Polar Memorandum

On 3 February, the Chair of the European Polar Board (EPB), Maaike Vancauwenberghe, and the ESA Director General, Jan Woerner, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at ESA's headquarters in Paris. The MoU provides a framework for a wider cooperation between ESA and the EPB, and defines the use of European Antarctic stations for scientific and technological purposes. As such, an umbrella is formed under which the exchange of information on relevant technologies or procedures between ESA and EPB Members is facilitated. Joint activities envisioned under this MoU will be implemented in separate agreements directly with EPB member organisations, outlining the specific activities agreed upon and detailing the responsibilities of each party. The MoU defines the collaboration and implementation of technologies or procedures at European Antarctic stations, based on the complementarities among the terrestrial, marine and space platforms for the study of Antarctica. At the same time, harmonisation of research activities in the Antarctic in a number of fields is defined in the MoU. This will expand the cooperation that started in 2002 between ESA, the Italian space agency ASI, the French space agency CNES, the French polar research and technology institute (IFRTP) and the Italian agency for new technology, energy and environment ENEA, regarding the use of the Concordia Antarctic station for planetary missions simulations.