ESA calls for ideas for ISS climate experiments

The Earths climate is constantly changing and the European Space Agency (ESA) is proposing using the International Space Station (ISS) to conduct experiments to monitor the change.

Construction of the ISS will be completed next year and it's current planned lifetime is until 2015, however, there is interest in extending the life of the station out to 2020 or even 2025.

Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, a portion of the International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by a station crew member. Credit: NASA

On their website ESA say:

Europe’s scientific community is already using the ISS in a multitude of areas such as life and microgravity sciences, and now Earth science and climate change initiatives are
to be considered too.

Potentially, it can be used as an observation platform for studies into global change, supplementing observations from dedicated satellites.

“The ISS is the obvious laboratory on which, with which and from which we can really help our planet, understand it and develop countermeasures to protect it, and to protect ourselves,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight.

ESA has issued a Call for Ideas to gauge the interest in deploying remote-sensing instruments for global change experiments on the ISS.

Depending on the level of interest and the suitability of the research proposals, it may be followed by a specific Announcement of Opportunity for instruments or multi-user payloads.

Letter of Interest due: 21 December 2009

ESA Feedback to proposers on ideas: 21 March 2010

Read the full ESA item at
http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMNU0CUE1G_index_0.html