Cosmology: from fundamental questions to computing challenges

The Big Bang cosmological model provides a powerful framework to describe the evolution of the Universe. Despite tremendous theoretical and observational progress in the field, profound mysteries such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy remain to be unveiled. After a brief introduction on cosmology, an overview of some of the large projects in astrophysics and cosmology in the next decade will be presented. These projects cover a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum, from optical surveys (LSST, eBOSS, EUCLID), to future CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background, CORE2) missions and next generation radio interferometers (SKA). Some of the computing challenges faced by these projects will be highlighted, focusing on the LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) data management and processing case