Goals and trends in space exploration: An overview of the panel on exploration sessions at the committee on space research general assembly 2024

Kurzfassung

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) has originated in the beginnings of the space age. It was established at the International Council of Scientific Unions (nowadays the International Science Council) during an international meeting in 1958. The purpose of COSPAR, by its Charter from the International Science Council, is ‘‘to promote at an international level scientific research in space, with emphasis on the exchange of results, information and opinions, and to provide a forum, open to all scientists, for the discussion of problems that may affect scientific space research’’. The objectives of COSPAR are achieved through the organization of scientific assemblies, publications, and other means.1 COSPAR has 8 scientific Commissions and 12 Panels. Among them, the Panel on Exploration2 was initiated in 2012 to provide independent scientific advice to support space exploration in general, to safeguard the present and potential scientific value of solar system objects, and to understand the consequences of ongoing and planned research, exploration, and utilization activities. This advice is drawn from the expertise provided via the contacts maintained by COSPAR’s various bodies with the international community and scientific entities. This setup is to ensure a consensus view of the international scientific community on the guidance for a long-term sustainable space exploration with international cooperative efforts. PEX builds on activities of working groups reporting to COSPAR such as the International Mars Exploration Working Group3 and the International Lunar Exploration Working Group,4 various COSPAR commission and panels as well as partner organizations such as the International Academy of Astronautics (Huntress et al., 2006), and the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG, 2024). PEX is providing its advice and analyses to the COSPAR Bureau and Council, as well as to concerned governmental and space agencies, private entities, and the public. As part of this task, PEX organizes scientific sessions at each COSPAR assembly to discuss recent developments and showcase new achievements in science, technology and other fields relevant to space exploration. This paper provides a brief overview of the studies and activities presented at the PEX sessions of the COSPAR Scientific Assembly 2024 in Busan, South Korea (Section 2), and gives an overview of the currently most intensely discussed topics of interest for space exploration and the current task of PEX to define a new space exploration roadmap (Section 3).