From Fragmentation to Federation: Lessons from EUROPLANET and the Jupiter Exploration Community

Every modern scientist faces the challenge of building a community to promote their project and turn it into a reality. But how do we move from a fragmented group of individuals to a proactive, recognizable, and collaborative network? In this presentation, I will share candid lessons from two long-term case studies from my career: the birth and growth of EUROPLANET, and the transatlantic build-up of the Jupiter exploration community.

Case Study 1: EUROPLANET – From National Silos to a European Identity

Working on the Cassini-Huygens mission in the 2000s, a small group of European scientists made a frustrating discovery: Europe had a large, talented planetary science community, but it was insufficiently visible. We worked in national silos (French, German, Italian, UK, etc.), competing quietly rather than collaborating openly. With encouragement from ESA, we decided to target the EU Framework Programme—not with a pure science proposal, but with a network proposal. The goal was community-building itself. One of the key difficulties was to get acquainted with the funding schemes and selection procedures of the Framework Programme, and to understand how to do lobbying towards  the Commission. We won in 2004. EUROPLANET was born in 2005, on the year of the landing of Huygens on Titan, and has been growing continuously over two decades.

What worked?

• Lobbying & Stakeholders: We identified key players outside science—EU officers and ESA management. They became our community’s sponsors, giving us legitimacy.
• Building Identity: We created a strong brand (name, logo, motto) deliberately. "EUROPLANET" signaled "European, not national." This gave a fragmented group a single, recognizable face at conferences and in media.
• The Catalyst Effect: Winning the first EU grant encouraged people to collaborate. That mandatory collaboration built trust that outlasted the funding.

What didn't work? Assuming that shared scientific interest alone would unite us. Of course it helped – we had a common language and shared interest. But we needed a political and financial framework on top of it.

Case Study 2: The Jupiter Exploration Community – Transatlantic Synchronization

Simultaneously, in the wake of the successful Cassini-Huygens transatlantic collaboration experience, interest in Jupiter (and Europa) grew on both sides of the Atlantic: as Jupiter and its fascinating Galilean moons appeared as the next logical step after Saturn and Titan. But Europe and the US were working independently—risking duplication or, worse, no mission at all. Using the nascent EUROPLANET network and personal contacts at NASA, we deliberately built a transatlantic community of scientists, engineers, and agency representatives before any mission was selected. Even Japan and Russia joined at the time, in what was named the EJSM-Laplace collaborative study.

What worked?

• Diversity & Inter-cultural Tensions: European and US funding cycles, meeting cultures, and decision-making styles differ dramatically. We succeeded by acknowledging these tensions openly—alternating meeting locations, co-authoring white papers, and explicitly discussing cultural differences rather than pretending they didn't exist.
• Exchange Tools (pre-social media): Before modern platforms, discipline mattered more than tool. Regular telecons, shared document repositories, and dedicated email lists created a rhythm of communication.
• Involving the Public: The Jupiter community early-on engaged amateur astronomers for observing campaigns (e.g., impacts on Jupiter). This turned citizen science into a community-building tool that produced publishable data and public visibility.

What didn't work? Waiting for agencies to solve the coordination problem. They were busy. We had to build the community first—then the agencies followed. In the end, while the two agencies developed their two missions independently, JUICE and Europa Clipper will execute together a cosmic ballet around Jupiter in the 2030’s!

Key Takeaways for Any Scientist

From these two experiences, I learned that community-building is not a "soft skill." It is a strategic activity requiring the same planning, risk-taking, and persistence as a space mission. Keys to success include (but are not limited to):

• Agency endorsement (ESA/NASA) is a powerful catalyst. Use it to bring skeptical scientists to the table.
• A strong brand (logo, motto, name) is not superficial. It creates mental shortcuts for a fragmented community to self-identify.
• Build the community before the project. For Jupiter, the community existed before the mission was approved—which made the mission inevitable.
• Explicitly manage cross-cultural tensions. Do not ignore them. Name them. Structure your meetings to address them.
• Citizen science is a low-stakes, high-reward entry point for public engagement that also strengthens internal community bonds.

Building  a community around a project remains “learning by doing” experience: everyone who believes in a beautiful and strong project should go that path. But the greatest lesson I learnt from these two experiences is this: beyond the success of the project itself, it is being part of the community that carries it out that is the most valuable and rewarding experience, for us humans.