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PrefaceThe international workshop ``Mid- and Far-Infrared Astronomy and Future Space Missions'' was held on April 17 and 18, 2000 at ISAS. The purpose of this workshop was to investigate the scientific significance and technical feasibility of large-aperture cooled space infrared telescopes. About 120 astronomers and engineers from all over the world participated and the workshop was very successful. In particular, the recent results of ISO, status of the development of ASTRO-F and future big missions such as NGST and FIRST, and related scientific discussions were very exciting and fruitful.The last part of the workshop was dedicated for the discussions on future possibilities. The importance and necessity of a large-aperture cooled telescope in space, as being complementary to missions such as NGST and FIRST, was acknowledged by all the participants. The HII/L2 mission now under study in Japan, was regarded as promising for this purpose. Moreover, the importance of international collaboration to consider the possibility of larger-aperture telescopes was emphasized. It was also recommended to organize this kind workshops on a continuing basis. We would like to thank the Science Organizing Committee, the chair persons of sessions, and the Local Organizing Committee for their efforts in making this workshop very successful. We are also thankful to Ms. H. Kimura, K. Nishimatsu and M. Ikeda for their help in running the workshop smoothly. We are very grateful to Drs. T. N. Rengarajan, S. K. Ghosh, and C. Pearson for their thorough checking of the English in the manuscripts. We acknowledge the excellent help rendered by Dr. T. Nakagawa and Ms. K. Nishimatsu in editing the proceedings. November 2000 |
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Toshio Matsumoto Hiroshi Shibai |
| During the conference, the "HII/L2 mission" was renamed "SPICA" (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics). But the old name "HII/L2 mission" is used throughout the proceedings. |
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Last modified: Jan. 13, 2001