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Towards a European Infrastructure for Lunar Observatories
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ANNOUNCEMENT OF A
SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP
Bremen, March 22-23, 2005
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sponsored by EADS*, ASTRON**, and Radionet ***
Scope of the Workshop
Currently the European Space Flight is adapting to new objectives and
challenges. In this phase of re-orientation, fundamental decisions need
to be taken very soon regarding the long term orientation and the positioning
of European Space Flight. Concerning the European Space Agency's Exploration
activities this year's ministerial conference is regarded as major milestone
for the decision on a new vision and long term plan. Among the main options
are missions to the Moon and to Mars.
This may bring about opportunities to realize an old scientific
dream, that of establishing observatories on the moon. Similarly, the
European space industry has a significant interest in contributing its
technology for such a mission and to work towards a sustainable presence
on the nearest solar system body. In this workshop we would like to bring
together representatives from science and industry to discuss the various
options, time scales, and scientific justifications for scientific experiments
on the Lunar surface.
One possible route is to build up a common infrastructure
for deployment, data processing, and communication. This infrastructure
may be concentrated to a certain area, such as one of the poles, or even
be distributed over the moon as in the Wide Areas Sensor Network concept
of LOFAR. Possible experiments could range from low-frequency radio observatories,
to submm-wave, optical, or X-ray telescopes. Apart from astronomical sensors
one can also envisage a network of seismic sensor or other detectors spread
over a part of the lunar surface.
The basic goal will be to come up with an inventory of
ideas and discuss their possible merits and feasibility. The results of
the workshop will become part of a vision that will be proposed to ESA
and also helps science and industry to plane the next generation of exploration
missions.
Format:
The Workshop will consist of a series of solicited and
contributed talks and also leave ample space for discussions. To ensure
efficient discussions, the number of participants is
restricted to 30.
Location:
The workshop will take place at the EADS Conference Centre
in Bremen, Germany. For accommodation, the Atlantic Airport Hotel is in
walking distance. During the workshop there will be an opportunity to
visit the production and research facilities of EADS in Bremen, such as
for ISS components or the new Airbus A380.
Time:
The Workshop will start with a joint lunch on Tuesday,
March 22nd and talks will last until the evening of March 23rd. A final
round table discussion will take place on the morning of
March 24th for interested parties planning further proposal and research
activities.
Funding:
There will be no registration fee. Some travel support
can be granted to a limited number of participants upon request. Lunch
and Dinner will be covered.
Participation and Registration:
The organization of the conference will be handled by ASTRON.
Interested scientists who want to participate should send an Email to
the workshop secretary vries@astron.nl
with a copy to the co-chairs (falcke@astron.nl
& Hartmut.Mueller@space.eads.net)
indicating their interests and a possible contribution (title of talk).
The final selection of the participants will be made by a scientific organizing
committee in due time.
Scientific Organizing Committee:
Hartmut Müller/EADS (Co-chair)
Heino Falcke/ASTRON (Co-chair)
George Miley (Univ. Leiden)
Dietrich Lemke (Max-Planck Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg)
Leonid Gurvits (Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, JIVE)
Graham Woan (University of Glasgow)
*
EADS/EADS SPACE Transportation is the European space transportation and
orbital systems specialist. It designs, develops and produces Ariane launchers,
the Columbus laboratory
and the ATV cargo vessel for the International Space Station, atmospheric
re-entry vehicles, propulsion systems and space equipment.
**
ASTRON is short for the Stichting ASTRonomisch Onderzoek in Nederland
(Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy) it operates under the
umbrella of the Dutch national research council, NWO (* Nederlandse Organisatie
voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek). It currently builds the LOFAR radio
telescope and wide area sensor network.
***
RadioNet is an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative (I3), funded under
the European Committee Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), that has pulled
together all of Europe's leading astronomy facilities to produce a focused,
coherent and integrated project that will significantly enhance the quality
and quantity of science performed by European astronomers.
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