posted on Oct, 22 2005 @ 10:56 AM
As some of you seemed not to have a good knowledge of what's Europe is doing in space, i wanted to give you a list of the ESA's recent and upcoming
missions:
(the dates are the launch dates)
Smart 1 (2003) : mission to the Moon, testing ion propulsion
Mars Express (2003) : mission to Mars
Rosetta (2004) : mission to the comet 67 P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko, composed of an orbiter and a lander
Venus Express (2005) : mission to Venus
Corot (2006) : telescope searching for rocky exoplanets
Herschel (2007) : OBJECTIVES:
Study the formation of galaxies in the early universe and their subsequent evolution
Investigate the creation of stars and their interaction with the interstellar medium
Observe the chemical composition of the atmospheres and surfaces of comets, planets and satellites
Examine the molecular chemistry of the universe
Planck (2007) : OBJECTIVES:
Mapping of Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies with improved sensitivity and angular resolution
Determination of Hubble constant
Testing inflationary models of the early universe
Measuring amplitude of structures in Cosmic Microwave Background
LISA-pathfinder (2008) : LISA Pathfinder will pave the way for the LISA mission by testing in flight the very concept of the gravitational
wave detection
Exomars (2011) : a powerful rover to Mars, with a focus on exobiology
Gaia (2011) : To create the largest and most precise three dimensional chart of our Galaxy
JWST (2011) : successor to Hubble (collaboration with NASA)
Bepi Colombo(2012) : 1st dual Mercury orbiters, 1st European deep-space probe using electric propulsion
Mars Sample Return mission
LISA (2014) : OBJECTIVES:
To be the first spacecraft to detect gravitational waves. (collaboration with NASA)
Darwin (2015) : Darwin will use a flotilla of three space telescopes, each at least 3 metres in diameter, and a fourth spacecraft to server as
communications hub. The telescopes will operate together to scan the nearby Universe, looking for signs of life on Earth-like planets
XEUS (2015) : XEUS will be the best X-ray observatory to date.
Solar Orbiter (2015) : Will produce images of the Sun at an unprecedented resolution and perform closest ever in-situ measurements.
Hyper(2020) : Hyper will precisely map the fabric of space around the Earth and measure with high precision the fine structure constant.
Other Missions (2012 - 2020)
Jovian Minisat Explorer : The mission focuses primarily on the exploration of Europa
Venus Entry Probe : study of Venus with mini probes and a balloon
Interstellar Heliopause Probe : The main scientific objective of the IHP is to investigate the interface region between the local interstellar
medium and the heliosphere and to truly reach the interstellar medium at 200 AU
Deimos Sample Return : sample return mission , Deimos is one of mars's satelite
Solar Polar Orbiter
the gamma ray lens
Mod Edit: format
[edit on 22-10-2005 by sanctum]