In May 2001 David Southwood took up his post as Director of Science (D/SCI), in charge of the ESA Science Programme.
Over the past 35 years David Southwood has published more than 200 publications and scientific articles, and has worked on a variety of space missions. One of his most challenging tasks was to head the team that built the magnetometer for the Cassini Saturn orbiter of the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission.

European Space Science and Exploration : where are we now?

A survey will be given of the existing ESA programme, what we have done, what is to come and what is hoped to come.  Prospects for space science and exploration is very positive in many respects.  A few weeks from launch, the ESA Herschel infra-red and submillimeter wave observatory and the Planck cosmic microwave background surveyor look to be the major events in space
astronomy in this International Year of Astronomy (IYA).  ESA really takes centre stage with the launch of these major new facilities. The news is good for the future too.  The 3.5% annual rise in the coming five years for space science is the biggest boost received for more than a two decades.  New astronomy and planetary missions are in the implementation phase as well as a
a range of studies for the longer term.  

The news is also positive on the front of long term Mars exploration as the start-up was given by ESA ministers in late 2008 for preparing a long-term programme for Mars exploration jointly with the USA and, hopefully, others, leading to a prospect of a joint Mars sample return mission sometime in the 2020's. The ExoMars mission (to be launched in 2016) thus is the start of a new role for Europe in exploring Mars.