The ASTRONET Roadmap: Strategic Planning for European ... - CNRS

TOWARDS A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR EUROPEAN ASTRONOMYConclusion and Perspectives for the FutureThe Roadmap can be fairly represented as a community-basedcomprehensive plan that addresses the greatmajority of the Science Vision goals while maintainingand strengthening the role of Europe in global astronomywithin realistic budget limitations. In order to implement itin a timely manner, given the stiff international competition,a modest budget increase over the next decade willbe required. However, the coherent plan proposed herewill make for a very cost-effective investment for Europe.Moreover, such a plan, with its overview and awareness ofthe global context, will also be a strong asset in negotiatinginternational partnerships for the largest projects.“Plans become useless, but planning is essential!” Thecontext for the Roadmap kept evolving while it was beingdeveloped, and will continue to do so. ASTRONET, in concertwith ESFRI, will monitor progress on implementing theproposals of the Roadmap over the next 2–3 years, whethersmall or large in financial terms. The entire European astronomicalcommunity awaits the outcome with keen anticipation.We foresee that a fully updated Roadmap will beneeded on a timescale of 5–10 years. Whether the ScienceVision then needs to be updated as well, will depend onscientific and financial developments on the internationalscene in the meantime.The final version of the present Roadmap will become availableat http://www.astronet-eu.org.Artist’s view of the brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed. The detailedobservations obtained for this event have provided a wealth of informationon how massive stars explode and interact with their environment.Credit: ESO and Guido Chincarini, Stefano Covino, Cristiano Guidorzi, University of Miliano Bicocca and INAF-Brera, Italy. Illustration by Luis Calçada11