Memorandum submitted by Early Career Cassini
Scientists (FC 10)
We, the undersigned, are all early-career scientists
at a range of UK institutions, primarily involved in planetary
science using the Cassini spacecraft. We have prepared the attached
document for submission to the Science and Technology Committee
inquiry, detailing the impact the recently announced cuts will
have upon our research, careers and opportunities in the UK.
DECLARATION OF
INTERESTS
Those of us currently studying for PhDs are
supported by the STFC. Those of us employed as research associates
are funded by the STFC.
Early Career Cassini Scientists
Imperial College London, Space & Atmospheric
Physics Group
Dr Jun Cui, Research Associate
Jack Cutler, PhD Student
Dr Caitriona Jackman, Research Associate
Dr Laurent Lamy, Research Associate
Daniel Went, PhD Student
Dr Laurence Billingham, Research Associate (Earth
Science & Engineering Group)
University of Leicester, Department of Physics
& Astronomy
David Andrews, PhD Student
Kay Clarke, PhD Student
Stephanie Kellett, PhD Student
Dr Henrik Melin, Research Associate
Dr Jonathan Nichols, Research Associate
Dr Gabrielle Provan, Research Associate
Dr Dean Talboys, Research Associate
Queen Mary University of London
Nathan Allcock, PhD Student
Dr Gareth A Williams, Cassini ISS Operations
Programmer
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College
London
Dr Christopher S Arridge, STFC Postdoctoral
Research Fellow
Glynn Collinson, PhD Student
Sheila Kanani, PhD Student
Dr Adam Masters, Research Associate
Anne Wellbrock, PhD Student
University of Oxford, Atmospheric, Oceanic and
Planetary Physics Group
Dr Leigh Fletcher, Research Associate
Dr Jane Hurley, Research Associate
Dane Tice, DPhil Student
1. We, the undersigned, are early-career
scientists at a range of UK institutions, primarily involved in
planetary science using the Cassini spacecraft—a highly
successful international interplanetary mission that has been
studying Saturn, its moons and local environment, since its arrival
in 2004.
2. Worryingly, the recently published STFC
Science Programme Prioritisation indicates that a "managed
withdrawal" will take place from funding of operational costs
for the UK-funded instruments on board the Cassini spacecraft.
Furthermore, the report recommends that "support be withdrawn
for exploitation grants of those projects not recommended for
funding", ultimately leading to the cessation of Cassini-based
science in the UK. We feel that the STFC Programme Prioritisation
does not accurately reflect the community's views as expressed
in the recent Near-Universe Advisory Panel (NUAP) report, to which
we contributed extensively. STFC should provide a full explanation
of how the community's input contributed to the Programme Prioritisation.
It appears to have been ignored.
3. The planned programme of managed withdrawal
is by no means unique to those of us involved with the Cassini
mission. The current prioritisation process seeks to cut all UK-instrument
support for space missions actively making in-situ plasma measurements.
While we recognise the external economic pressures faced by the
research councils, we believe that the long-term implications
of such wide-ranging cuts will be severe, and will have a very
real impact both to our research, and to the long-term future
of planetary science.
4. As early-career scientists we are deeply
concerned about the future of space physics within the UK, and
in particular the loss of jobs, skills and training opportunities.
The result of STFC's prioritisation process will force UK based
early-career scientists abroad, or into leaving the field completely.
Meanwhile, current PhD students face the very real possibility
that there will be no UK planetary space physics community for
them to join once they have completed their studies, should they
wish to continue their research. If we fail to retain our world-leading
capabilities within planetary space physics, there will not be
a future generation of scientists able to exploit upcoming missions,
such as the Bepi-Colombo mission to Mercury and the potential
Europa-Jupiter System Mission.
5. The international Cassini scientific
investigation is in its prime—a quick search reveals over
2000 scientific papers published by nearly 4000 authors to date
at a rate that has increased by 30% year-on-year since the spacecraft's
arrival at Saturn.[1]
NASA are currently reviewing a proposed extension of the Cassini
mission to 2017, and are due to announce their decision on February
8, 2010. Scientists in the UK contributed to one of the discoveries
of the decade, by detecting the magnetic signature of plumes of
water ice ejected from Saturn's icy moon, Enceladus. It is now
recognised that there is a very real possibility that a liquid
ocean exists beneath the moon's icy shell, posing the profound
question—is there life on Enceladus? This question, and
the tools required to answer it, has an excellent ability to inspire
lasting interest in the STEM subjects in the public, across all
age ranges.
6. The UK is a world leader in space physics.
Clearly, this reputation cannot be maintained if the UK's involvement
is categorically withdrawn from one of the most successful international
scientific missions to another planet thus far. Scientists around
the world are relying on the UK's expertise in operating key instruments
on board the spacecraft. It seems tragic to turn off healthy world-leading
instruments on a £2bn spacecraft, denying both UK and our
international collaborators a vital resource in our field. Serious
questions must be asked about the value of these decisions that
have been made by the STFC Council. The STFC has a Royal Charter
to "promote and support high-quality scientific and engineering
research"—our view is that this is not currently being
achieved.
1 Thomson Reuters Web of Science, topic "Cassini",
Number of papers published per year, 2004-09 inclusive. Back
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