The contribution of the science technology programme to low-cost planetary missions

Since its unanimous approval in December 2000 by the Industrial Policy Committee, the Technology Programme of the Science Directorate in support of its Future Missions has been inspired by two overwhelming considerations: innovation and timeliness. As a matter of fact, the variety and complexity of the scientific challenges posed by these missions require the development of a large number of new, innovative technologies, before the beginning of the implementation phase of these missions, at a readiness level up to an electrical model, tested in the relevant environment, with the ultimate aim of minimizing schedule delays and cost increases. With an overall investment, which exceeds 80 million Euro, the more than 110 development activities which make up the Technology Programme, cover all the 3 main domains of the Science Programme: Fundamental Physics, Astrophysics, Solar and Planetary Exploration. Particularly within this latter domain, innovation is equivalent to miniaturization. This is the main underlying theme for most of the thirty-plus technology activities presently under development, since, without a significant reduction in mass and in power consumption of their space segment, planetary missions like BepiColombo and solar orbiter or any future low-cost planetary missions would not be feasible. For this reason, a substantial technological effort, supported by a total investment of more than 25 million Euro, has been focused not only on sensors and instrumentations, but also on several spacecraft subsystems. They range from the attitude and orbit control to navigation for planetary approach and landing; from data handling to avionics electronics; from power distribution to low thrust propulsion and spacecraft-to-lander communications. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.