Bernard Foing is a French scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA),^[2] Executive Director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG)^[3] and was Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1, the first European mission to the Moon.^[4] He is also a research professor at the VU Amsterdam and at Florida Tech.^[5]

Born in France,^[1] Bernard Foing has a PhD in Astrophysics and Space Techniques.^[6] He worked 3 years in Chile as an astronomer for the European Southern Observatory (ESO),^[6] the French embassy, and as Professor of Astrophysics.^[1] A researcher at French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) since 1986,^[7] Foing obtained the Habilitation for direction of research in 1990.^[7] At ESA since 1993, he is Senior Research Coordinator at the Research and Scientific Support Department.^[6] He was president of ILEWG in 1998-2000 and now is their Executive Director.^[6] Foing collaborates with his wife, Pascale Ehrenfreund of the German Aerospace Center, in some of his research.^[8]

Foing is known as the father of SMART-1.^[3][9] Serving as Principal Project Scientist from conception in 1996,^[4] SMART-1 was the first European mission to the Moon.^[10] SMART-1's goals were both technological and scientific.^[11] First in a series of "Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology",^[11] SMART-1 was used to test new state-of-the art instruments such as a solar-electric primary propulsion system.^[12] SMART-1 also performed scientific observations of the Moon including determining the Moon's mineralogical composition and the presence and quantity of water in the craters at the Moon's south pole.^[12] Launched on September 27, 2003,^[13] SMART-1 entered lunar orbit in November 2004^[14] and continued orbit until it was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface on September 3, 2006.^[15][16] Said Foing, "SMART-1 data are helping to choose future landing sites for robotic and possible manned missions, and its instruments are upgraded and being flown again on the next generation of lunar satellites."^[17]

Foing is an organic chemist for Mars Express,^[18] a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency.^[19] Launched on June 2, 2004,^[20] Mars Express is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency.^[19] Foing is also co-investigator of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) for the Mars Express orbiter.^[21] The HRSC is a high-resolution camera that can make full-color 3-D images of Mars's surface.^[22] The camera can also zoom in for a closer look and may be helpful in identifying useful landing sites for future Mars missions.^[22]

Foing has published over 400 articles, including 160 refereed papers, in lunar and planetary science and exploration, solar/stellar physics and astrobiology.^[1] He edited 16 books and organized over 50 international conferences and symposia.^[1]