EDITORIAL INFORMATION

With 30 years of space activities behind us, we can now look forward to the next millenium with a more solid ground than the old pioneers. So as to identify the strategic vision of the European space activities in the next millenium - one which will respond both to the challenges and to the dangers that Humanity will have to face in the future - the ESA Council created a Long-Term Space Policy Committee (LSPC) on June 1993. The task of the Committee was that of preparing a report of the European space policy after the year 2000. Its task has resulted in this work, which was presented on October 1995.

(Extracted from the press release).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Mandat.

-Sommaire.

-Des Reves d'Hier a la Realite d'Aujourd'Hui.

-2000-2050: Pragmatisme et Aventure.

-Les Cles du Nouveau Millénaire.

-Conclusions.

-Recommandations.

-Remerciements.

OUR REVIEW

Rather than having a book, here we have the publication of the results of a report which intends to set the basics for the future direction that the ESA space program will take. This near future referred to in the work is the period situated between the years 2000 to 2050. It is therefore natural to have so many references to the space station, the return to the Moon and even the exploration of Mars. Yet the book does not intend to analize in a technical way each one of these adventures, but merely indicate the path to follow so that it all becomes possible.