EU and China to choose first joint space project

Nature : On 16 March, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences closed a call for proposals for a joint space mission. The ESA has contributed instruments to a Chinese satellite before, but this will be the first mission to be a collaboration from the start. The two agencies are each contributing the equivalent of just over $53 million to the project, a funding amount that limits its size. Another limitation is that the mission should focus on something other than Mars or the Moon, which are already being studied through other projects. The agencies received 16 proposals, which included studying radio signals, x-ray imaging of Earth’s magnetosphere, and looking at “hot objects” with an extreme-UV telescope. The proposals will be examined based on technological feasibility and scientific merit. By the end of the year, the best will be selected to undergo further review, with a final decision to be made in 2017.