21 October 1999

Threat to COROT

The state of science and engineering of COROT is excellent.
After having received the approval of the CPS of CNES in december 1996, the team has achieved detailed preliminary studies and started laboratory tests. The interest in its scientific programme is increasing since:

- one has started to detect several indicators of stellar oscillations (i.e. from the ground on Procyon by the french team Meudon Observatory/Service d'Aeronomie, and indications from the satellite WIRE) which make the seismology programme even more exciting

- long term programmes (2010+) searching for telluric planets (NGST, DARWIN, TPF..) need an estimation of the abundances of these planets in the galaxy, where COROT is crucial to a global strategy. COROT will also make many other discoveries in its "additional" programmes (rings, satellites, comets...... ).
This explains the mounting interest in COROT in the international community as evidenced by several references in international meetings.

Details on the state of the project can be found here

Unfortunately, the project is threatened by budget restrictions imposed on CNES. This situation has upset many astronomers around the world, since they dont' understand what appears to be inconsistent scientific policy, and strongly express their support for the project. Many articles in the press echoed both these sentiments and this support:

Liberation: Allegre met un satellite francais en joue (D. Leglu, 8 September 1999)

Le Monde: Menaces sur un satellite francais (P. Barthelemy, 14 September 1999)

Liberation: Les exoplanetes (D. Leglu, 14 September 1999)

Liberation: Pour une Europe de la science (F. Praderie, 14 September 1999)

Nature: France set to cut search for small extrasolar planets (16 September 1999)

Reply (21 October)

Le Figaro: L'affaire Corot (P. Lanoy, 18 September 1999)

Liberation: Le scientifique et le politique (P. Joliot & Ph. Nozieres, 27 September 1999)