SRE-FM: Advanced Payload and Mission Concepts Office
System studies ensure that the mission key science and/or exploration objectives and the assigned programmatic boundaries are met, with a view to enabling critical programmatic decisions such as: the selection of the mission to be implemented for a given launch opportunity, or the submission of a programme proposal to the Member States who have subscribed to a robotic exploration mission.
SRE-FM has a number of key tasks:
- Management of all Comic Vision and Mars Robotic Exploration candidate missions in assessment phase, and enabling a smooth transition of the selected missions to Phase B1, including identification of remaining technology developments that are needed
- Definition of the corresponding Technology Development Plans inputs
- Development of specific related technologies required for future missions, in close co-operation with the Technology Preparation Section SRE-FT
- The elaboration of the technical documentation for the Announcement of Opportunities (AO) for the payload
- Technical Management of instrument consortia during Phase A
- Preparation of the Preliminary Requirements Review
- Contribution to ESA Calls for Missions targeting a launch opportunity, including preparation of the Call technical documentation, and technical feasibility evaluation of mission proposals for supporting the selection of candidate missions;
- Preparation of Technology Reference Studies in preparation of Calls for Cosmic Vision and for MREP
The Advanced Payload and Mission Concepts Office consist of three sections:
- Astrophysics and Fundamental Physics Missions Section (SRE-FMA)
- Solar System and Robotic Exploration Missions Section (SRE-FMP)
- Payload Instruments Section (SRE-FMI)
Before going into the assessment phase, each potential future mission must have an initial proposal. In the case of science missions, proposals come from the science community in response to a call for ideas under ESA's 'Cosmic Vision' programme. For Robotic Exploration missions an initial proposal is provided by ESA on behalf of the participating ESA Member States.
The assessment studies are generally performed in three steps:
- The first step of a mission study consists of a phase 0 (or pre-phase A), typically carried out at ESA's Concurrent Design Facility (CDF). It includes the definition of the mission requirements, the preliminary payload definition, and the design of the mission concept.
- The second step is a consolidation of the mission concept through dedicated industrial studies, mainly devoted to the spacecraft design and evaluation. In parallel, any required technology developments are initiated and the instrument studies are actively promoted in the participating ESA Member States.
- The final step is a synthesis of the mission concept, including programmatic factors such as schedule, possible risks and cost. Usually this step is concluded with a Preliminary Requirements Review (PRR).
SUPPORTING THE COSMIC VISION PROGRAMME
The Office performs the technical and programmatic evaluation of Cosmic Vision proposals, submitted by the scientific community to ESA. The following calls have been supported so far:
- Joint call for missions (ESA - Chinese Academy of Science, January 2015)
- Medium (M-class) missions calls (August 2014, July 2010 and March 2007)
- Large (L-class) missions call (March 2013, March 2007)
- Small (S-class) missions call (March 2012)
SUPPORTING THE MARS ROBOTICS EXPLORATION PREPARATION PROGRAMME
The Office performs mission and system studies, and technology development for the optional Mars Robotic Exploration Preparation Programme (MREP), partly in collaboration with international partners. The following studies have been carried out:
- Phootprint (Phobos Sample return)
- Inspire (Mars Network Mission)
- Mars Precision Lander (MPL)
- Mars Sample Fetching Rover (SFR)
- Mars Sample Return Orbiter (MSR-O)
- Mars Atmospheric Sample Return (ASR)