ESA launches Nebula of Space Studies

As part of ESA's Basic Activities, Discovery & Preparation supports innovative studies that investigate new approaches to space and lay the groundwork for ESA's future activities. The exploratory nature of these studies means that preserving their outcomes is vital for ensuring that the knowledge and experienced gained is maximised and built upon in future work. This expertise preservation is ensured though the new Nebula Library, which provides access to all the final deliverables of every previous Discovery & Preparation study.

Nebula makes information about previous Discovery & Preparation research freely and easily accessible to anyone who may be interested, including industry and the general public. The Nebula Library was developed as a powerful and flexible tool for exploring past research.

What is the Nebula Library and how can it be used?

Building upon an existing library of studies, Nebula provides an easily accessible information centre with a user-friendly interface. The Library provides the opportunity to access summaries of all previous Discovery & Preparation activities. Users of Nebula can filter results by date, country, keywords and more, and can export data to use in their own activities. They can also explore all previous activities using a simple and visually-appealing studies timeline.

Why is knowledge management important for ESA Discovery & Preparation?

With the huge amount of effort that goes into Discovery & Preparation studies, it is vital that their results are available for others to build upon. A simple database of previous research ensures that needless repetition of work is avoided, and important references to past results are easily accessible and searchable. This allows ESA to advance further in the realm of space research, maximising the use of taxpayers' money and making ESA and European scientific organisations and businesses world leaders in the space industry.

To explore the Nebula Library visit nebula.esa.int.