Lessons from introducing new scientific disciplines into european space research

摘要

Physics experiments in space will permit us to investigate natural phenomena that cannot be observed on the ground, such as low-frequency gravitational waves, and to reach uncharted realms of accuracy - accessible only through experiments carried out in space - where current foundations of physics can be further tested and potentially falsified. Such projects require technologies that have not been in hand for a long time but are available now. To avoid conflict of interest, the merit of space projects in physics, from the proposal stage through development, ought to be judged by experts in physics, rather than by space scientists from other fields. It is time now to set aside some funding to let missions in fundamental physics compete fairly with the established space sciences, thereby enriching and deepening the space enterprise - and broadening its advocacy base. We look, in the context of the European space scene, at the measures and events that resurrected the initially suppressed planetary sciences and brought solar physics to blooming after a long drought; and derive ideas on how to increase the number of flight opportunities for fundamental physics in space.