Aurora: The Dawn of European Human and Robotic Planetary Exploration

Abstract

Before 2030, an international human mission to Mars may become a reality. Europe has to decide whether to play a key role in the next phase of human spaceflignt or whether to join later as a junior partner. Deciding which areas of expertise Europe wants to lead in the future is a step that cannot be left to the future partners, and has to be taken soon. The recent call for ideas issued by ESA, in relation to a future programme for space exploration, with its more than 300 responses, has clearly demonstrated the interest, as well as the potentialities, of Europe in this field.

The Aurora programme, recently presented and approved at the Ministerial Conference held in Edinburgh, is the response of Europe to this challenging goal. It can be seen as a “road map” for human exploration from which a large number of scientific as well as technological spin-offs will emerge. It highlights the interest to explore solar system bodies that may hold promise for traces of life. The proposed multi-step approach builds up from robotic exploration missions to preparatory precursor missions for human exploration, taking into account international missions that are already planned, as well as the recognised expertise developed in different European countries.

This paper outlines the main scientific objectives of the Aurora programme, its strategic goals and programmatic aspects. Different scenarios are discussed, identifying the European interests and priorities, and the enabling technologies that are required.