Solar System Science has undergone enormous growth during recent decades and is going through a development that could almost be considered a paradigm for a new research field. It started as an interdisciplinary topic involving experts from astrophysics, geology, geophysics, and plasma physics. By now it has grown into a science of its own, continuously developing new facets, astrobiology being a recent example.
Solar system science is a modern and rapidly expanding field of research. It has grown into a vast field which attracts world-wide attention and commands significant resources. It is a fascinating field which has produced exciting discoveries (the presence of oceans under the frozen surface of Jupiter's moon Europa and the discovery that the Sun's magnetic field has doubled in strength over the last 100 years being two very recent examples). At the same time it is a highly dynamic field. As various parts of the solar system are probed with far greater intensity than ever before, the vitality of the field and the potential for discovery will be maintained for many years to come.
Solar system and astrophysical research also often produce tangible, easily visualisable results that catch the imagination and are accessible to non-specialists. It thus serves to awaken the interest in science, particularly the physical sciences, among young people. Interest in solar system research has profited from the awareness that many problems of our present living conditions depend to some degree on the space environment our planet is exposed to. An example is climate changes produced by a variable Sun.
Solar system research is an interdisciplinary field, covering subjects as diverse as thermonuclear reactions in the dense and hot solar core, the geology of planetary crusts, the complex chemistry of planetary atmospheres, exobiology, and the physics of the low density plasmas found in the heliosphere. Solar system research thus spans and connects (astro)physics, Earth sciences, chemistry and biology. It brings together scientists from very different backgrounds to work together. Conversely, although the solar system harbours objects of a large variety, often similarities exist in the methods used to investigate them. General physical concepts and methodologies derived from fluid mechanics, plasma physics, atomic and nuclear physics, radiative transfer, and seismology can be applied to a large variety of solar system environments, (including the Earth) but also to astrophysical systems. This synergy effect will be one of the pillars upon which the research school will be built. An example is provided by seismology which is regularly used to study the interior of the Earth and the Sun, has been used to study the moon, and will soon be applied to Mars, other planets and stars.
In the International Max Planck Research School students will not only be introduced to the science of individual solar system and astrophysical objects, but will also be shown the common physical background of seemingly unconnected phenomena. At the same time they will learn how to work in interdisciplinary teams. The main emphasis of the research school will lie on physical processes, but experts with the relevant knowledge in chemistry, Earth sciences, and biology will highlight the connections to these fields. Wherever necessary, external experts will be invited to lecture.
The aim of the school is twofold. It will educate the students in solar system science by providing them, through its focus on physical processes, with a rich and broad base in astro-, geo-, and plasma physics. Secondly, it will introduce the students to computational and instrumental techniques, space technology and management, a training which will not only be useful for a future career within the international astronomy or solar system research programs, but will also widen employment opportunities in, for example, the space industry and space agencies.
The School will combine the expertise in fields such as solar physics, space plasma physics, geophysics and astrophysics provided by the Universities of Braunschweig and Göttingen and the MPS which is enhanced by the strong experimental involvement of the institutes in ground-based and space programs.
Research in solar system science and astrophysics thrives on the interaction between the use of space and ground-based instruments and complex theoretical concepts, including comprehensive numerical simulations. All these aspects are represented in the research school curriculum. For example, space-borne instruments, because of their complexity and cutting- edge technology often require extensive international collaboration, complex management structures, and close interaction with industry. All these "practical" aspects, which are usually neglected in the PhD education of physicists, will be introduced to the students of the research school.
The international efforts for the exploration of the solar system have reached an unprecedented level. This is demonstrated by a series of spectacular discoveries and new insights reached in recent years. But perhaps it manifests itself most impressively in the long- term scientific space programs of ESA and NASA, which will drive the research in this field into the next decades.
For several years to come, ESA's Cornerstone missions Cluster and SOHO and the Ulysses mission will provide exciting and unique scientific data on solar processes and their influence on the terrestrial system. The future NASA solar missions STEREO, Solar Probe and Solar Dynamics Observatory, and ESA's Solar Orbiter (a mission proposal initiated and led by the MPS) provide a strong perspective for solar physics. In parallel, new ground-based solar telescopes, such as the 1.5 m-GREGOR telescope on Tenerife, will become operational in the next few years. They will be equipped with innovative instruments and will lead to a deeper understanding of the magnetic processes dominating the structure of the solar atmosphere and of the heliosphere. These projects will attack a whole range of basic problems in solar physics and Sun-Earth relations. They are also expected to provide physical insights that can be used to uncover the workings of other astrophysical systems.
In the field of planetary research, already operating or upcoming missions cover the full range of solar system bodies, providing a firm basis for comparative planetology and comparative magnetospheric physics. The physics of the giant gas planets Jupiter and Saturn and their magnetospheres will be studied by the Galileo and Cassini missions. The exploration of Mars will intensify with ESA's Mars Express, the Japanese Planet-B mission, and NASA's Mars program. ESA's cornerstone mission Rosetta (in which MPS is deeply involved) will investigate an object thought to be unaltered since the early stages of solar system formation. ESA's planetary cornerstone BepiColombo (a Mercury orbiter mission) will study the other extreme, the most processed body in the solar system and will attempt to place constraints on the origin and early history of the terrestrial planets.
A number of up-coming astronomy missions will provide links between planetology and astrophysics. ESA's FIRST and Gaia cornerstone missions will look for extra-solar planetary systems, while the Eddington mission aims at establishing seismology as a tool for probing stellar interiors, building upon the success of helioseismology. Eddington will also search for terrestrial planets around other stars. In addition, ground- and space-based observatories permit the study of relevant physical processes in other astronomical objects.