Omslag

y 2001, ESA had identified robotic and
human exploration of the Solar System as

one of the major undertakings for Europe

and its international partners in the 21st
century. Spacefaring nations, with Europe at the
forefront, have successfully explored other
planets through unmanned missions, and the
International Space Station is a permanent
presence in low Earth orbit. Creating the
framework that brings together the robotic and
human elements of space activities for further
exploration of the Solar System is the next
logical step.

The Aurora Programme Preparatory Phase

The scientific, academic and industrial
communities were polled on the
preferred destinations and objectives of
a

potential long-term

exploration

programme. Mars scored first, followed
by other destinations that included the
Moon. The advice from the different
communities was an important element
in proposing a new European programme
–

the Aurora Space Exploration

Programme – as a building block in a
broader international effort for the
robotic and human exploration of Mars,
with the Moon as an important stepping
stone.

Piero Messina

HME Liaison Office, Directorate for Human
Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration
Programmes, ESA Headquarters, Paris, France

Bruno Gardini

Aurora Exploration Programme Manager,
Directorate for Human Spaceflight,
Microgravity and Exploration Programmes,
ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Daniel Sacotte

Director of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity
and Exploration Programmes, ESA/ESTEC,
Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Simona Di Pippo

Chair, HME Programme Board; Director,
Exploration of the Universe, Italian Space
Agency (ASI)

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Aurora

The Preparatory Phase lasted from

the beginning of 2002 to December
2005, with the number of participating
countries growing along with the
funding. From the initial €14 million, the
envelope reached more than €48 million
from 12 States (Austria, Belgium,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and the UK). Italy was the
main contributor.

In January 2004, the US President

announced a new space policy directing
NASA to implement the

Vision for

Space Exploration

. This was a turning

point in global space policy, creating a
renewed interest in space exploration
among spacefaring nations. An
assessment on how far this new policy
would affect Europe’s exploration
programme was conducted in cooperation
with European space agencies, industry
and other stakeholders gathered in the
Space Exploration Policy Assessment
Group. At the same time, a thorough
revision of the ExoMars mission and its
scientific objectives was performed with
the scientific community and the
national delegations.

The long-term and visionary nature of

space exploration requires well-rooted
support by society at large. This is why a
dialogue with stakeholders and with
sectors not usually involved in space was
conducted throughout 2005. The aim
was to identify the main elements that
should drive Europe’s sustained
involvement in space exploration with
its international partners. At the end of
the consultations, four main drivers
were identified:

Europeans in space:

allowing Europe to

be a significant partner in exploration
by assuring access to enabling
technologies, the presence of European
culture in future space endeavours, the
enhancement of European integration,
and the creation of European pride
around an inspiring and ambitious
cooperative project;

Habitability and life beyond Earth:

increasing our knowledge of life, its
evolution and its environment;

Sustainable human life in space:

the

development of enabling technologies
to support life and protect health, to
access energy, manage environmental
risks and exploit local resources;

Sharing the space adventure and benefits:

communicating the excitement of
human spaceflight and exploration,
and sharing the benefits with the
general public.

On the basis of all the above, together

with indications of

support from

Member States, an ambitious yet
realistic proposal was prepared for the
Aurora Space Exploration Programme
and submitted to the ESA Council
Meeting at Ministerial Level in Berlin
(D) on 5–6 December 2005.

The Approved Aurora Programme

European Ministers confirmed, at the
highest political level, the willingness of
Europe to play a significant role in
exploring and understanding the Solar
System, in particular Mars and the
Moon.

The approved Aurora

Space

Exploration Programme consists of two
main elements: the Core Programme
and Robotic Missions. The first is
defining architectures and scenarios,
and preparing for missions and their
enabling technologies; the other is
developing actual missions.

Core Programme

The Core Programme aims to allow
Europe to participate meaningfully in
the future exploration endeavours,
although further decisions at later
Ministerial Councils will be required.
Based on a building-block approach, the
activities will ensure the robustness of
Europe’s contribution, and include:

– exploration roadmaps, scenarios and

architecture studies. Updating the
scenarios and roadmaps elaborated
during the previous Preparatory
Phase, based on continuous consulta-
tions with the stakeholders and
leading to system studies and mission
architectures for human and robotic

missions to the Moon and Mars.
These activities will enable Europe to
determine its objectives, interests and
priorities by identifying further
missions and elements for realisation;

– development of enabling technologies

for Mars Sample Return (MSR). The
goal of bringing back the first sample
of

Martian soil is a major

technological challenge – and a great
opportunity for the scientific world. It
has important implications for
understanding the planets, studying
the origin of the Solar System, and

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Aurora

searching for life on Mars. MSR is
also a major milestone for exploration
because its mission profile is suitable
for a subsequent human visit to Mars;

– development of

general enabling

technologies for exploration, flight
demonstrations of selected enabling
capabilities, and the preparation of
potential European contributions to
lunar exploration;

– awareness activities, in association

with the European Union, to engage
European citizens in space
exploration and to inspire new
generations through, among others, the
involvement of universities in the
elaboration of

future exploration

missions.

Robotic Missions

This component covers the development,
launch and operation of

selected

exploration missions. The first proposed
European mission is ExoMars – the first
exobiology mission to the planet. Slated
for launch in 2011, it will provide
valuable experience in the design and
operation of new enabling technologies
and capabilities: the entry, descent and
landing system, and the rover, drill and
sample-acquisition systems. It will thus
open the way to future scientific and
exploration missions. At the same time,
ExoMars will return excellent scientific
information by searching for traces of
past and present life, characterising the
planet’s biological environment,
improving our knowledge of

the

Martian environment and geophysics,
and identifying hazards before landing
other spacecraft. ExoMars will qualify
Europe to undertake future Mars
exploration. The mission is described in
greater detail in the following article.

At the Ministerial meeting in

December 2005, Member States could
subscribe to either or both elements: 14
of the 17 countries chose both. In
particular,

ExoMars received over-

whelming support, especially by Italy.
Subscriptions of

more than

€650 million exceeded the financial
envelope required for the proposed
baseline configuration. The Core

Programme attracted some €73 million
for 2006–2009, with Belgium and Italy
being the main contributors, followed by
the UK and Switzerland.

Status and Next Steps

Phase-B1 of ExoMars is due to be
completed by the end of 2006. Under
the prime contractorship of Alcatel
Alenia Space Italy (AAS-I), the phase
has accommodated the outcome of the
Ministerial Council. The baseline
mission, launched by a Soyuz from
Kourou in 2011, includes a carrier, a
descent module, a rover and the scientific
payloads: the exobiology ‘Pasteur’ on
the rover and a geophysical package on
the lander. Communications and data-
relay will be provided by NASA’s Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter, which arrived
at the planet last March.

In order to increase mission robustness

and capabilities – in anticipation of
interest by Member States – two
additional options are being studied in
parallel by industry. An orbiter could be
launched on a second Soyuz, or an
Ariane-5 would allow the baseline’s
carrier to be replaced by an orbiter.
Participating States will be called on to
decide early next year at the
Implementation Review. That meeting
will also take into account the maturity
of the mission concept.

A series of activities is being launched

within the Core Programme, with
special attention to architecture and
system studies, a Mars Sample Return
Phase-A2 study, and key technology
developments for the next mission to
Mars. In particular, the MSR mission is
considered by the scientific community

worldwide as a logical step in the
exploration of Mars. From a scientific
point of view, it will provide samples of
Martian soil to study in our
laboratories, where instruments are far
more powerful than could ever be
carried by spacecraft or rovers. From a
technology standpoint,

the MSR

mission would be the first attempt at a
return trip to the Red Planet, with all its
operational implications.

Conclusions

Aurora is Europe’s framework, through
ESA, for defining and developing the
European contribution, be it capabilities,
building blocks or autonomous
missions, to the global endeavour of the
robotic and human exploration of the
Moon and Mars. Europe’s ambition is
to work out a comprehensive, long-term
exploration strategy, building in a degree
of independence alongside significant
commonality with NASA’s and other
partners’ plans. Europe is seeking to be
a

key partner,

building on its

achievements and experience in robotic,
scientific and planetary missions,
infrastructure development and human
spaceflight. ESA’s planned robotic
missions are fully in line with the
internationally agreed strategy for the
scientific exploration of Mars. They fit
nicely in terms of timing and scientific
goals with other missions to Mars. In an
evolving international context, it is
important that the European
contribution is robust and sustainable
and, to the maximum extent possible,
does not critically depend on a single
partner’s capabilities. Since Aurora’s
inception, international cooperation has
always been identified as a key enabling
element to achieve the long-term goals.
Sound, yet flexible, international
cooperation is therefore an important
element for sustainability and
robustness in the worldwide endeavour
in which Europe and ESA intend to play
a significant role.

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Aurora

Further information on Aurora can be found at

www.esa.int/aurora