Six proposals out of 49 submitted will undergo close examination through the next six months as the European Space Agency’s science advisors move toward the selection of flexi- missions for launch between 2005-09. The following proposals will be examined:

STORMS–a project to use three spacecraft to investigate a source of trouble for technological systems after solar eruption. The spacecraft will orbit the Earth around the equator in hopes of providing real-time monitoring of magnetic storms.

SOLAR ORBITER–this spacecraft would give scientists the closest examination of the Sun to-date. Besides giving close-up views of the solar surface and atmosphere, this program proposes that the spacecraft would directly sense the related behavior of the solar wind and energetic particles in the Sun’s vicinity.

MASTER–a flyby of Mars is the nucleus of this proposal. The spacecraft would be able to drop a lander on the Red Planet, but instead of going into orbit, it would use Mars’ gravity to assist it onward to the asteroid belt beyond the planet. There the craft would examine one or mare asteroids with instruments developed for the Rosetta comet mission and Smart-1 lunar mission.

HYPER–this proposal will test new kinds of atomic gyroscopes and motion sensors for unprecedented precision, exploiting the quantum effect that makes atoms behave as if they were waves instead of particles.

CASIMIR–this proposal would measure the Casimir force between superconducting surfaces a hundredth of a millimeter apart. Quantum theorists hope this project will unlock the mysteries of the fundamental nature of empty space.

EDDINGTON–this spacecraft proposal would take up orbit far from Earth and use a 1 meter telescope with a wide field of view to examine stars for oscillations and passing planets. Likewise, it also would check the presence of planets and up to 700,000 stars.