Science-Driven Scenario for Space Exploration: Report from the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC)

摘要

In 2005 the ESA Directorate for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration (D-HME) commissioned a study from the ESF's 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. ESSC was asked 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 work-shop 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 Europe's 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 recognised as the focus of that programme, with Mars sample return as the recognised primary goal; furthermore the report clearly states that Europe should position itself as a major actor in defining and leading Mars sample return missions. This is the final report to ESA, European national space agencies and the space science community.