Ten Years of Fundamental Physics in ESA's Space Science Programme

R. Reinhard

On 15 June 1989, ESA's Science Directorate issued a Call for Mission Proposals which specifically also asked for proposals in fundamental physics. In response to this Call the scientific community submitted five proposals aimed at detecting gravitational waves, testing the Equivalence Principle, measuring the gravitational constant with high precision, and searching for the elusive Fifth Force and for Dark Matter in the Universe. Today, 10 years later, the new field of fundamental physics in space has matured with one mission (GP-B) about to be launched by NASA, two industrial studies (LISA, STEP) in progress this year in ESA at Phase-A level, and several other experiments either flying or being readied for flight, including experiments on the International Space Station. There is clearly now a community of fundamental physicists in Europe in need of space flight opportunities, just as there are communities of astronomers and Solar System scientists. The only difference is that the technologies enabling meaningful fundamental-physics missions have only became available 30 years later.