/05 5:09 PM Page 5 introduction 5 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Report Overview workshops organised by the Department, support to the Directorate’s science communication activities, and This report on the activities of the Research and various other activities. Scientific Support Department (RSSD) covers the 2-year period of 2003-2004. It is prepared as input to the While this Biennial Report provides perspective on the Department’s Advisory Committee, a group of breadth and quality of the activities of the staff, both in independent external scientists invited by the Director of their research and functional work, it is not intended to be ESA’s Scientific Programme to review the Department’s comprehensive. Up-to-date information on the Depart- activities. It forms the basis of the oral reports made to ment’s activities can be obtained at http://www.rssd. ESA’s Space Science Advisory Committee and the esa.int and for SCI-A at http://sci.esa.int/science-e/ Science Programme Committee every second www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=65 year. Through the publication of the report as an ‘SP’ (Special Publication) by the ESA Publications Division, the activities of the Department are brought to the 1.2 The Role, Structure and Staffing of RSSD attention of the scientific community and to a broader and SCI-A audience. RSSD, one of the two Departments of ESA’s Scientific These Biennial Reports have been produced since 1980. Directorate, provides the direct interface to the scientific In this volume, a number of changes introduced in the community throughout all mission phases. Following last report have been kept. The report also covers the in-orbit checkout and commissioning, it is also respons- activities of the Science Payload and Advanced Concepts ible for the management of the missions. In addition, the Office (SCI-A) owing to its close links with many Department plays its part in the dissemination of activities in RSSD and its history as the previous Science scientific knowledge to the public and for educational Payload Technology Division. purposes. The report is divided into four Chapters plus four In essence, the role of RSSD is to ensure the best possible Annexes. Chapter 1 deals with the Department’s role and scientific performance of ESA’s Scientific Programme organisation. A brief summary is given because its missions. To this end, the Department is responsible for mandate and structure did not change significantly the implementation of all science management aspects of during the reporting period. Reference should be made to the missions in the Science Directorate throughout their the previous report (ESA SP-1268) for further study and operations phases. information. The names of staff, their locations, their functional duties and scientific research interests are In particular, the Department is responsible for providing given in Annex 1. scientific expertise to studies and projects in all phases, and for ensuring that maximum scientific return within Chapter 2 addresses the scientific research of the practical technical and budgetary constraints is Department’s staff, broken down according to maintained as a target through all phases of a scientific ‘discipline’ rather than divisional structure. A complete mission. The Department also manages, through its study listing of the scientific papers published in the literature or project scientists, the activities of each mission is given in Annex 2. Some 340 refereed papers were science team. published during 2003 and 2004, and more than 350 conference papers and other publications appeared. RSSD is responsible for all aspects of science operations (definition, development, implementation and execution) Chapter 3 provides a top-level summary of the mission- through all phases of missions and manages the related activities at Divisional level. For the four operations phases of missions following in-orbit Missions Divisions, the prime contributions to the commissioning, supported, as necessary, by system scientific support of the various elements of the Science engineering expertise from the Scientific Projects Programme are summarised. For the two Operations Department. Support Divisions, special mention is also made of post- operational and archiving phases. The activities of SCI-A In very close coordination with SCI-A, RSSD provides are included. scientific and payload expertise within the Agency in all phases of scientific missions, including to other Finally, Chapter 4 addresses a variety of activities carried directorates of the Agency (e.g. on International Space out by RSSD in its support role to the community. The Station payloads). It works with external science teams Chapter summarises important scientific symposia and to define the science requirements for future mission Sec1.qxd 7/11/05 5:09 PM Page 6 6 introduction Head of Research and Scientific Support future missions as well for new payload technologies in Department support of the Cosmic Vision long-term Scientific SCI-S Programme. The Office works, in close liaison with the RSSD study scientists and the science community, to Chief Scientist SCI-SR determine the science and technological needs of this programme. In addition, SCI-A provides payload support/expertise to missions under development, both to RSSD Project Scientists as well as the Science Projects Astrophysics Missions Science Operations and Division Data Systems Division Department. The Office is also responsible for laboratory SCI-SA SCI-SD support throughout the Directorate, including those Planetary Missions Space Telescope RSSD research activities requiring such support. Division Operations Division SCI-SB SCI-SN The organigram of RSSD is shown in Fig. 1.2/1. In Solar & Solar-Terrestrial addition, the office of the Department Head is supported Missions Division SCI-SH by a budget control group including three integrated project controllers from SCI-M. The role and functions Fundamental Physics Missions Division of the six Divisions, and those of SCI-A, are described SCI-SP further in Chapter 3. Figure 1.2/1: The structure of RSSD. The staff of the Department (37 at the end of 2004) and of SCI-A (21, including 2 advanced recruitments) hold posts within the overall ESA staff complement. Staff associated with Science Operations Teams are generally studies and associated payloads and passes these to supernumerary positions. By the end of 2004, there was SCI-A for follow-up. a complement of 68 supernumeraries (3 in SCI-A). Fig. 1.2/2 depicts the structure of SCI-A. It should be It is, of course, very important that the scientific staff of noted that, in these teams, many contractors and often both RSSD and SCI-A maintain their scientific staff from Principal Investigator (PI) institutes work proficiency by undertaking personal research. together in an integrated structure. An overview of the staff in post at the end of 2004 is given in Table 1, In order to discharge its responsibilities and tasks in an integrating personnel from RSSD proper and SCI-A. efficient manner, the Department is structured into four Figure 1.2/3 gives the distribution of staff according to Missions Divisions: functions within RSSD. — the Astrophysics Missions Division; Department staff are located not only at ESTEC, close to — the Planetary Missions Division; the Science Directorate’s project teams and the Technical — the Solar and Solar-Terrestrial Missions Division; Directorate, but also in Villafranca (ISO and XXM- — the Fundamental Physics Missions Division; Newton science operations teams), in Garching and Baltimore (Space Telescope Operations Division) and and two Operations Support Divisions: Greenbelt (SOHO Project Scientist Team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). During 2004, the Villa- — the Science Operations and Data Systems Division; franca facilities were integrated into the European Space — the Space Telescope Operations Division.