Objective The European Space Agency will give access to the International Space Station (ISS) to European Union, Romanian and Bulgarian (EU27) scientists and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). To counterbalance the inequality of access between the EU Member States participating to the ISS Programme and the other EU Member States, priority will be given, when appropriate, to non-ESA Member States, who usually do not have access to the ISS. Users will have the chance to perform both basic and applied-oriented research in a unique leading-edge weightlessness research infrastructure permanently inhabited by astronauts, offering a platform for experimentation virtually free from atmospheric disturbances.Experiments independently reviewed and selected based on scientific excellence, space relevance criteria, and if required on their potential for market driven applications will be performed on board this multidisciplinary infrastructure. They will cover the multiple facets of life and physical sciences in space, from renown areas (human physiology; biology; material sciences; fluid, interface and combustion physics fundamental physics) to emerging ones (nanotechnologies; quantum physics; health; planetary exploration; food) in space research. Users, working in a secure defined legal environment, will have the opportunity to achieve major breakthrough by exploiting the complementarity of ground- and space-based research, and by getting access to data in conditions non-achievable on Earth.They will benefit from the long-standing expertise of the research community involved into ESA microgravity experiments, and vice-versa. EU10, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals will, for the first time, have the possibility to act as user groups' leaders. This will deepen their integration into the European Research Area. Eventually, opening the access to the ISS will foster the relationship between ESA and EU in the path towards a European Union Space Policy. Fields of science engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringastronautical engineeringspacecraftnatural sciencesphysical sciencesquantum physicsengineering and technologynanotechnologymedical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiology Programme(s) FP6-INFRASTRUCTURES - Research infrastructures: Specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration: "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006 Topic(s) INFRASTR-1 - Transnational access to major research infrastructures for research teams and individual researchers Call for proposal FP6-2004-INFRASTRUCTURES-5 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (EUROPEAN SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE) EU contribution No data Address 8-10 Rue Mario Nikis PARIS France See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
