Aurora space research will be technology-driven
Scientists working with the European Science Foundation (ESF) are to publish a research programme in May for the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Aurora Programme was established by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2001 as part of Europe's contribution to the international endeavour to explore the solar system. The programme will aim to combine scientific and technological goals when it sends its flotilla of robotic probes to pave the way for humans to land on Mars in the 2030s. 'Aurora is not science-driven in the same way as the mandatory science programme of ESA [the European Space Agency],' says Dr Jean-Claude Worms, of ESF. 'It's a technology-driven programme though it does of course have an important science component.' Indeed, the first Aurora mission to be launched in 2013 or 2014 will be ExoMars, a robotic spacecraft equipped with solar arrays to generate electricity and navigate autonomously with the help of software and optical sensors. Once on the red planet, it will release a rover carrying a laboratory able to analyse rock and soil samples for signs of life. This interdependence of exploration and technology is the basis of the Aurora Programme. On the one hand the desire to explore provides the stimulus to develop new technology, while on the other, it is the introduction of innovative technology that will make exploration possible. In this way, Aurora provides European industry with opportunities to develop the kind of new technology needed to bring the project to fruition. Some of the technological innovations being investigated include aerobraking, precision navigation and landing, propulsion systems that offer cheaper, faster travel; and life-support systems to enable humans to live in hostile space environments. 'If the goals were purely scientific, then scientists probably would not care very much about who takes the lead as long as good science is done. But in this specific context the competitiveness of European industry is important as well and for this you need to develop unique capabilities or at least mirror some capabilities you currently don't have,' said Dr Worms. Currently, the ESF's European Space Sciences Committee is developing priorities under five headings for the Aurora Programme: robotic probes to the Moon, Mars and asteroids, and human expeditions to the Moon and Mars. The recommendations will be announced at a workshop in Athens in May.