Bernard Foing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Ecole Normale Supérieure of Education & Technology [1] |
| Known for | Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1 |
| Spouse(s) | Pascale Ehrenfreund |
Bernard Foing is a French scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA), [2] Executive Director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) [3] and was Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1, the first European mission to the Moon. [4] He is also a research professor at the VU Amsterdam and at Florida Tech. [5]
Born in France, [1] Bernard Foing has a PhD in Astrophysics and Space Techniques. [6] He worked 3 years in Chile as an astronomer for the European Southern Observatory (ESO), [6] the French embassy, and as Professor of Astrophysics. [1] A researcher at French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) since 1986, [7] Foing obtained the Habilitation for direction of research in 1990. [7] At ESA since 1993, he is Senior Research Coordinator at the Research and Scientific Support Department. [6] He was president of ILEWG in 1998-2000 and now is their Executive Director. [6] Foing collaborates with his wife, Pascale Ehrenfreund of the German Aerospace Center, in some of his research. [8]
Foing is known as the father of SMART-1. [3] [9] Serving as Principal Project Scientist from conception in 1996, [4] SMART-1 was the first European mission to the Moon. [10] SMART-1's goals were both technological and scientific. [11] First in a series of "Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology", [11] SMART-1 was used to test new state-of-the art instruments such as a solar-electric primary propulsion system. [12] SMART-1 also performed scientific observations of the Moon including determining the Moon's mineralogical composition and the presence and quantity of water in the craters at the Moon's south pole. [12] Launched on September 27, 2003, [13] SMART-1 entered lunar orbit in November 2004 [14] and continued orbit until it was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface on September 3, 2006. [15] [16] Said Foing, "SMART-1 data are helping to choose future landing sites for robotic and possible manned missions, and its instruments are upgraded and being flown again on the next generation of lunar satellites." [17]
Foing is an organic chemist for Mars Express, [18] a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency. [19] Launched on June 2, 2004, [20] Mars Express is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. [19] Foing is also co-investigator of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) for the Mars Express orbiter. [21] The HRSC is a high-resolution camera that can make full-color 3-D images of Mars's surface. [22] The camera can also zoom in for a closer look and may be helpful in identifying useful landing sites for future Mars missions. [22]
Foing has published over 400 articles, including 160 refereed papers, in lunar and planetary science and exploration, solar/stellar physics and astrobiology. [1] He edited 16 books and organized over 50 international conferences and symposia. [1]
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle.
Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was designed and built. However, "Express" also describes the spacecraft's relatively short interplanetary voyage, a result of being launched when the orbits of Earth and Mars brought them closer than they had been in about 60,000 years.
A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, comes to rest on, the surface of an astronomical body. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.
SMART-1 was a Swedish-designed European Space Agency satellite that orbited around the Moon. It was launched on 27 September 2003 at 23:14 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. "SMART-1" stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1. On 3 September 2006, SMART-1 was deliberately crashed into the Moon's surface, ending its mission.
The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habitability potential. Engineering interplanetary journeys is complicated and the exploration of Mars has experienced a high failure rate, especially the early attempts. Roughly sixty percent of all spacecraft destined for Mars failed before completing their missions and some failed before their observations could begin. Some missions have met with unexpected success, such as the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity which operated for years beyond their specification.
The Italian Space Agency is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospace research and technology.
Venus Express (VEX) was the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and began continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven scientific instruments, the main objective of the mission was the long term observation of the Venusian atmosphere. The observation over such long periods of time had never been done in previous missions to Venus, and was key to a better understanding of the atmospheric dynamics. It was hoped that such studies can contribute to an understanding of atmospheric dynamics in general, while also contributing to an understanding of climate change on Earth. ESA concluded the mission in December 2014.
Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth in the case of sample-return missions. Planetary protection reflects both the unknown nature of the space environment and the desire of the scientific community to preserve the pristine nature of celestial bodies until they can be studied in detail.
A moonbase is a facility on the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity at the Moon. As such it is different from a lunar space station in orbit around the Moon, like the planned Lunar Gateway of the Artemis program. Moonbases can be for uncrewed or crewed use, in both cases not necessarily including lunar habitation facilities. A base might be a step towards colonization.
The Mars Exploration Joint Initiative (MEJI) is an agreement signed between United States' space agency, NASA, and Europe's space agency, ESA to join resources and expertise in order to continue the exploration of the planet Mars. The agreement was signed in Washington D.C. in October 2009, between NASA administrator Charles Bolden and ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain.
Planetary Transportation Systems (PTS), formerly known as PTScientists and Part-Time Scientists, is a Berlin-based aerospace company. They developed the robotic lunar lander "ALINA" and seek to land on the Moon with it. They became the first German team to officially enter the Google Lunar X-Prize competition on June 24, 2009, but failed to reach the finals in 2017 for lack of a launch contract. During the summer of 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy, and the ALINA project was put on hold. In July 2021, PTS was selected with ArianeGroup to build ESA's ASTRIS kick-stage.
Terrestrial analogue sites are places on Earth with assumed past or present geological, environmental or biological conditions of a celestial body such as the Moon or Mars. Analogue sites are used in the frame of space exploration to either study geological or biological processes observed on other planets, or to prepare astronauts for surface extra-vehicular activity.
David John Southwood is a British space scientist who holds the post of Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College London. He was the President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2012–2014, and earlier served as the Director of Science and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency (2001–2011). Southwood's research interests have been in solar–terrestrial physics and planetary science, particularly magnetospheres. He built the magnetic field instrument for the Cassini Saturn orbiter.
The Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) is a non-governmental, nonprofit, science organisation, based in Cyprus, with a global scope of service and activities. Its main functions are outreach, education, research, development, space advocacy, and international cooperation in the field of space exploration, astronautics and astronomy. The organisation promotes and facilitates international scientific collaboration in space exploration, and fosters domestically collaboration with other space-faring nations in science, space and planetary missions. It was founded in 2012 and has over 1000 registered researchers, members and volunteers and over 300,000+ followers on social media. Its president is George A Danos, and the chair of CSEO's international council is Prof Marcello Coradini, ESA's head of solar system and robotic exploration (1987–2010).
Luna 26 is a planned lunar polar orbiter, part of the Luna-Glob program, by Roscosmos. In addition to its scientific role, the Luna 26 orbiter would also function as a telecomm relay between Earth and Russian landed assets. This mission was announced in November 2014, and its launch is planned for 2024 on a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle.
International Lunar Exploration Working Group(ILEWG) is a public forum sponsored by the world's space agencies to support "international cooperation towards a world strategy for the exploration and utilization of the Moon - our natural satellite".
HERACLES is a planned robotic transport system to and from the moon by Europe (ESA), Japan (JAXA) and Canada (CSA) that will feature a lander called the European Large Logistic Lander, a Lunar Ascent Element, and a rover. The lander can be configured for different operations such as up to 1.5 tons of cargo delivery, sample-returns, or prospecting resources found on the Moon.
Katherine Helen Joy is a Reader in Earth Sciences at the University of Manchester. Joy has studied lunar samples from the Apollo program as part of her research on meteorites and lunar science.
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