Explore2040 - The European Exploration Strategy

Dr. Angelique Van Ombergen
European Space Agency (ESA), Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration

Dr. Gerhard Kminek
European Space Agency (ESA), Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration

ESA's Explore2040 is a refined European exploration strategy. At the core of the strategy is a bold vision to establish continuous, sustainable, and responsible human and robotic exploration of the Solar System by providing unique contributions and benefiting society. Explore2040 firmly asserts science, the economy, cooperation, and inspiration as primary strategic drivers for Europe's continued exploration efforts. The refined strategy puts exploration into a wider perspective, serving ESA's 2040 vision and underlying the close links between space transportation, critical space-based infrastructure and related terrestrial applications and science. In this talk we will present Explore2040 and provide examples of on-going and future efforts to implement the strategy.

Conference Room A (1257) (2nd floor/ New Building A),　Via Zoom

The Search for Habitable Exoplanets: From the James Webb Space Telescope to the future Habitable Worlds Observatory

Dr. Kevin France
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder

The discovery of thousands of planets orbiting stars beyond the solar system has fundamentally shifted our view of Earth's place in the Universe, has captivated the public imagination, and has transformed research priorities in astrophysics. We are now actively searching for atmospheres on temperate, terrestrial planets, and are developing the technical tools to find and characterize "Earth-2.0". The goal of understanding the frequency and diversity of habitable (and inhabited) planets requires multiple techniques for exoplanetary observation and a detailed understanding of the evolving stellar environments in which they live.

In this talk, I will present an overview of the multiple paths in our search for inhabited planets, from current efforts to find temperate planets with stable atmospheres around red dwarf stars with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to future detection of true Earth-Sun analogs with NASA's upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). I will summarize recent progress and open questions in understanding the key parameters that influence exoplanet atmospheres, focusing on results from JWST and observational and experimental work at ultraviolet wavelengths to characterize the stellar photons and coronal mass ejections that shape rocky planets. I will then present an overview of the upcoming HWO mission, current opportunities for international collaboration with the mission development, and the path to launch in the ~2040 timeframe.

Conference Hall (2nd floor/ Research and Administration Building A),　Via Zoom

Low frequency Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Dr. Karsten Danzmann
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (AEI) Hannover / Leibniz Universität Hannover

For thousands of years, humanity has observed the universe with light. Since the first direct detection of gravitational waves on September 14, 2015, ten years ago, our view of the cosmos has fundamentally changed. Gravitational wave astronomy on Earth has now become routine. The next step is to open the low frequency window with laser interferometers in space. For more than 30 years, we have been developing the LISA mission. In January 2024, LISA was officially adopted by ESA, and we are now in Phase B2. With the selection of the industrial prime, the mission is progressing steadily toward its launch in 2035, bringing us ever closer to listening to the gravitational-wave universe from space.

Conference Hall (2nd floor/ Research and Administration Building A),　Via Zoom

Imaging and Design with Differentiable Physics Models

Dr. Benjamin Pope
Macquarie University

The technology that underpins machine learning - differentiable programming - is poised to revolutionise astronomy, making it possible for the first time to fit very high dimensional models: hierarchical models describing many objects; the sensitivity of millions of pixels in a detector; models of images or spectra with very many free parameters; or neural networks that represent physics we cannot easily solve in closed form. It also enables fundamental information-theoretic quantities like the Fisher information to be calculated, allowing for determination and optimization of the information content of an experiment. I will discuss how we apply this to the James Webb interferometer experiment, to provide a data-driven self-calibration of the telescope's highest resolution mode and its difficult systematics; to design the Toliman Space Telescope to do high-precision, distortion-tolerant astrometry; and give an overview of related work on interferometry, transits and AGN reverberation mapping in our group.

Conference Hall (2nd floor/ Research and Administration Building A),　Via Zoom

Unraveling plasma physics of spacecraft electric propulsion systems

Dr. Kentaro HARA
Stanford University, Aeronautics and Astronautics

Spacecraft electric propulsion (EP) systems have become an essential tool for space exploration and utilization. Propulsion devices with high thrust, high specific impulse, high efficiency, and long lifetime help enable current and future space missions. Electrical power, typically collected from solar panels, is used to energize and ionize propellant to generate thrust. Despite the success of EP systems, predictive modeling of ionized gases, i.e., plasmas, remains challenging due to the coupling between collisional-radiative processes, plasma-wall interaction, circuit-plasma coupling, and plasma instabilities and turbulence. In this seminar, I will introduce the state-of-the-art EP technologies and the plasma physics problems associated with EP systems. I will then discuss recent advancements in the physics-based and data-driven models, including fluid moment approaches, particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision models, and data assimilation using extended and ensemble Kalman filters.

Conference Room A (1257) (2nd floor/ New Building A),　Via Zoom

Revealing the Core of the Milky Way through Japanese Infrared Astronomy Projects

Dr. Shogo Nishiyama
Miyagi University of Education

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is an area of great interest not only in astronomy, but also in the fields of physics and advanced science and technology. It holds clues to the Milky Way's formation and evolution history, and continues to be a site where new stars and star clusters are born. It is not only the stage for the discovery of a supermassive black hole, but also a testing ground for theories of gravity, including general relativity. Such research has been made possible by cutting-edge technologies such as infrared detectors, adaptive optics, and optical-infrared interferometry. In this talk, I will present the current picture of the Galactic center that has emerged from past studies. In addition, extensive observational projects are underway. Among these, the collaboration between JASMINE and Subaru will provide a more detailed and extensive view of the center of Milky Way.

Conference Hall (2nd floor/ Research and Administration Building A),　Via Zoom