ASTRONET publishes its new roadmap for European astronomy
ASTRONET, the consortium of major European astronomy agencies, presents its recommendations to guide priority investments over the next decades.
The ASTRONET Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap 2022-2035 is the latest comprehensive roadmap produced by the ASTRONET network of European funding agencies, communities and research organisations, in which France is represented by the CNRS. Expert groups, comprising more than 100 scientists from all over Europe, have contributed to the report. A series of public consultations were also held to ensure that it reflected the breadth of views in the field of astronomy. The groups identified key scientific questions, such as understanding the origin of the universe or the evolution of planets in our solar system, and made recommendations on the infrastructure and resources needed to address these priorities. They also note how essential the continued availability of highly qualified, motivated and committed researchers in the service of society will be to achieving these goals. The report complements visions recently published by the European Space Agency (ESA), the US and advisory bodies such as APPEC for astroparticle physics. The aim of the report is to create a freely available resource for policy makers and scientific leaders to support informed decisions that more effectively and efficiently guide scientific discovery.
The previous ASTRONET Science Vision and Roadmap (published in 2007 and revised in 2015) included recommendations that have informed proposals for major science infrastructures such as the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Extremely Large Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), both now under construction.
Claude Catala said: "The technology behind facilities that make groundbreaking astronomical discoveries often takes decades to mature. This is why it is essential to have a global and long-term vision of our scientific priorities, as we do in the ASTRONET Roadmap for Science and Infrastructure".
The report stresses the importance of including these considerations from the very beginning of the decision-making process. The report is available on the Astronet website.
