ASTROMAP

Astrobiology and Space Missions Road Mapping

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'AstRoMap (Astrobiology Road Mapping activity) is a Coordination action that aims at providing the European Planetary Science Community with a road map in space science and astrobiology. The goals of the project are: (i) to pose big scientific questions that could be answered with the help of space missions, and (ii) to identify according space missions to be developed in future programs. Project work include the organization of expert panels and international workshops open to the scientific community in order to discuss about those big questions and the science objectives that could be accomplished by space missions. The main deliverable would be a road map which will include, at least, the following aspects: the identification of a minimum number of missions, ordered by priority, which could shed light over the questions identified as the big challenges for the next decades of space exploration; the evaluation of the technological challenges on the space mission aspects as well as the identification of Earth Analogues to test scientific hypothesis and instrumentation. The last aspect will establish the synergies and links with the terrestrial (extreme environments) side of the project with important social benefits. The driving force of the work will be the identification of next generation technologies for space missions which could also be used for new industrial applications on Earthas socio-economicreturn. Finally, the last but not least aspect would be the involvement of the private sector which would be the main actor for new industrial technology developments to become real. AstRoMap will provide the ideal scientific and technical environment to fully analyse the new technological developments and instruments for preparing the next generation of space missions. AstRoMap will play a vital role in establishing the European Community as a leading player in planetary and space exploration.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

European funding is allowing scientists to define and recommend research activities aiming to explore the origins of life on Earth and determine whether life exists elsewhere in the Universe.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

How did life begin and evolve on Earth? Under which conditions can life exist? How can we detect life on a planet other than Earth, even in its simplest form? These are questions that have been asked in various ways for generations. Today, however, the development of a robust scientific programme can help better explore these long-standing questions.

This requires interdisciplinary research that combines molecular biology, planetary science and space exploration technologies. The broad character of astrobiology compelled Europe's leading scientists to develop a forum for effective exchange of information. The dedicated website has been developed within the 'Astrobiology and space missions road mapping' (http://www.astromap.eu/ (ASTROMAP)) project.

The ASTROMAP project aims to chart the future directions of astrobiology research. To achieve its objective, Europe's leading researchers have been invited to register on the http://www.astromap.eu/astromap-database-of-researchers.html (ASTROMAP database) and make available their own research profile. Besides the networking aspect, the information collected will be used as a starting point to draft a roadmap.

The ASTROMAP roadmap will be the result of a series of consultations and topical expert workshops. This will feed in through a cross-domain integration process implemented by the project members and selected European Experts, including representatives from the European Astrobiology Network Association (EANA).

In putting together the astrobiology roadmap, ASTROMAP partners want to engage as diverse a community as possible. In the online community, the team hopes to engage a wide cross-section of the European astrobiology community. It is designed specifically to support the collaboration of scientists who might not otherwise be able to physically attend workshops. Key points raised will be used to inform the four roadmapping workshops scheduled to take place during the project's lifetime.

By opening up the roadmapping process, ASTROMAP partners will prepare a document that is robust and covers the wide range of disciplines encompassed by astrobiology research. The astrobiology roadmap will serve as a guide for how research proposals are selected and astrobiology goals are integrated with space missions.