A la meva faena tracto molt amb la recerca, però habitualment no amb l'astronomia. Avui, si he trobat aquesta noticia. Em sembla força interessant: explica cap a on van les inversions públices per la ciència d'astronomia a Europa. Es curiós coneixer les prioritats. Imagina't! Actualment els fons públics comunitaris (= Unió Europea) inverteixen 2000M d'Euros a l'any a la recerca del cel. Vaja, quin pressupost!
Bernadette
Roadmap presents the next 20 years of European astronomy
[2008-11-26]
The EU's ASTRONET project ('Coordinating strategic planning for European astronomy') presented its infrastructure roadmap for the future of European astronomy this week. The roadmap sets out research priorities over the next 20 years and presents a cost-effective approach to addressing them. The plan is supported by astronomers in 28 Member and Associated States of the EU, and reflects a high level of scientific cooperation in the European Research Area (ERA).
The field of astronomy has seen unprecedented changes over the past decades, and Europe has been at the forefront of fundamental research. Major findings have come out of facilities such as the Very Large Telescope run by project partner ESO (European Southern Observatory), the Nordic Optical Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope (a collaboration between the European Space Agency and NASA), to name a few.
'The challenge before us,' the new roadmap states, 'is to consolidate and strengthen this position for the future.'
The roadmap is the culmination of efforts stemming from the 'science vision' document prepared by ASTRONET in 2007, which assessed the most important scientific challenges in astronomy. Addressing those challenges comes with a price tag: a funding increase of around 20% will be necessary to implement the ambitious plan. Currently, European funding for astronomy is estimated at approximately EUR 2 billion a year.
The draughters of the plan were not insensible of the costs: the roadmap sets out a comprehensive plan, in which national and community investments are coordinated and, in some cases, funding from outside of Europe is secured to support larger facilities.
ASTRONET's roadmap identifies areas for improvement such as better access to laboratory facilities and to state-of-the art equipment, as well as a stronger involvement by European industry in the development of facilities. Importantly, it addresses the issue of '[coordinating] space projects and matching ground-based efforts to secure the full scientific returns from the overall investment'.
Priority projects identified by the roadmap include the European 'Extremely Large Telescope', the largest optical telescope ever to be built; the 'Square-Kilometre Array', a vast radio telescope; a four-metre solar telescope; the Cherenkov Telescope Array (an array of specialised optical telescopes to detect gamma-ray emission from black holes); an underwater telescope to detect sub-atomic particles; and two proposed missions to study the planets Jupiter and Saturn and their satellites.
The roadmap also addresses the need to encourage students to pursue careers in science and astronomy, as this is essential for Europe to remain competitive in this area; a steady supply of qualified engineers and scientists over a long period of time is critical for the success of future programmes. According to the report, 'the backbone of European astronomy remains the scientists and research programmes at national universities and research organisations.' Hence, the report suggests a series of measures to promote science and technology careers in schools and universities across Europe.
The ASTRONET roadmap received input from more than 60 selected experts from across Europe, as well as feedback from the community at large. Projects requiring new funds of EUR 10 million or more from European sources and on which spending decisions are required after 2008 were of particular interest.
'Implementing the roadmap will maintain and strengthen the role of Europe in global astronomy within realistic budget limitations,' the report concludes.
ASTRONET, which started in 2005, has been funded with approximately EUR 2.5 million by the EU and will run through September 2009. It is an ERA network financed under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The consortium is coordinated by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and has 10 participants from major European research institutions, including the ESO and the European Space Agency.
For more information on the ASTRONET project, please visit: ASTRONET http://www.astronet-eu.org/