ESA has shortlisted science missions for CosmicVision2016-25

[holmec]

I don't know, but I wouldn't think NASA is all that different.<br /><br />I'm still waiting for cars to fly and computers to be intelligent. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[themanwithoutapast]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I am proud of Europe's achievements. And also endorse the impression that Science return per euro or dollar is better in ESA missions than in NASA's. But let's face reality: the gap is huge.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Agreed. And this is very unfortunate, but at the end not the fault of ESA, but of its memberstates.

 

[h2ouniverse]

in reply to<br />----<br />but at the end not the fault of ESA, but of its memberstates<br />------<br /><br />globally I agree.<br />There are two things though where ESA can act:<br />* reduce development duration down to NASA's standards (including assessment phases!!)<br />* average the GEO return on a large number of programs

 

[brellis]

BBC article <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

Hi Brad,<br /><br />Not a surprise that BBC chose the picture of a balloon in Titan: it's one of your British countrymen who is helping designing it (for both NASA and ESA)! <br /><br />Edit: hey! I've been granted planethood!!

 

[brellis]

hi Joel, congrats on your emergence from our circumstellar disk!<br /><br />btw, i'm a red-blooded 'merikun <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[3488]

My three definately. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />*) Laplace: Jupiter, Europa, and jovian moons. <br />*) TandEM: Titan and Enceladus Mission. <br />*) Marco Polo: asteroid sample return.<br /><br />I might even try & get involved with Laplace & maybe TandEM.<br /><br />With Laplace, I wonder if anyone may send a Lander to Ganymede & / or Callisto??<br /><br />Anyway, I am not on my own computer as someone decided to spam me with a virus, hence<br />my absence recently. Should be back properly soon.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

thanks Brad.<br />Sorry, I was confused. You were on line in European evening time.

 

[h2ouniverse]

in reply to<br />-------<br />With Laplace, I wonder if anyone may send a Lander to Ganymede & / or Callisto?? <br />--------<br /><br />Hi Andrew,<br /><br />nice to hear again from you.<br />Laplace includes no lander. one Europa orbiter + one Jupiter orbiter + may be a Jupiter entry probe. Will probably combine with NASA's mission. There were discussions to send penetrators for all three icy galileans (not really a "Lander").<br /><br />Best regards.

 

[3488]

Hi Joel,<br /><br />Just a quick visit, owing to equipment probs.<br /><br />Thanks for your answer.<br /><br />I am nmot sure as to what penetrators could do that a static lander could not?<br /><br />A Deep Impact type scenario would not work too well, as the surface gravities are far too high<br />(approx one Seventh G for Ganymede & Europa & one ninth G for Callisto. In comparison, <br />the Moon is one sixth G, Io nearly one fifth G, Mars & Mercury just over a third G). The plumes<br />kicked up on Europa, Ganymede & Callisto would not reach very high & would soon fall back.<br /><br />I would rather soft landers for all four Galileans athough Io & Europa, are <br />within Jupiter's intense radiation belts. Having said that, ground truth from both <br />Ganymede & Callisto would be interesting & to compare with Huygens results from Titan &<br />any other Titan lander in the meantime, would be of value.<br /><br />To get images & data from the surface of the solar systems three largest & most massive <br />moons would help in researching why they went on such different evolutionary paths.<br /><br />Certainly at least the Ganymede & Titan landers should also be equipped with seismometers too.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

hi andrew,<br /><br />actually penetrators are more than mere impactors: they can carry some instruments (surviving high-shock).<br />The issue is to limit the impact speed. <br />But still debated.<br />Univ of Surrey has worked on such devices.<br /><br />Do you have an estimate on how much ice an impactor, or an explosive impactor might release? and for how long?<br />Best regards.

 

[alokmohan]

EUS, a next-generation X-ray space observatory, is playing a pivotal role in a mission that seeks to study the origin of the universe.<br /><br />XEUS, which stands for X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy, aims to study the fundamental laws of the universe. With unprecedented sensitivity to the hot, million-degree universe, XEUS will explore key areas of contemporary astrophysics: growth of supermassive black holes, cosmic feedback and galaxy evolution, evolution of large-scale structures, extreme gravity and matter under extreme conditions, the dynamical evolution of cosmic plasmas and cosmic chemistry. <br /><br />"XEUS is an X-ray observatory 30-50 times more sensitive than XMM-Newton, which will be placed 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, beyond the Moon, at the second Lagrangian point, a quiet stable location where the instruments can observe the universe undisturbed," said Professor Martin Turner of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester and co-principal investigator on XEUS. "Because it is so large, the observatory has two spacecrafts. The five-meter diameter X-ray lens is in one, and the instruments in another. The two spacecraft fly together, 35 meters apart, to keep the instruments at the focus of the lens."<br /><br />"The million degree universe, where gravity is the main source of energy, is the finest physics laboratory we have," Turner continued. "XEUS will help us find out about the behavior of matter under extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and gravity. It will also let us study the influence of black holes on the formation of galaxies and stars; and ultimately planets and ourselves."<br /><br />Dr Richard Willingale, of the University of Leicestehttp://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6182

 

[3488]

Thanks alokmohan,<br /><br />Very interesting.<br /><br />What would be really good, would be XEUS could do an X-RAY Ultra Deep Field, similar to the <br />Hubble's, but in X-Rays, to show the violence of super massive hypergiant stars<br />going supernovae, whilst still in their youth.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

This website gives useful information.

 

[tohaki]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Is any comment really needed?<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Yes, I think so. I would love to see an increase in the ESA, and national agencies, bugdet, but public spending in the ESA member countries includes a public health service. I don't want to get into a political discussion, but the US has the highest percentage of GDP spending on healthcare in the World, yet there are 47 million people without health insurance coverage. In comparison that is somewhere in between the populations of Spain and England (not the UK).