Structure

Funding

The budget of the ESSC is contributed à la carte through several ESF Member Organisations, as well as European and national space agencies >> More

Committee Members are required to maintain strong links with their national ESSC Funding Organisation(s) involved in space research.

Contributions from other bodies - such as the European Commission or the European Parliament – may also be sought. The budget of the ESSC (income and outflow) is managed by the ESF. Financial commitments for the Committee’s operation and work, including those for scientific and secretarial assistance, are made through the ESF.

The Committee

The ESSC currently groups 27 members from 12 European countries. Committee Members are drawn from reputed experts active in all fields of space research on the basis of scientific expertise and recognition within the community. The Members are appointed ad personam by the ESF for a 3-year term (renewable once) after appropriate consultation with the ESSC and with national research councils and academies in European countries (in particular ESF Member Organisations and ESSC Funding Organisations). 

The Chairman of the Space Studies Board sits in the ESSC  as an ex officio member.

The President of COSPAR sits in the ESSC  as an ex officio member.

The Chairman of the ESSC is appointed by the ESF, after appropriate consultation and search action. The current Chairman (2015-2017) is Dr Athena Coustenis, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, Paris, France. The previous Chairs were Professor Jean-Pierre Swings (Belgium, 2007-2014), Professor Gerhard Haerendel (Germany, 2002-2007), Professor John Leonard Culhane (United Kingdom, 1998-2002),  Professor François Becker (France, 1994-1997), Professor Heinrich J. Völk (Germany, 1987-1993), Professor Johannes Geiss (Switzerland, 1979-1987), and Professor Harry Massey†, founder (UK, 1975-1979).

The Chairperson is assisted by the ESSC Executive Scientific Secretary (currently Mr Nicolas Walter, Strasbourg, France) and by the Space Unit in the ESF Office (Mr Nicolas Walter, Dr Emmanouil Detsis, Ms Camellia Steinmetz).

Map of ESSC members

The following map shows the ESSC members and their host institutions, color-coded by Panel.

Color legend:
yellow - Solar System and Exploration Panel (SSEP)
blue - Earth Observation Panel (EOP)
red - Astronomy and Fundamental Physics Panel (AFP)
purple - Research in Weightlenssness Panel (RWP)
green - ESSC Office