Abstract
If there is a domain of space activities to which the expression “autonomy and dependence” does not apply, it is space sciences. As in all other branches of science, space sciences, which embrace astronomy, Solar System exploration, plasma and fundamental physics, as well as Earth sciences, benefit naturally from the strongest interaction of all the scientists involved. Scientific knowledge is based on the broadest confrontation of ideas, exchange of information and publication of results and discoveries. It has always been, is and will continue to be an international endeavour. Even though the brains of scientists are independent in general, space scientists are not autonomous—they are interdependent through an extensive intellectual confrontation that characterizes scientific progress and acquisition of knowledge. Independence in space sciences therefore appears to be more a political slogan than a scientific one.
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Bonnet, RM. (2015). Autonomy and Dependence in Space Sciences. In: Al-Ekabi, C. (eds) European Autonomy in Space. Studies in Space Policy, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11110-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11110-0_3
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