Royal Astronomical Society issues statement on the future of UKplanetary sciences (Forwarded)

Royal Astronomical Society Press Notice
London, U.K.

CONTACTS

Dr Mike Hapgood
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Chilton
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0QX
Tel: +44 (0) 1235 446520
Fax: +44 (0) 1235 445848

Friday, 02 September 2005

RAS PN 05/39

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF UK PLANETARY
SCIENCES

Contributed by Anita Heward

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has issued a statement calling for
continued growth in funding of planetary sciences in the UK and for more
universities to consider establishing planetary science departments.

The statement, which has been put together by leading Fellows of the RAS,
draws attention to the multidisciplinary nature of Solar System studies in
the 21st Century and highlights the need to support a broad range of
expertise, if the UK is to maintain its world leading status in the field.

Dr Mike Hapgood, of Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, who has led the study
said, "This is an important time in the worldwide development of planetary
science. Our ability to study the Solar System is advancing rapidly -- in
particular through a greater ability to fly scientific instruments to
other planets. The UK can make a leading contribution to the international
development of planetary science, as demonstrated by the expertise
developed in planetary landers, based on experience gained from Beagle 2
and, more recently, the highly successful Huygens mission."

The RAS statement identifies ground-based telescopes as an area where the
UK planetary science community has not exploited opportunities to the full
and suggests that ground-based studies of the Solar System should be given
a higher priority and profile.

The potential of planetary missions to engage the public with science is
also highlighted in the statement. In view of the difficulties in
encouraging young people into science and engineering disciplines,
Vice-Chancellors and Provosts are encouraged to recognise both the
attractiveness of this area to students and the ability of UK researchers
to attract funding.

The statement acknowledges that extra government spending in astronomical
research in recent years has been necessary and welcome. However, the
report warns that funding must continue to increase if the government
wishes to capitalise on the interest generated by recent missions such as
Cassini Huygens, and highlights the importance of independent scientific
review in allocating extra spend.

The statement praises recent growth in the open debate of present and
future scientific paths and emphasises that this must continue if the
planetary science community is to maintain a focussed direction and make
the most efficient use of resources available.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The full statement can be read he Future of Planetary Sciences in the
UK.doc ,

http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories...the%20UK .doc