Home - Comet Interceptor IDS 2023

Announcement of Opportunity
for Interdisciplinary Scientists
in the Comet Interceptor mission

The outcome of this Announcement of Opportunity was that the following scientists (listed in alphabetical order) were appointed as Interdisciplinary Scientists for the Comet Interceptor mission:

Geraint Jones
University College London, United Kingdom

Elena Martellato
INAF - Astronomical Observatory of Padua, Italy

Colin Snodgrass
University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Seiji Sugita
University of Tokyo, Japan

3 April 2023

Comet Interceptor is an ESA mission in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It aims to characterise a long period comet, which could potentially be a dynamically new comet, or an interstellar object. The mission was adopted by the Science Programme Committee in June 2022 as the first "F" mission in the Science Programme. A Science Working Team (SWT), appointed by ESA in coordination with JAXA, advises ESA on all aspects of the mission potentially affecting its scientific performance. The composition of the SWT is defined in the Science Management Plan (SMP). The SWT is supported by Working Groups (WGs), in specific scientific and/or science operation areas, relevant for the mission.

Through the present Call, the ESA Director of Science invites scientists based in ESA Member States and Japan to apply for the Interdisciplinary Scientist positions in the Comet Interceptor mission.

Lead Scientists and Co-Lead Scientists of the Comet Interceptor instruments, other scientists leading or involved in the (programmatic, scientific, or technical) management of the Comet Interceptor instruments or being responsible for hardware or software development and procurement activities, as well as other Science Working Team members, are not eligible, while Co-Investigators of instrument teams may apply to become IDSs.

Full details of this Call can be found in the Announcement of Opportunity for Interdisciplinary Scientists in the Comet Interceptor mission document.

Letter of Intent and Proposal Submission forms

Applications for the position of Interdisciplinary Scientist must be preceded by a mandatory Letter of Intent. Proposals not preceded by a Letter of Intent will not be considered. The Letters of Intent and proposals must be submitted using the online forms – see links to the forms below or in the left-hand menu.

Letter of Intent Submission Form
The deadline for receipt of your mandatory Letter of Intent was:
20 April 2023, 12:00 (noon) CEST

Proposal Submission Form
The deadline for receipt of your application is:
1 June 2023, 12:00 (noon) CEST

Schedule for this call and important dates

Activity	Date
Release of this call	3 April 2023
Mandatory Letters of Intent due	20 April 2023 at 12:00 (noon) CEST
Deadline for receipt of proposals	1 June 2023, 12:00 (noon) CEST
Appointment of the IDSs	Q3 2023