Fundamental physics in space in ESA and COSPAR

Abstract

In recent years, fundamental physics has emerged as a new discipline in European space science. This Symposium marks the topic's entry into the COSPAR programme. There has been a small but important community active in the USA for many years. In Europe, the topic's history goes back to the very origins of cooperative space science. After a decade of activity in the 1970s and a period of hibernation in the 1980s the topic has now re-emerged, triggered by the activities in the USA. Exciting projects are now being studied by ESA, such as testing the Equivalence Principle with unprecedented precision and the search for gravitational waves. In space, experiments in fundamental physics can often be carried out with much higher precision than on the ground because of the quieter gravitational background and the absence of the 1-g gravity. Some detections, e.g. gravitational waves at low frequencies, can only be made in space. Scientific objectives of fundamental physics missions are distinctly different ( questioning the laws of Nature) from the objectives of astronomy and Solar System missions (taking the laws of Nature for granted and applying them). There is clearly now an active community of fundamental physicists in Europe in need of space flight opportunities, as there has been one in the USA for quite a while, and this is now being recognised by COSPAR. Consequently, on 21 July 1996, the COSPAR Council decided to set up a Scientific Commission for Fundamental Physics in Space (SC-H).