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Space Research 2016 – 2018 in Switzerland
Space Research 2016 – 2018 in Switzerland
Report to the 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
Pasadena, CA, United States, 14 – 22 July 2018
Editors: Nicolas Thomas (Univ. Bern) and Stephan Nyeki (PMOD/WRC)
Layout: Stephan Nyeki
Publication by the Swiss Committee on Space Research
(Committee of the Swiss Academy of Sciences)
Online copies available at:
naturalsciences.ch/organisations/space_research/publications
Edition: 1000, printed 2018
Physics Institute, Univ. Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Cover Page: The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA) is one of a number of payloads
onboard the BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The mission will launch from Kourou
in 2018 on a 6-year flight before entering Mercury orbit. BELA will characterise and
measure the figure, topography, and surface morphology of the planet with < 2 m
precision. Image credits: BELA, Univ. Bern; BepiColombo spacecraft, ESA/ATG
medialab; Mercury, NASA/JPL (Mariner 10 mission).
Contents
Contents
1 Foreword 3
2 Institutes and Observatories 4
2.1 ISSI – International Space Science Institute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 ISDC – INTEGRAL Science Data Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 CODE – Center for Orbit Determination in Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4 eSpace – EPFL Space Engineering Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.5 SSA – International Space Situational Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 SSC – Swiss Space Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.7 Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) at the Swiss Optical Ground Station and Geodynamics Obs. Zim-
merwald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Swiss Space Missions 15
3.1 CleanSpace One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2 CHEOPS – Characterising ExOPlanet Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4 Space Access Technology 18
4.1 ALTAIR – Air Launch Space Transportation Using an Automated Aircraft and an Innovative Rocket. . . 18
5 Astrophysics 19
5.1 Gaia Variability Processing and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.2 POLAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.3 DAMPE – DArk Matter Particle Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4 LPF – LISA Pathfinder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.5 IBEX – Interstellar Boundary Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.6 Swiss Contribution to ATHENA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.7 Swiss Contribution to Euclid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.8 XARM – The Swiss Contribution to the X-ray Astronomy Recovery Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.9 XIPE – The X-Ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.10 eXTP – The Enhanced X-Ray Timing and Polarimetry Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.11 SPICA – Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.12 HERD – High Energy Radiation Detection Facility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.13 THESEUS – The Transient High Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
6 Solar Physics 38
6.1 VIRGO – Variability of Irradiance and Global Oscillations on SoHO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.2 Probing Solar X-Ray Nanoflares with NuSTAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.3 CLARA – Compact Lightweight Absolute Radiometer on NorSat-1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.4 FLARECAST – Flare Likelihood and Region Eruption Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.5 DARA – Digital Absolute Radiometer on PROBA-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.6 STIX – Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-Rays Onboard Solar Orbiter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.7 MiSolFA – The Micro Solar-Flare Apparatus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.8 SPICE and EUI Instruments Onboard Solar Orbiter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.9 JTSIM-DARA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
1
Contents
7 Earth Observation, Remote Sensing 50
7.1 APEX – Airborne Prism Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.2 HYLIGHT – Integrated Use of Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging Data and Airborne Laser Scanning Data. . 51
7.3 SPECCHIO – Spectral Information System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7.4 FLEX – FLuorescence EXplorer Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7.5 Wet Snow Monitoring with Spaceborne SAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
7.6 Moving Target Tracking in SAR Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
7.7 Calibration Targets for MetOp-SG Instruments MWS and ICI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
7.8 EGSIEM – European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
7.9 Copernicus Precise Orbit Determination Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
7.10 EMRP MetEOC-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
7.11 ARES – Airborne Research Facility for the Earth System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
8 Comets, Planets 64
8.1 ROSINA – Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
8.2 Seismometer Instrument for the NASA InSight Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
8.3 Investigation of the Chemical Composition of Lunar Soils (Luna-Glob and Luna-Resurs Missions). . . . 68
8.4 Investigation of the Volatiles Contained in Lunar Soils (Luna-Resurs Mission). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
8.5 CaSSIS – The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
8.6 SERENA/STROFIO on BepiColombo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
8.7 BELA – BepiColombo Laser Altimeter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
8.8 PEP – Particle Environment Package on JUICE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
8.9 SWI – Submillimeter Wave Instrument on JUICE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
8.10 CLUPI – CLose-Up Imager for ExoMars Rover 2020. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
8.11 GALA – Ganymede Laser Altimeter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
8.12 MiARD – Multi-Instrument Analysis of Rosetta Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
9 Life Science 80
9.1 Yeast Bioreactor Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
9.2 Calcium-Dependent Current Recordings During the 2nd Swiss Parabolic Flight Campaign. . . . . . . . . . 81
9.3 Focal Adhesion Characterisation During Parabolic Flight Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
10 Swiss Space Industries Group 83
11 Index of Authors 85
2
Foreword
1 Foreword
The Committee on Space Research the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), Looking further into the future, the
(COSPAR) is an interdisciplinary sci- was launched in March 2016 and has Swiss space community is eagerly
entific organisation which is focussed recently reached its primary science awaiting the operation of the first
on the exchange of information on orbit. TGO carries the Swiss-led im- Swiss research satellite: CHEOPS,
progress of all kinds of space re- aging system, CaSSIS (Colour and CHaracterizing ExOPlanet which was
search. It was established in 1958 by Stereo Surface Imaging System), selected by ESA as a small nationally-
the International Council for Science which is now returning high resolu- led mission. The mission will study
(ICSU) as a thematic organisation to tion colour and stereo images of the exoplanets using the transit method
promote scientific research in space on surface of Mars in support of the to determine radii and possibly the
an international level. COSPAR’s main spectrometers designed to measure atmospheric structure of previously
activity is the organisation of biennial trace gases in the Martian atmosphere detected exoplanets. CHEOPS was
Scientific Assemblies. On the occa- (supplied by Belgium and Russia). The adopted for construction in early 2014,
sion of the 42nd COSPAR Assembly first colour observations from in-orbit designed in the last two years, and
(Pasadena, USA) the Swiss National show a highly performant imager successfully passed the critical de-
Committee on Space Research takes that can also support future landed sign review, giving green light for con-
this opportunity to report on its activi- missions. These will include NASA’s struction of the flight hardware. The
ties to the international community. InSight mission to Mars that will at- instrument is now integrated on the
tempt to detect “Marsquakes” for the spacecraft, and the launch is currently
The majority of Swiss space research first time. Switzerland has made a scheduled for early 2019. This mission
activities are related to missions of the contribution to the seismometer on is of special interest and importance to
European Space Agency (ESA) and, the spacecraft. Swiss contributions the Swiss community as it is the first
therefore, ESA’s science programme to the ExoMars Rover (launch 2020) Swiss science satellite.
is of central importance to the Swiss are also in development and indicate
science community. Within this pro- Switzerland’s support for exploration Finally, Switzerland led the hardware
gramme, Swiss scientists and their of the Red Planet. development of Europe’s first inter-
industries have been extremely active planetary laser altimeter experiment,
in the past years and this is reflected in Switzerland has also contributed to BELA. This instrument will launch from
the diversity and depth of this report. the success of LISA Pathfinder. The Kourou in 2018 on a 6-year flight to
recent detection of gravitational waves Mercury where it will map the surface
The previous 2016 report was writ- has given renewed impetus to the with
Institutes and Observatories
2 Institutes and Observatories
2.1 ISSI – International Space Science Institute
Fields of Research Realisations in 2016 and 2017
The ISSI programme covers a wide- In total, 131 International Team meet-
spread spectrum of disciplines from ings, 8 Workshops, 5 Working Group
the physics of the solar system and meetings, and 5 Forums took place
planetary sciences to astrophysics in the years 2016 and 2017. ISSI wel-
and cosmology, and from Earth sci- comes about 950 visitors annually.
ences to astrobiology.
Furthermore, ISSI offers a unique
Introduction environment for facilitating and fos-
tering interdisciplinary Earth Science
ISSI is an Institute of Advanced Studies research. Consequently ESA’s Earth
Directors at which scientists from all over the Observation Programme Directorate
world are invited to work together entered a contractual relationship
R. Rodrigo (Executive Director) to analyse, compare and interprete with ISSI in 2008 to facilitate the
A. Cazenave their data. Space scientists, theorists, synergistic analysis of projects of the
R. von Steiger modellers, ground-based observers International Polar Year, International
J. Wambsganss and laboratory researchers meet at Living Planet Teams, Workshops and
J. Geiss (Honorary Director) ISSI to formulate interdisciplinary in- Forums. The contract with the ESA
terpretations of experimental data and Earth Science Directorate with ISSI
Staff observations. Therefore, the scientists has been extended until 2020.
are encouraged to pool their data and
10 Scientific results. The conclusions of these activi- ISSI jointly established with the
6 Administrative ties - published in several journals or National Space Science Center of
books - are expected to help identify the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Board of Trustees the scientific requirements of future (NSSC/CAS) a branch called ISSI-
space science projects. ISSI’s study BJ (International Space Science
G. Meylan (Chair), École projects on specific scientific themes Institute – Beijing) in 2013. ISSI-BJ
Polytechnique Fédérale de are selected in consultation with the shares the same Science Committee
Lausanne, Switzerland Science Committee members and with ISSI and uses the same study
other advisers. tools. Since 2014, ISSI has released
Science Committee together with ISSI-BJ an annual joint
ISSI’s operation mode is fivefold: Call for Proposals for International
M. Mandea (Chair), International Teams, multi- and in- Teams in Space and Earth Sciences.
CNES, Paris, France terdisciplinary Workshops, Working
Groups, Visiting Scientists and ISSI is also a part of the Europlanet
Contact Information Forums are the working tools of ISSI. 2020 Research Infrastructure (RI) proj-
ect. Europlanet 2020 RI addresses key
International Space Science The European Space Agency (ESA), scientific and technological challenges
Institute (ISSI) the Swiss Confederation, and the facing modern planetary science by
Hallerstrasse 6 Swiss Academy of Sciences (SC NAT) providing open access to state-of-the-
CH-3012 Bern provide the financial resources for art research data, models and facilities
Switzerland ISSI’s operation. The Univ. Bern con- across the European Research Area.
tributes through a grant to the Director ISSI is a participant in the Europlanet
Tel.: +41 31 631 48 96 and in-kind facilities. The Space Activity called "Innovation through
Fax: +41 31 631 48 97 Research Inst. (IKI, RAS, Russia) and science networking" and is working
the lnst. of Space and Astronautical together with eight other Europlanet
www.issibern.ch Sci. (ISAS, JAXA, Japan) support ISSI institutes to organise three Workshops
e-mail: firstname.name@issibern.ch with an annual financial contribution. and two strategic Forums over the
4
Institutes and Observatories
duration of the contract which will ad- 978-1-4939-3549-9, 2016. results in an interactive open-access
dress some of the major scientific and journal of the European Geosciences
technical challenges of present-day SSSI Volume 55: Remote Sensing Union: https://www.atmos-chem-
planetary sciences. Europlanet 2020 and Water Resources, A. Cazenave, phys.net/special_issue11_192.html.
RI will run until 2019. N. Champollion, J. Benveniste, J.
Chen (Eds.), ISBN 978-3-319-32448- On average, the International Teams
All scientific activities result in some 7, 2016. publish over 200 peer-reviewed pa-
form of publication, e.g. in ISSI’s hard- pers per year. All results, published
cover book series Space Sciences Volume 58: Integrative Study of the papers, and books can be found in
Series of ISSI (SSSI), ISSI Scientific Mean Sea Level and its Components, ISSI’s Annual Reports 21 (2015–2016)
Report Series (SR), both published A. Cazenave, N. Champollion, F. Paul, and 22 (2016–2017), which are avail-
by Springer or individual papers in J. Benveniste (Eds.), ISBN 978-3-319- able online (http://www.issibern.ch/
peer-reviewed international scientific 56490-6, 2017. publications/ar.html).
journals. As at the end of 2017, 58
volumes of SSSI, and 15 volumes of SSSI Volume 59: Dust Devils, D.
SR have been published. Information Reiss, R. Lorenz, M. Balme, L. Outlook
about the complete collection can be Neakrase, A.P. Rossi, A. Spiga, J.
found on ISSI’s website: www.issibern. Zarnecki (Eds.), ISBN 978-94-024- T h i r t y- o n e n ew I nte r n ati o n a l
ch, in the section "Publications". 1133-1, 2017. Teams , approved in 2017 by the
Science Committee, are starting their
SSSI Volume 60: Earth's Magnetic activities in the 23rd business year
Publications Field: Understanding Geomagnetic (2017/18). In addition, six Workshops
Sources from the Earth's Interior and will take place in the 23rd business
The following new volumes appeared its Environment, C. Stolle, N. Olsen, A. year:
in 2016 and 2017: D. Richmond, H. Opgenoorth (Eds.),
ISBN 978-94-024-1224-6, 2017. - Space-Based Measurement of
SSSI Volume 48: Helioseismology and Forest Properties for Carbon Cycle
Dynamics of the Solar Interior, M. J. Research.
Thompson, A. S. Brun, J. L. Culhane, Scientific Reports
L. Gizon, M. Roth, T Sekii (Eds.), ISBN - Clusters of Galaxies: Physics and
978-94-024-1033-4, 2017. Volume 14: Inventing a Space Mission Cosmology.
− The Story of the Herschel Space
SSSI Volume 51: Multi-Scale Observatory, V. Minier, R.M. Bonnet, - Comets: Post 67P Perspectives (in
Structure Formation and Dynamics V. Bontems, T. de Graauw, M. Griffin, Collaboration with MiARD).
in Cosmic Plasmas, A. Balogh, A. F. Helmich, G. Pilbratt, S. Volonte,
Bykov, J. Eastwood, J. Kaastra (Eds.), Results of an ISSI Working Group, - Role of Sample Return in Addressing
ISBN 978-1-4939-3546-8, 2016. ISBN 978-3-319-60023-9, 2017. Major Outstanding Questions in
Planetary Sciences (In Collaboration
SSSI Volume 52: Plasma Sources Volume 16: Air Pollution in Eastern with Europlanet).
of Solar System Magnetospheres, Asia: An Integrated Perspective, I.
A. F. Nagy, M. Blanc, C. Chappell, Bouarar, X. Wang, G.P. Brasseur - Understanding the Relationship be-
N. Krupp (Eds), ISBN 978-1-4939- (Eds.), Results of an ISSI Team, ISBN tween Coastal Sea Level and Large-
3543-7, 2016. 978-3-319-59488-0, 2017. Scale Ocean Circulation.
SSSI Volume 54: The Strongest Other Publications - ExoOceans: Space Exploration of
Magnetic Fields in the Universe, V. the Outer Solar System Icy Moons
S. Beskin, A. Balogh, M. Falanga, The Working Group "Carbon Cycle Oceans (in Collaboration with
M. Lyutikov, S. Mereghetti, T. Data Assimilation" led by M. Scholze ESSC-ESF).
Piran, R. A. Treumann (Eds.), ISBN and M. Heimann published all their
5
Institutes and Observatories
2.2 ISDC – INTEGRAL Science Data Centre
Institute Purpose of Research Past Achievements and Status
Dept. Astronomy, The INTEGRAL Science Data Centre INTEGRAL was launched in October
Univ. Geneva (UNIGE) (ISDC) was established in 1996 as 2002 and its data are not only used
a consortium of 11 European insti- for papers and PhD theses (more than
In Cooperation with: tutes and NASA. It has a central role 100 at present), but also as a near-
in the ground-segment activities of real time monitor: several astronomical
European Space Agency ESA’s INTernational Gamma-Ray telegrams per month are published
German Aerospace Center Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL). and, every second day, an automatic
Istituto Nazionale di Astro., Italy INTEGRAL operates a hard-X-ray im- alert for a gamma-ray burst (GRB) is
APC, France ager with a wide field-of-view, a gam- sent to robotic telescopes within sec-
CNRS, France ma-ray polarimeter, a radiation moni- onds of the detection so that GRBs
DTU Space, Denmark tor, and X-ray and optical monitors can be localised.
Centro de Astrobiología, Spain which have significantly advanced our
knowledge of high-energy astrophys- INTEGRAL carries the most sensitive
Prinicipal Investigator ical phenomena. INTEGRAL's ground all-sky monitor for GRBs without a
segment activities are divided into localisation capability, and is an es-
C. Ferrigno (UNIGE) Mission Operation Center, Science sential tool to discover a gamma-ray
Operation Center (both operated by counterpart of a gravitational wave
Method ESA), and ISDC which is a PI partner event (Savchenko et al., 2016; 2017).
of the mission and provides essential ISDC staff led the Memorandum of
Measurement services for the astronomical com- Understanding with both the LIGO sci-
munity to exploit mission data. entific and Virgo collaborations to look
Developments for gamma-ray counterparts of gravi-
ISDC processes spacecraft telem- tational wave events. The INTEGRAL
Data from the INTEGRAL gamma-ray etry to generate a set of widely us- team has produced stringent upper
space observatory are processed, able products, as well as performing limits on all but one double black-hole
archived and distributed to scientists a quick-look analysis to assess the mergers detected by LIGO and de-
worldwide together with the software data quality and discover transient tected, together with the gamma-ray
to analyse them. Quick-look and au- astronomical events. Data are distrib- monitor onboard the Fermi obser-
tomated analyses ensure the data uted to guest observers and archived vatory, a flash of gamma-rays two
quality and the discovery of relevant at ISDC which is the only complete seconds after the arrival on Earth of
astronomical events. source of INTEGRAL data. ISDC gravitational waves, originating as a
also has the task of integrating and result of a binary neutron star merger
Staff distributing software for the offline (Savchenko et al., 2017). This historical
analysis of INTEGRAL data together achievement has opened the era of
About 10 scientists and software with handbooks, and of giving sup- multi-messenger astronomy with the
engineers, including administrative/ port to users. Only as a result of the subsequent observation of a kilonova
support staff. ISDC contribution are INTEGRAL in the optical, X-ray, and radio bands.
data available to the astronomy
Contact Information community. ESA has conducted reviews in 2010,
2012, 2014, and 2016, and concluded
INTEGRAL Science Data Centre, The presence of the ISDC has guar- that fuel consumption, solar panel and
Astronomical Obs., Univ. Geneva, anteed Swiss scientists a central battery ageing, and orbital evolution
CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland role in the exploitation of INTEGRAL will allow the mission to be prolonged
Tel.: +41 22 379 21 00 data. To date, ISDC members have for many more years. In 2018, an
Fax: +41 22 379 21 33 participated in about 20% of the operational review will ascertain the
www.isdc.unige.ch/integral nearly 3000 publications based on reliability of INTEGRAL for the next
E-mail : isdc@unige.ch INTEGRAL data. extension (2019 – 2020), for which the
6
Institutes and Observatories
budget has already been approved by high-energy astrophysics with particle and accretion power in a binary mil-
the ESA SPC. Further extensions will physics, astroparticle physics is rapidly lisecond pulsar, Nature, 501, 7468,
be based on the scientific output of developing around ISDC. Its central 517–520.
the missions and budget constraints. topics are the nature of dark matter
and dark energy, the origin of cosmic 2. Savchenko, V., C. Ferrigno et al.,
ISDC is an essential pillar of the mission rays and astrophysical particle accel- (2016), INTEGRAL upper limits on
and is currently funded by the Swiss erators. Research in this field involves gamma-ray emission associated
Space Office, the University of Geneva, data from X-ray and gamma-ray space with the gravitational wave event
and ESA, with contributions from the telescopes, as well as from ground- GW150914, Astrophys. J. Lett.,
German Aerospace Center through based gamma-ray telescopes operat- 820(2), L36, 5 pp.
the Inst. Astronomy and Astrophysics, ing at even higher energies, such as
Tübingen. ISDC counts on the contri- MAGIC, HESS or the future Cherenkov 3. Savchenko, V., C. Ferrigno et al.,
bution of about 10 software engineers Telescope array. (2017), INTEGRAL detection of
and scientists who work in synergy the first prompt gamma-ray signal
with other space missions within the Publications coincident with the gravitational-
Dept. Astronomy, Univ. Geneva. wave event GW170817, Astrophys.
1. Papitto, A., C. Ferrigno, E. Bozzo et J. Lett., 848(2), L15, 8 pp.
To ensure data quality and to exploit the al., (2013), Swings between rotation
potential of the INTEGRAL observa-
tory, ISDC staff continuously performs
scientific validations to report relevant
"hot" discoveries in collaboration with
guest observers. Several astronomer's
telegrams, led by ISDC staff, are highly
cited, and illustrate the importance of
these discoveries. During this activity,
INTEGRAL managed to capture the
first pulsar swinging from accretion
and rotation powered emission, which
has been sought since evolutionary
theories first appeared in 1982 (Papitto
et al., 2013).
The studies performed at ISDC are MOC, Darmstadt
Observation Telemetry data
mainly in the field of high-energy astro- plan
physics. Although a significant fraction
of the research topics are linked to ar- Feedback
eas in which INTEGRAL makes a sig-
nificant contribution, a variety of other Auxiliary data
ISOC, Madrid ISDC, Geneva
observation facilities, such as XMM-
Newton, RXTE, Chandra, Planck, and Observing Processed data
Fermi, have so far been exploited. The proposals
science topics developed in the high-
energy group span from nearby X-ray
binaries up to cosmological scales, Science
with the study of active galactic nuclei Community
and clusters of galaxies.
Based on an approach merging Schematic view of the INTEGRAL ground segment activities.
7
Institutes and Observatories
2.3 CODE – Center for Orbit Determination in Europe
Purpose of Research center following this approach. In
the meanwhile, other IGS analysis
Using measurements from Global centers have started to follow this
Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) strategy as well.
is (among many other applications)
well established for the realisation of In a seperate processing line, a fully
the global reference frame, the in- integrated five-system solution has
vestigation of the system Earth, or developed, including the established
the precise geolocation of Low Earth GNSS, GPS and GLONASS but also
Orbiting (LEO) satellites in space. To the currently developed systems,
Institute support the scientific use and the de- namely the European Galileo, the
velopment of GNSS data analysis, Chinese BeiDou, and the Japanese
Astronomical Institute, the International GNSS Service (IGS) QZSS. The resulting solution is gen-
Univ. Bern (AIUB), Bern was established by the International erated in the frame of the IGS multi-
Association of Geodesy (IAG) in 1994. GNSS extension (IGS MGEX).
In Cooperation with:
CODE is one of the leading global Past Achievements and Status
Bundesamt für Landestopographie analysis centers of the IGS. It is a
(swisstopo), Wabern, Switzerland joint venture of the Astronomical The main products are: i) precise GPS
Institute of the University of Bern and GLONASS orbits, ii) satellite and
Bundesamt f. Kart. u. Geodäsie (AIUB), Bern, Switzerland, the receiver clock corrections, iii) station
(BKG), Frankfurt a. M., Germany Bundesamt für Landestopographie coordinates, iv) Earth orientation
(swisstopo), Wabern, Switzerland, parameters, v) troposphere zenith
IAPG, Technische Universität the Bundesamt für Kartographie path delays, and vi) maps of the to-
München, Germany und Geodäsie (BKG), Frankfurt tal ionospheric electron content. The
a.M., Germany, and the Institute of coordinates of the global IGS tracking
Principal/Swiss Investigator Astronomical and Physical Geodesy network are computed on a daily ba-
(IAPG) of the Technische Universität sis for studying vertical and horizontal
R. Dach (AIUB) München, Munich, Germany. Since site displacements and plate motions,
the early pilot phase of the IGS (21 and to provide information for the re-
Co-Investigators June 1992) CODE has been running alisation of the International Terrestrial
continuously. The operational pro- Reference Frame (ITRF). The daily
A. Jäggi (AIUB) cessing is located at AIUB using the positions of the Earth's rotation axis
E. Brockmann (swisstopo) Bernese GNSS Software package with respect to the Earth's crust as
D. Thaller (BKG) that is developed and maintained at well as the exact length-of-day, is de-
U. Hugentobler (IAPG) AIUB for many years. termined each day and provided to
the International Earth Rotation and
Method Nowadays, data from about 250 glob- Reference Systems Service (IERS).
ally distributed IGS tracking stations
Measurement are processed every day in a rigorous Apart from regularly generated prod-
combined multi-GNSS (currently the ucts, CODE significantly contributes
Res. Based on Existing Instrs. American Global Positioning System to the development and improvement
(GPS) and the Russian counterpart of modelling standards. Members
GNSS data analysis and software GLONASS) processing system of all of the CODE group contribute or
development. IGS product lines (with different laten- chair different IGS working groups,
cies). CODE started with the inclusion e.g., the working group on Bias and
Website of GLONASS in its regular processing Calibration and the antennae working
scheme back in May 2003. For five group. With the ongoing modernisa-
www.aiub.unibe.ch years it has been the only analysis tion programmes of the established
8Institutes and Observatories
GNSS and the upcoming GNSS, Abbreviations Publications
e.g., the European Galileo, such
work is highly relevant because of CODE Center for Orbit A list of recent publications is avail-
the increasing manifold of signals that Determination in Europe able at:
need to be consistently processed in GNSS Global Nav. Satellite Sys.
a fully combined multi-GNSS analy- GPS Global Positioning System www.bernese.unibe.ch
sis scheme. Other contributions from GLONASS Globalnaja Nawigazionnaja
CODE are the derivation of calibration Sputnikowaja Sistema
values for the GNSS satellite antenna IGS Int. GNSS Service
phase center model, GLONASS am- ITRF Int. Terrestrial Ref. Frame
biguity resolution, and the refinement LEO Low Earth Orbit
of the CODE orbit model. QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite Sys.
94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16
80 GPS
GLONASS
70 Galileo
BeiDou
60 QZSS
Total
Number of satellites
50
40
30
20
10
0
50000 52000 54000 56000 58000
MJD
Number of satellites in the operational orbit files provided by CODE.
9Institutes and Observatories
2.4 eSpace – EPFL Space Engineering Center
Mission projects and fundamental research.
The center coordinates the minor in
The EPFL Space Engineering Center Space Technologies which allows
(eSpace) shall contribute to space master-level students to acquire exten-
knowledge and exploration by provid- sive formal teaching in the field. These
ing world-class education, leading theoretical classes are complemented
space technology developments, co- by hands-on multidisciplinary projects
ordinating multi-disciplinary learning which often lead to the construction
projects and taking EPFL's laboratory of real hardware (e.g. SwissCube, with
research to space. ~200 students involved).
The center possesses expertise
Vision particularly in the field of system en-
gineering, including Muriel Richard-
To establish EPFL as a world re- Noca and Anton Ivanov as part of its
nowned Center of Excellence in senior staff, two experienced scien-
Space Engineering, and creating in- tists who worked at NASA-JPL prior
telligent space systems in service to to joining EPFL. eSpace also relies
humankind. on close collaborations with research
laboratories and institutes at EPFL.
Description In many cases, the research and
development activities performed
The Space Engineering Center (eS- are carried out directly within these
pace) is an interdisciplinary entity with entities, with support or coordination
the mission of promoting space related from eSpace. In this way, the center
research and development at EPFL. can lean on an extensive knowledge
Institute eSpace was created in 2014 following base and state-of-the-art research
a restructuring of the "Swiss Space in a number of areas, ranging from
EPFL Space Engineering Center Center". eSpace is active in three robotics to computer vision, and help
(eSpace) key areas: education, development take these technologies to space.
Director
J.-P. Kneib
hands on
exploratory learning
Staff projects education projects
5 Scientific, 1 Admin.
Contact Information
EPFL Space Engineering Center research flight
EPFL – ENT – ESC, Station 13 at epfl projects
CH-1015 Lausanne
Tel: +41 (0) 21 693 6948
Fax: +41 (0) 21 693 6940
email: espace@epfl.ch technology
URL: http://eSpace.epfl.ch demonstrations
10Institutes and Observatories
2.5 SSA – International Space Situational Awareness
Purpose of Research by KIAM using the ISON telescopes,
and the data from the AIUB/DLR
The central aim of Space Situational SMARTnet sensor network, provide
Awareness is to acquire information the data to maintain orbit catalogues
about natural and artificial objects in of high-altitude space debris. These
Earth's orbit. The growing number catalogues enable follow-up observa-
of so-called space debris - artificial tions to further investigate the physi-
non-functional objects - results in an cal properties of the debris and to
increasing threat to operational satel- eventually discriminate sources of
lites and manned spaceflight. small-size debris. Results from this
research are used as key input data Graphical representation of the space debris population of
Research in this domain aims at a for the European ESA meteoroid objects >10 cm as seen from 15 Earth radii (ESA).
better understanding of the near and space debris reference model
Earth environment: i) through extend- MASTER. The AIUB telescopes con- Institute
ing the catalogues of “known” space stitute primary optical sensors in the
objects toward smaller sizes, ii) by ESA Space Situational Awareness Astron. Inst. Univ. Bern (AIUB), Bern
acquiring statistical orbit information preparatory programme.
on small-size objects in support of In Cooperation with:
statistical environment models, and Publications
iii) by characterising objects to as- European Space Agency (ESA)
sess their nature and to identify the 1. Šilha, J., J.-N. Pit tet, T. Keldish Institute of Applied
sources of space debris. Schildknecht, M. Hamara, (2018), Mathematics (KIAM), Moscow
Apparent rotation properties International Scientific Optical
The research is providing the scien- of space debris extracted from Observation Network (ISON)
tific rationale to devise efficient space photometric measurements, Adv. DLR/German Space Operation
debris mitigation and remediation Space Res., 61, 844-861, https:// Center (GSOC)
measures enabling sustainable outer doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2017.10.048
space activities. Principal Investigators
2. Šilha, J., T. Schildknecht, A. Hinze,
Past Achievements and Status T. Flohrer, A. Vananti, (2017), An T. Schildknecht (AIUB)
optical survey for space debris
This is an ongoing international col- on highly eccentric and inclined Co-Investigators
laboration between the Astronomical MEO orbits, Adv. Space Res. 59,
Institute of the University of Bern 181-192, https://doi.org/10.1016/j. I. Molotov (KIAM), H. Fiedler (DLR)
(AIUB), the Keldish Institute of Applied asr.2016.08.027
Mathematics (KIAM), Moscow, ESA, Method
and DLR. Optical surveys per- 3. Vananti, A., T. Schildknecht, H.
formed by AIUB using its ZIMLAT Krag, (2017), Reflectance spec- Measurement, Compilation
and ZimSMART telescopes at the troscopy characterization of space
Zimmerwald Observatory and the debris, Adv. Space Res. 59, 2488- Observatories
ESA telescope in Tenerife on behalf of 2500, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
ESA as well as the surveys performed asr.2017.02.033 Zimmerwald, Switzerland
Sutherland, South Africa
Abbreviations ESA, Tenerife
ISON telescopes
SSA Space Situational Awareness
SMARTnet SMall Aperture Robotic Telescope network Website
ZIMLAT Zimmerwald Laser and Astrometry Telescope
ZimSMART Zimmerwald SMall Aperture Robotic Telescope www.aiub.unibe.ch
11Institutes and Observatories
2.6 SSC – Swiss Space Center
Mission Members
The Swiss Space Center (SSC) pro- In 2017, the Swiss Space Center wel-
vides a service supporting institu- comed four new industrial members
tions, academia and industry to (Synopta, MPS, Picterra, and Thales
access space missions and related Alenia Space Switzerland), one aca-
Director applications, and promote interaction demic institution (University of Zürich)
between these stakeholders. and one RTO (EAWAG).
V. Gass (EPFL)
Roles Apart from the founding members
Staff which constitute the BoD (SSO,
• To network Swiss research insti- EPFL, ETHZ), 32 members from each
3 Professors tutions and industries on national region of Switzerland representing
16 Scientific & Technical and international levels in order to all types of companies (large-sized,
2 Administrative establish focused areas of excellence medium and start-up), academies
internationally recognised for both (Swiss Federal Institutes, Universities,
Board of Directors space R&D and applications. Universities of Applied Sciences) and
RTO (CSEM, EMPA, PMOD/WRC,
R. Krpoun (SERI/SSO) • To facilitate access to and imple- EAWAG) are all part of the network.
M. Gruber (EPFL) mentation of space projects for Swiss
D. Günther (ETHZ) research institutions and industries.
Activities 2017
Steering Committee • To provide education and training.
During 2017, two important events
M. Rothacher (ETHZ, chairman) • To promote public awareness of were organised by the Swiss Space
M. Thémans (EPFL) space. Center, following the request of its
U. Frei (SSO) network.
U. Meier (Industry rep.)
C. Schori (Industry rep.)
A. Neels (RTO rep.)
S. Krucker (Academic rep.)
Contact Information
Swiss Space Center
EPFL, PPH338, Station 13
CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 21 693 69 48
space.center@epfl.ch
ETH Zurich, c/o Inst. Geodesy and
Photogrammetry, HIL C61.3,
Stefano-Franscini Platz 5,
CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 44 633 30 56
Website
A catalogue of Member competences entitled “Members’ Profiles” was edited in March 2017.
www.spacecenter.ch This document is available for download on the SSC website.
12Institutes and Observatories
a) Earth Observation in Switzerland months from November 2016 to
– Needs and Vision January 2018. The main objectives
of this call included the following
The members of SSC’s working group aspects:
on Earth Observation and Remote
Sensing initiated and organised a first • To foster the development of inno-
gathering of the Swiss EO commu- vative ideas and new products related
nity on 16 March 2017 in Bern. The to the space sector.
goal of the workshop was to bring
Swiss Space Earth Observation and • To promote the collaboration be-
Remote Sensing (EO) together and tween Swiss industrial and academic
discuss the needs and future vision partners to obtain a more stable
of the different players. and better structured Swiss space and strengthened as an instrument to
landscape. identify and boost space innovations
b) Roundtable on “COTS for Space in Switzerland.
Mechanisms” • To better position Swiss industry
with regard to future European and
The main conclusions drawn from worldwide activities, so as to be ready Outreach to Secondary Schools
the roundtable included: i) There is to submit competitive bids when the
no way around COTS (cost, planning, respective calls are published. To inspire secondary school stu-
availability), ii) it is not possible to use dents to become the explorers of
COTS as is, iii) mechanical COTS very • To increase the technological matu- tomorrow, 1062 students, aged 11
often need to be adapted to the specific rity of ideas developed by academia to 16, and 100 teachers were invit-
application, iv) COTS require a large and to promote competitive space ed to Lausanne to participate in an
effort, v) one should not rush into a products thanks to partnerships with event with Claude Nicollier, French
COTS approach with overly optimistic industry. astronaut Jean-François Clervoy,
assumptions, and vi) the correct ratio Astrophysician Michel Mayor and
between “traditional space-grade” and Moonwalker Charlie Duke. The audi-
COTS must be found. Call for Ideas 2017 – Third Edition ence paid close attention and reacted
with enthusiasm to the honor of hav-
Call for Ideas to Foster Low ing such legends on stage.
National Activities Technology Readiness Level (typically
TRL 1-2; research and development
“Mesures de Positionnement” (MdP) studies related to space activities)
Call 2016 was launched in March 2017. Out
of nearly 20 high-quality proposals,
Twelve studies were selected by seven projects were short-listed in a
SERI/SSO and carried out over 15 very competitive selection process.
During the implementation, the project
teams studied their concepts from a
space perspective and advanced on
the maturity of the concepts for space
applications. All projects were suc-
cessfully concluded, and follow-up
activities have been identified. With
the second successful implementa-
tion of this project opportunity, the
Call for Ideas has been consolidated Outreach Event for Secondary Schools.
13Institutes and Observatories
2.7 Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) at the Swiss Optical
Ground Station and Geodynamics Obs. Zimmerwald
Purpose of Research The highly autonomous manage-
ment of the SLR operations by the
The Zimmerwald Geodynamics in-house developed control software
Observatory is a station of the global is mainly responsible for Zimmerwald
tracking network of the International Observatory evolving into one of the
Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). SLR most productive SLR stations world-
observations to satellites equipped wide in the last decade. This achieve-
with laser retro-reflectors are ac- ment is remarkable when considering
quired with the monostatic 1-m that weather conditions in Switzerland
Laser beam transmitted from the 1-meter ZIMLAT telescope to multi-purpose Zimmerwald Laser only allow operations about two thirds
measure high accuracy distances of artificial satellites. and Astrometric Telescope (ZIMLAT). of the time, and that observation time
is shared during the night between
Target scheduling, acquisition and SLR operations and the search for
tracking, and signal optimisation may space debris with CCD cameras at-
be performed fully autonomously tached to the multi-purpose telescope.
whenever weather conditions per-
mit. The collected data are delivered Publications
in near real-time to the global ILRS
data centers, while official products 1. Lauber, P., M. Ploner, M. Prohaska, P.
are generated by the ILRS analysis Schlatter, P. Ruzek, T. Schildknecht,
centers using data from the geodetic A. Jäggi, (2016), Trials and limits of
satellites, LAGEOS and Etalon. SLR automation: experiences from the
significantly contributes to the reali- Zimmerwald well characterised
sation of the International Terrestrial and fully automated SLR-system,
Institute Reference Frame (ITRF), especially Proc. 20th Int. Workshop on Laser
with respect to the determination of Ranging, Potsdam, Germany, 2016.
Astronomical Institute, the origin and scale of the ITRF.
Univ. Bern (AIUB) 2. Andritsch, F., R. Dach, A. Grahsl,
Past Achievements and Status T. Schildknecht, A. Jäggi, (2017),
In Cooperation with: Comparing tracking scenarios to
The design of the 100 Hz Nd:YAG la- LAGEOS and Etalon by simulating
Bundesamt für Landestopographie ser system used at the Swiss Optical realistic SLR observations, EGU,
(swisstopo), Wabern, Switzerland Ground Station and Geodynamics Vienna, Austria, 24–28 April, 2017.
Observatory Zimmerwald enables a
Principal Investigator high flexibility in the selection of the 3. Schildknecht, T., A. Jäggi, M.
actual firing rate and epochs which also Ploner, E. Brockmann, (2015),
T. Schildknecht (AIUB) allows for synchronous operation in The Swiss Optical Ground Station
one-way laser ranging to spaceborne and Geodynamics Observatory
Co-Investigators optical transponders such as the Lunar Zimmerwald, Swiss National
Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Report on the Geodetic Activities
P. Lauber, E. Cordelli (AIUB) in the years 2011– 2015.
Method Abbreviations
Measurement ILRS International Laser Ranging Service
ITRF International Terrestrial Reference Frame
Website LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
SLR Satellite Laser Ranging
www.aiub.unibe.ch ZIMLAT Zimmerwald Laser and Astrometry Telescope
14Swiss Space Missions
3 Swiss Space Missions
3.1 CleanSpace One
Purpose of Research Past Achievements and Status
The collision between the American The project has identified industrial
operational satellite Iridium and the partners and is in the process of se-
Russian Cosmos in 2009 brought a curing funding.
new emphasis to the orbital debris
problem. Although most of the work
had concentrated on avoidance pre- Publications
diction and debris monitoring, all major
space agencies are now claiming the 1. Richard-Noca, M., et al., (2016), SwissCube capture by CleanSpace One. Image credit: Jamani Caillet, EPFL.
need for Active Debris Removal (ADR). Developing a reliable capture
About 23 500 debris items of sizes system for CleanSpace One, IAC- Institute
above 10 cm have been catalogued. 16-A6.5.2, 67th Int. Astronautical
Roughly 2000 of these are remains of Congr., Guadalaraja, Mexico. EPFL Space Engineering Center
launch vehicles, 3000 belong to de- (eSpace), EPFL
funct satellites, and the rest are either 2. Chamot, B., et al., (2013),
mission-generated or fragmentation Technology Combination Analysis In Cooperation with:
debris. Tool (TCAT) for active debris re-
moval, 6 th Eur. Conf. on Space HES-SO/HEPIA; AIUB;
The motivation behind the CleanSpace Debris, ESA/ESOC, Darmstadt, Fachhochschule NTB; ETHZ
One project is to increase international Germany.
awareness and start mitigating the Principal/Swiss Investigator
impact on the space environment by 3. Richard, M., et al., (2013),
acting responsibly and removing our Uncooperative rendezvous and M. Richard-Noca (EPFL)
"debris" from orbit. The objectives of docking for MicroSats, The case
the project are thus to demonstrate for CleanSpace One, 6th Int.Conf. Co-Investigator
technologies related to ADR which on Recent Advances in Space
are scalable for the removal of micro- Technol., RAST 2013, Istanbul, J.-P. Kneib
satellites, and to de-orbit SwissCube Turkey.
or any similar Swiss satellite that com- Method
plies with the launch constraints.
Measurement
This project will contribute to the Abbreviations
Space Sustainability and Awareness Development & Constr. of Instrs.
with ADR actions. ADR Active Debris Removal
Mission design, sys. & sub-sys. design
Current activities include development & validation, launch & flight operations.
of the capture system, Guidance-
Navigation and Control, and systems Industrial Hardware Contract to:
related to the rendezvous sensors and
image processing. Airbus, ClearSpace SA
Method
Time-Line From To Measurement
Planning Oct. 2017 Jul. 2019
Construction Aug. 2019 Feb. 2022 Website
Measurement Phase Mar. 2022 Nov. 2022
Data Evaluation Mar. 2022 Dec. 2022 espace.epfl.ch/CleanSpaceOne_1
15Swiss Space Missions
3.2 CHEOPS – Characterising ExOPlanet Satellite
Purpose of Research • Bring new constraints on the at-
mospheric properties of known
CHEOPS is the first mission dedicat- hot Jupiters via phase curves.
ed to search for transits of exoplanets
by means of ultrahigh precision pho- • Provide unique targets for detailed
tometry on bright stars already known atmospheric characterisation by
to host planets. future ground (e.g. the European
Extremely Large Telescope,
It will provide the unique capability E-ELT) and space-based (e.g. the
of determining accurate radii for a James Webb Space Telescope,
subset of those planets for which the JWST) facilities with spectroscopic
mass has already been estimated capabilities.
The CHEOPS electronics boxes. On the right is the BEE (Back End Electr- from ground-based spectroscopic
onics) housing the Data Processing Unit (DPU) and the power converter. surveys, providing on-the-fly char- In addition, 20% of the CHEOPS ob-
On the left, the SEM (Sensor Electronics Module) which controls the acterisation of exoplanets located serving time will be made available to
CCD as well as the temperature stabilisation of the focal plane mo- almost everywhere in the sky. the community through a selection
dule. Both boxes will be housed in the body of the spacecraft. process carried out by ESA, in which
It will also provide precise radii for a wide range of science topics may
new planets discovered by the next be addressed.
generation of ground or space-based
transit surveys (Neptune-size and
smaller).
Institute By unveiling transiting exoplanets Past Achievements and Status
with high potential for in-depth char-
Center for Space and Habitability & acterization, CHEOPS will also pro- - Mission selection: October 2012
Institute of Physics, vide prime targets for future instru- - Mission adoption: February 2014
Univ. Bern (UNIBE) ments suited to the spectroscopic - Instrument CDR: December 2015
characterisation of exoplanetary - Ground segment CDR: January
In Cooperation with: atmospheres. 2016
- System CDR: May 2016
Institut für Weltraumforschung In particular, CHEOPS will: - Flight telescope arrives at the
Graz, Austria University of Bern: April 2017
Center Spatial de Liege, Belgium • Determine the mass-radius rela- - SVT-1A: June 2017
ETH Zurich, CH tion in a planetary mass range for - SVT-1B: November 2017
Swiss Space Center, CH which only a handful of data exist - Instrument EMC test: December
Observatoire Geneve, CH and to a precision not previously 2017
Lab. d’Astrophys. Marseille, France achieved. - Measurement of the center of
DLR Inst. Planetary Res., Germany mass, and moment of inertia:
DLR Inst. Opt. Sensor Sys., Germany • Identify planets with significant at- January 2018
Konkoly Observatory mospheres in a range of masses, - Telescope ready for calibration:
INAF Osserv. Astrofisico di Catania distances from the host star, and March 2018
INAF Osserv. Astro. di Padova stellar parameters.
Centro de Astro. da Univ. do Porto At present, the CHEOPS telescope
Deimos Engenharia • Place constraints on possible is undergoing a thorough and exten-
Onsala Space Observatory planet migration paths followed sive calibration testing phase at the
Stockholm Univ., Sweden during the formation and evolution University of Bern which ended in
Univ. Warwick, Univ. Cambridge, UK of planets. April 2018.
16Swiss Space Missions
Publications Abbreviations Principal/Swiss Investigator
1. Cessa, V., et al., (2017), CHEOPS: CHEOPS CHaracterising ExOPlanet W. Benz (UNIBE)
A space telescope for ultra-high Satellite
precision photometry of exoplanet CDR Critical Design Review Co-Investigators
transits, SPIE, 10563, 105631. E-ELT European Extremely Large
Telescope T. Barczy, T. Beck,
2. Beck, T., et al., (2017), The CHEOPS EMC Electromag. Compatibility M. Davies, D. Ehrenreich,
(CH a rac te r is in g E x O Pl a n et JWST James Webb Space M. Gillon, W. Baumjohann,
Satellite) mission: telescope optical Telescope C. Broeg, M. Deleuil,
design, development status and STM Structural Thermal Model A. Fortier, A. Gutierrez,
main technical and programmatic SVT System Validation Test A. L.-d-Etangs, G. Piotto,
challenges, SPIE, 10562, 1056218. D. Queloz, E. Renotte,
T. Spohn, S. Udry,
3. Benz, W., D. Ehrenreich, K. Isaak, and the CHEOPS Team
(2017), CHEOPS: CHaracterising
ExOPlanets Satellite, Handbook of Method
Exoplanets, Eds. H. J. Deeg, J. A.
Belmonte, Springer Living Ref. Work, Measurement
ISBN: 978-3-319-30648-3, id.84.
Development & Constr. of Instrs.
Time-Line From To
Planning Mar. 2013 Feb. 2014 Switzerland is responsible for the de-
Construction Mar. 2014 Apr. 2018 velopment, assembly, and verification
Measurement Phase 2019 Mid 2022 of a 33 cm diameter telescope as well
Data Evaluation 2019 Open as the development and operation of
the mission's ground segment.
Industrial Hardware Contract to:
Almatech
Connova AG
Pfeiffer Vacuum AG
P&P
RUAG Space
Website
cheops.unibe.ch
The CHEOPS telescope completely assembled, integrated and ready for calibration
at the University of Bern. Notice the prominent front baffle with its cover to protect the
optics from dust contamination prior to launch. Also visible are the two white radiators
on top which are part of the thermal stabilisation system of the read-out electronics.
Standing next to the telescope is Dr. Thomas Beck, the CHEOPS system engineer.
17Space Access Technology
4 Space Access Technology
4.1 ALTAIR – Air Launch Space Transportation Using an
Automated Aircraft and an Innovative Rocket
Purpose of Research Zurich will lead the development of
the launcher structure, leveraging
ALTAIR’s strategic objective is to dem- the know-how in structural design,
onstrate the economic and technical multi-disciplinary optimisation, numeri-
viability of a novel European launch cal modelling and composite mate-
service for the rapidly growing small rials manufacturing by CMASLab.
satellites market. The system is spe- By exploiting advanced composite
cially designed to launch satellites in materials, implementing novel and
The ALTAIR carrier and launcher performing the separation manoeuvre. the 50 – 150 kg range into Low-Earth structurally optimised designs, and
Orbits, in a reliable and cost-compet- tailoring the composite manufacturing
Institute itive manner. processes, the structural performance
of the vehicle will be increased. These
CMASLab, Inst. Des. Mat. & Fabr., The ALTAIR system comprises an ex- state-of-the-art design techniques will
D-MAVT, ETH Zurich, Switzerland pendable launch vehicle built around advance the technology of lightweight
hybrid propulsion and lightweight composite systems and promote the
In Cooperation with: composite structures which is air- use of composite materials in launch
launched from an unmanned carrier vehicles, thereby expanding the cur-
ONERA, France; Bertin Technol., aircraft at high altitudes. Following rent bounds of structural efficiency.
France; Piaggio Aerospace, Italy; separation, the carrier aircraft returns
GTD Sistemas de Inform., Spain; to the launch site, while the rocket pro- Past Achievements and Status
Nammo Raufoss, Norway; SpaceTec pels the payload into orbit, making
Partners, Belgium; CNES, France the entire launch system partly reus- The project, funded through the EU
able and more versatile than exist- Horizon 2020 programme, started in
Principal Investigator ing rideshare and piggyback launch December 2015 and will be concluded
solutions. ALTAIR will hence provide in November 2018. Numerous design
N. Bérend a dedicated launch service for small loops, involving constant improvement
satellites, enabling on-demand and of the cost-per-kg performance of the
Swiss Principal Investigator affordable space access to a large launcher, have led to an effective and
spectrum of users, from communi- viable concept. The ongoing efforts
P. Ermanni (ETHZ) cation and Earth observation satellite are geared towards the refinement of
operators to academic and research the subsystems design, while flight
Co-Investigators centers. tests performed on a scaled demon-
strator of the entire system are planned
G. Molinari (ETHZ), C. Karl (ETHZ) The key feature of the expendable to support the numerical analyses of
rocket will be an advanced lightweight the crucial captive flight phase and
Method composite structure, designed around release manoeuvre.
environmentally green hybrid propul-
Simulation sion stages. A versatile upper stage Publications
and innovative avionics contribute to
Developments mission flexibility and cost reduction, 1. Dupont C., et al., (2017), ALTAIR -
paired with novel ground system ar- Design & Progress on the Space
Feasibility demonstration of a satellite chitectures. All systems are developed Launch Vehicle Design, 7th Europ.
launcher based on a semi-reusable by exploiting multi-disciplinary analysis Conf. Aeronautics & Space Sci.
hybrid aircraft-rocket design for low- and optimisation techniques, and the (EUCASS).
cost, low-Earth-orbit space access. resulting design will be supported by
flight experiments to advance the ma- 2. Dupont, C., et al., (2017), ALTAIR
Website turity of key technologies. orbital module preliminary mission
and system design, 7th Europ. Conf.
www.altair-h2020.eu Within the ALTAIR project, ETH Aeronautics & Space Sci. (EUCASS).
18Astrophysics
5 Astrophysics
5.1 Gaia Variability Processing and Analysis
Purpose of Research Since late 2016, we have worked ex-
tensively on 120 billion Gaia photo-
The Gaia project is a cornerstone mis- metric measurements to provide the
sion from ESA, performing a multi- first large catalogue of variable objects
epoch survey of all stars in the Milky across the whole sky for the Second
Way brighter than magnitude 20.7, Data Release planned in April 2018. Sky distribution in Galactic coordinates of the cross-matched RR Lyrae stars
with astrometric, photometric, and We will release classification and vari- from the literature, colour-coded with apparent magnitude (generally: higher
spectroscopic measurements. More ability information together with time means the stars are further away, though not accounting for extinction). The
than 1.7 billion celestial objects are series for about half a million stars. Magellanic clouds and Sagittarius stream are clearly visible (Image credit:
repeatedly measured. ESA/Gaia/DPAC). An unrivalled catalogue of RR Lyrae stars is provided in
These catalogues are among the larg- Gaia Data Release-2.
One of the duties of the Gaia con- est, if not the largest, ever published
sortium is to detect and analyse the over the whole sky, and is the tip of the Institute
variable celestial objects. This effort iceberg. The analysis of the first two
is coordinated by the University of years of data makes us confident that Dept. Astron., Univ. Geneva (UNIGE)
Geneva with an associated data pro- great science can be done with Gaia,
cessing center of about 60 people. and that the integration of the software In Cooperation with:
The task of this coordination unit is first pipelines of all Coordination Units is
to statistically describe the time series working under real-data conditions. 17 institutes in Europe, USA, Israel
and then classify the variable sources. (more than 60 people)
Further specific analysis is done on
a subset of sources to provide their Publications Principal Investigator
astrophysical properties.
1. Gaia Collaboration, Brown, A.G.A., ESA
Past Achievements and Status Vallenari, A., Prusti, T., et al., (2016),
Gaia Data Release 1. Summary Swiss Principal Investigator
The Gaia spacecraft has been gath- of the astrometric, photometric,
ering data since Summer 2014. The and survey properties, Astron. L. Eyer (UNIGE)
First Data Release was made pub- Astrophys., 595, 2.
lic in September 2016, in which the Co-Investigators
Gaia Data Processing and Analysis 2. Eyer, L., Mowlavi, N., Evans, D. W., et
Consortium only released a small al., (2017), Gaia Data Release 1: The N. Mowlavi, B. Holl, M. Audard,
fraction of the data. In particular, vari- variability processing & analysis and I. Lecoeur-Taibi, L. Rimoldini, L.
able stars were released much earlier its application to the south ecliptic Guy, O. Marchal, J. Charnas, and
than originally planned. We focused on pole region, arXiv170203295. K. Nienartowicz, G. Jevardat de
Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars from the Fombelle (software co., SixSQ)
South Ecliptic pole, a region near stars 3. Gaia Collaboration, Clementini, G.,
of the Large Magellanic Clouds, and Eyer, L., Ripepi, V., et al., (2017), Gaia Method
variability information for 3,194 stars Data Release 1. Testing parallaxes
was published of which ~10% were with local Cepheids and RR Lyrae Measurement
new. This data release was more like a stars, Astron. Astrophys., 605, 79.
showcase of the performance of Gaia. Development of Software for
The Gaia mission
Time-Line From To
Planning 2006 2022 Website
Construction Cyclic development 2022
Measurement Phase 2014 2020 www.unige.ch/sciences/astro/
Data Evaluation Cyclic 2022/2023 variability
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