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We present a study of the current state of knowledge concerning spacecraft operations and potential hazards while operating near a comet nucleus. Starting from simple calculations comparing the cometary coma environment to benign conditions…
THESEUS is a space mission concept, currently under Phase A study by ESA as candidate M5 mission, aiming at exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts for investigating the early Universe and at providing a substantial advancement of multi-messenger and…
Energetic plasma is everywhere in the Universe. The terrestrial Magnetospheric System is a key case where direct measures of plasma energization and energy transport can be made in situ at high resolution. Despite the large amount of…
The current standard model of cosmology successfully describes a variety of measurements, but the nature of its main ingredients, dark matter and dark energy, remains unknown. Euclid is a medium-class mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025…
Magnetic reconnection powers explosive releases of magnetic energy, heating and particle acceleration throughout the plasma universe. Knowledge of this universal process is vital to understanding the Heliosphere, as it plays a key role in…
We propose a new mission called Space Project for Astrophysical and Cosmological Exploration (SPACE) as part on the ESA long term planning Voyage 2050 programme. SPACE will study galaxy evolution at the earliest times, with the key goals of…
The standard $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model provides an amazing description of a wide range of astrophysical and astronomical data. However, there are a few big open questions, that make the standard model look like a…
This article reviews the results obtained by the Rosetta space probe on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the expectations of future space exploration of comets. -------------- Cet article pr\'esente une synth\`ese des r\'esultats obtenus…
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta mission has returned a vast data set of measurements of the inner gas coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. These measurements have been used by different groups to determine the distribution of…
The next generation of space-based experiments will go hunting for answers to cosmology's key open questions which revolve around inflation, dark matter and dark energy. Low earth orbit and lunar missions within the European Space Agency's…
Context. Near-Earth asteroid-comet transition object 107P/ (4015) Wilson-Harrington is a possible target of the joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Marco Polo sample return mission. Physical…
In this paper I review the main topics on the energetic Universe that have been put forward as main science goals in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 exercise. I discuss the study of matter under extreme conditions (both under strong gravity and…
Driven by the support and interest of the international space plasma community to examine simultaneous physical plasma scales and their interactions, the Cross-Scale Mission concept was submitted and accepted as an ESA Cosmic Vision M-class…
This chapter aims at providing the tools and knowledge to understand and model the plasma environment surrounding comets in the innermost part near the nucleus. In particular, our goal is to give an updated post-Rosetta view of this ionised…
The origin of many elements of the periodic table remains an unsolved problem. While many nucleosynthetic channels are broadly understood, significant uncertainties remain regarding certain groups of elements such as the intermediate and…
Understanding the Universe's origins and evolution remains one of the most fundamental challenges in modern cosmology. This white paper explores three key science priorities in this field: unravelling the physics of cosmic inflation,…
This white paper addresses key challenges for the design of next-decade Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments, and for assessing their capability to extract cosmological information from CMB polarization. We focus here on the…
STE-QUEST is a fundamental science mission which is considered for launch within the Cosmic Vision programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). Its main scientific objectives relate to probing various aspects of Einstein's theory of…
We present the main scientific goals and characteristics of the ESA Planck satellite mission, as well as the main features of the survey strategy and simulated performance in terms of measuring the temperature and polarization of the Cosmic…
We advocate for establishing key scientific priorities for the future of Mercury exploration, including the development of specific science goals for a landed mission. We support the Mercury science community in fostering closer…