VSOP Key Science Programs

Last modified: October 1999

Key Science Programs (KSPs) will be an important element of the VSOP scientific observations. These programs have been established to ensure that important scientific goals of the mission are realized by observations carried out with a close collaboration between proposal teams and mission personnel. The KSPs will consist of a small set of varied investigations performed in a consistent manner which are given scheduling priority and timely support by mission personnel. It is expected that the KSPs will utilize about half of the VSOP observing time allocated to General Observing Time.

The Scientific Review Committee recommended the following KSP areas, which were adopted by the VSOP International Science Council, after their review of AO1 proposals. In alphabetical order, these are:

The SRC selected experiments from the higher ranked proposals for inclusion in these KSPs. Forty-seven of the 150 proposals submitted in response to the first AO had at least one experiment selected for inclusion in a KSP area.

For the second Announcement of Opportunity period the following KSP areas were selected: