Related papers: United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNB…

It has been 20 years since planning began for the 1995 United Nations International Conference on Near-Earth Objects. The conference proceedings established the scientific basis for an international organizational framework to support…

As a short introduction to the astronomy session, the response of the community to the Call for Themes issued by ESA and the specific themes selected by the Astronomy Working Group are briefly presented in connection with the four grand…

The almost universal availability of electronic connectivity, portable devices, and the web is bringing about a major revolution: information of all kinds is rapidly becoming accessible to everyone, transforming social, economic and…

The search of life in the Universe is a fundamental problem of astrobiology and a major priority for NASA. A key area of major progress since the NASA Astrobiology Strategy 2015 (NAS15) has been a shift from the exoplanet discovery phase to…

When the first CubeSats were launched nearly two decades ago, few people believed that the miniature satellites would likely prove to be a useful scientific tool. Skeptics abounded. However, the last decade has seen the highly successful…

I describe the various elements of the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Astrophysics Division Research and Analysis Program and provide quantitative descriptions for factors such as proposal submission characteristics, proposal success…

Astronomy plays a major role in the scientific landscape of Namibia. Because of its excellent sky conditions, Namibia is home to ground-based observatories like the High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.), in operation since 2002.…

Space-science programs provide a wide range of application to a nation's key sectors of development: science-technology infrastructure, education, economy and national security. However, the cost of sustaining a space-science program has…

In an era where astronomical data is expanding at an unprecedented rate, the importance of data sharing and accessibility among astronomy archives cannot be overstated. Since the 1990s, an international partnership between the Space…

Recent advances in miniaturization and commercial availability of critical satellite subsystems and detector technology have made small satellites (SmallSats, including CubeSats) an attractive, low-cost potential solution for space weather…

Nowadays many telescopes around the world are automated and some networks of robotic telescopes are active or planned as shown by the lists we draw up. Such equipment could be used for the training of students and for science in the…

International efforts play a key role in driving all areas of astrophysics. Strategic planning is essential to explore possible partnerships and joint projects that otherwise could not be afforded, and to maximize their scientific return.…

Following several recommendations presented by the Astrophysics Decadal Survey 2010 centered around the need to define "a future ultraviolet-optical space capability," on 2012 May 25, NASA issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking…

There is a growing appreciation that the environmental conditions that we call space weather impact the technological infrastructure that powers the coupled economies around the world. With that comes the need to better shield society…

The "1st Workshop of Astronomy and Astrophysics for Students" was organized with the purpose of bringing togheter scientific Institutions involved in Astrophysical researches, of the Campania region and beyond. In this context the…

This white paper is a summary of the Uranus Flagship Workshop that took place 21 to 23 May 2024 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Co-led by Goddard and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab conveners, we had a broad, international, Science…

Looking ahead to the next decade and imagining the landscape of astronomy in 2020, it is clear that astronomical surveys, large and small, plus extensive follow-up projects, will be a great engine of progress in our profession. Surveys have…

Astrophysics facilities have been of tremendous importance for planetary science. The flagship space observatory Hubble Space Telescope has produced ground-breaking Solar System science, but when launched it did not even have the capability…

In January of 1985, more than 40 years ago, a group of astronomers met with NASA officials to map out the future of NASA space astronomy. Their efforts led to the Great Observatories program, linking four powerful space telescopes to study…

The LISA mission is an international collaboration between ESA, its member states, and NASA, for the detection of gravitational waves from space. It was adopted in January 2024 and is scheduled for launch in the mid-2030's. It will be a…