Related papers: AMBITION -- Comet Nucleus Cryogenic Sample Return …
Some of the major discoveries of the recent Cassini-Huygens mission have put Titan and Enceladus firmly on the Solar System map. The mission has revolutionised our view of Solar System satellites, arguably matching their scientific…
Endurance is a mission concept to explore and ultimately return samples from the Moon's largest and oldest impact basin, South Pole-Aitken (SPA). SPA holds the answers to many outstanding planetary science questions, including the earliest…
We present a study of an impacting descent probe that increases the science return of spacecraft orbiting or passing an atmosphere-less planetary body of the solar system, such as the Galilean moons of Jupiter. The descent probe is a…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is one of several organizations that have presented goals for future CO2 emissions from commercial aviation with the intent of alleviating the associated environmental impacts. These goals…
The upcoming Comet Interceptor mission involves a parking phase around the Sun-Earth L2 point before transferring to intercept the orbit of a long period comet, interstellar object or a back-up target in the form of a short-period comet.…
SPACE (SPectroscopic All-sky Cosmic Explorer) is a class-M mission proposed to ESA for the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 call and recently promoted to the next assessment study phase. SPACE will produce the first all-sky spectroscopic survey of…
Future observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarisation have the potential to answer some of the most fundamental questions of modern physics and cosmology. In this paper, we list the requirements for a future CMB polarisation…
The Rosetta mission and its exquisite measurements have revived the debate on whether comets are pristine planetesimals or collisionally evolved objects. We investigate the collisional evolution experienced by the precursors of current…
Space-borne quantum technologies, particularly those based on atom interferometry, are heralding a new era of strategic and robust space exploration. The unique conditions of space, characterized by low noise and low gravity environments,…
ESA and NASA are studying projects having a tremendous return on variable star research. Other national space agencies are also studying or developing projects of smaller costs but with impressive returns. The projects range from global…
ESO and ESA agreed to establish a number of Working Groups to explore possible synergies between these two major European astronomical institutions. This Working Group's mandate was to concentrate on fundamental questions in cosmology, and…
This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei. For a…
Amateur astronomers can make useful contributions to the study of comets. They add temporal coverage and multi-scale observations which can aid the study of fast-changing, and large-scale comet features. We document and review the amateur…
We advocate for the realization of volatile sample return from various destinations including: small bodies, the Moon, Mars, ocean worlds/satellites, and plumes. As part of recent mission studies (e.g., Comet Astrobiology Exploration SAmple…
Euclid is the next ESA mission devoted to cosmology. It aims at observing most of the extragalactic sky, studying both gravitational lensing and clustering over $\sim$15,000 square degrees. The mission is expected to be launched in year…
Odyssey 2 will be proposed in December 2010 for the next call of M3 missions for Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. This mission, under a Phase 0 study performed by CNES, will aim at Neptune and Triton. Two sets of objectives will be pursued. The…
We summarize the comet science provided by surveys. This includes surveys where the detections of comets are an advantageous benefit but were not part of the survey\'s original intent, as well as some pointed surveys where comet science was…
Today, thanks in particular to the results of the ESA Planck mission, the concordance cosmological model appears to be the most robust to describe the evolution and content of the Universe from its early to late times. It summarizes the…
We summarize the collective knowledge of physical and surface properties of comet nuclei, focusing on those that are obtained from remote observations. We now have measurements or constraints on effective radius for over 200 comets,…
The space mission LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), scheduled for launch in 2035, aims to detect gravitational wave (GW) signals in the milli-Hz band. In the context of ESA Voyage 2050 Call for new mission concepts, other frequency…