Independent Evaluation of ESA’s Programme for Life and Physical Sciences in Space (ELIPS) Final Report

In 2011, the European Space Agency (ESA) commissioned the European Science Foundation (ESF) to carry out an independent scientific evaluation of ESA’s programme for life and physical sciences in space (ELIPS) and its future priorities. ELIPS is ESA’s main programme for research on the International Space Station (ISS) and other microgravity platforms in various disciplines including physiology, material sciences, biology and fundamental physics. The aim of this exercise was to assess the ELIPS programme in terms of its overall structure, programmatic aspects and scientific value, and then provide recommendations for the next phase of ELIPS. This is the fourth time ESF has evaluated the ELIPS programme; previous evaluations were performed in 2000, 2004, and 2008. This iteration, however, utilised a significantly different approach to ensure optimal results, favouring the use of a dedicated independent committee of experts rather than a broad user community consultation. This document presents the final outcome of the evaluation of the ELIPS programme over the period 2008 to 2011 and offers recommendations for its next phase.