CSA position on NASA Scout 2011 opportunity to be communicated to the Canadian community

Wednesday, 17 May 2006

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has studied the possibility of endorsing potential Canadian contributions to the NASA Scout 2011 opportunity. Although the Scout 2011 is a scientifically interesting competition, the CSA has concluded that it is not possible to support this mission opportunity at this juncture. This decision was based on the following main limiting factors.

At the current time, the CSA has very limited uncommitted financial resources for new activities in the next few years for Planetary Exploration activities. Most of the unallocated funds identified for such new opportunities in the future will not be available within the time period to fund a 2011 mission opportunity at a reasonable level for a science instrument. Furthermore, it was felt that freezing our limited funds for an opportunity that is internationally competed, and therefore uncertain, would prevent CSA from pursuing bilateral agreements for other opportunities within Planetary Exploration.

In addition, discussions and analysis have indicated that the required timeline for the Scout opportunity was not compatible to allow the CSA and PWGSC (Public Works and Government Services Canada) to conduct a parallel, Canadian, competitive process that would ensure a fair and transparent process in Canada.

Finally, this matter has been discussed with the Space Exploration Advisory Committee at their semi-annual meeting in April 2006, and the committee has indicated their support in relation to a decision to not participate in Scout 2011 as long as other, equivalent alternatives are being pursued compatible with current boundary conditions.

The CSA will continue to explore opportunities that would allow Canadian participation in future Planetary Exploration missions. The participation of the community has always been a fundamental part of this effort and we hope to continue to rely on you for your proactive actions and support in this area.

We intend to pursue bilateral discussions with international partners to obtain a hopefully equivalent and opportune alternative in terms of the scientific return to Canada. These discussions at an informal level have already started. We will ensure that we keep you informed of progress.

Sincerely,

David Kendall, PhD
Director General,
Space Science Branch