DACS-UKSA Community Meeting

Rationale: The space sector landscape is rapidly changing. This DACS/UKSA led workshop will enable the UK community to discuss how to best to position the UK Space Science community to create and take advantage of future opportunities to enhance and maximise space science impacts in the coming twenty years. 

The workshop will include updates to the community on the status of long-term planning relevant to UK Space Science and invite community input to gauge their wider views. Example discussion topics will include: 

• ESA space science programme, medium and long-term plans
  
  • Implications, potential missions gap (and science data!) mid 2030’s to early 2040’s
  • Participation in NASA flagships
  • The case for a funding increase at the 2028 ESA Council of Ministers
• Frontier 2035 update, report outcomes
  • Sets UK science priorities for the next decade. How is this mapping to the external environment, taking funding constraints into account?
  • Implications for wider astronomy, synergies with ground based and other facilities
• The balance between ESA and non-ESA (UK-led/bilateral missions) in the context of UKSA Space Science strategic planning
  • Cadence of bilateral opportunities
  • Priority international partners
  • NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory and beyond
  • UK small-sat science missions
• BIST (ex DSIT)/UKSA and UKRI Space plans update
  • The BIST (ex DSIT)/UKSA reorganization
    • Maximizing the relevance and importance of space science
    • Evaluating and communicating the success of UK space science
  • Changes to the UK funding landscape.
  • A new cross council UKRI approach to Space: what is the current plan, benefits to space science
• The Industrial and technology landscape
  • Engaging with industry, synergies between science and technology development
  • Improving links between space science and industry especially at the early stage of idea formulation – technology development for future science missions (strengths/niche capabilities/gaps to address)  

Workshop Outputs:   

• Summary paper with key outcomes and recommendations
  • tangible actions, objectives and outputs (e.g. Follow-up focus group activity to address a specific topic)