immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: ESA

  • ESA strengthens new innovation centre at the Paul Scherrer Institute

    ESA strengthens new innovation centre at the Paul Scherrer Institute

    With the opening of the ESDI, the ESA has taken a decisive step towards strengthening Swiss space research and development. Located in the immediate vicinity of the PSI in Park Innovaare, the ESDI will serve as a hub for new, ground-breaking technologies that are important for both space research and industrial applications in Switzerland and Europe.

    Focus on quantum and materials research in the Phi-Lab
    A central element of the ESDI is the Phi-Lab, which is headed by Jennifer Wadsworth and specialises in promoting innovative research projects. From 2025, targeted programmes in quantum and materials research will be financially supported here. Wadsworth emphasises the possibility that Phi-Lab brings together diverse teams from industry, start-ups and research to solve complex technological challenges that are almost impossible to implement with conventional funding measures.

    Location advantages through Park Innovaare and PSI
    The ESDI’s location in Park Innovaare, a new hub for high-tech innovation, provides access to advanced manufacturing facilities. In addition, the neighbouring PSI brings expertise in areas such as vacuum technology and radiation protection, which are already adapted to space conditions through the use of PSI particle accelerators. This synergy provides the ESDI and its partners with an infrastructure for prototype development and testing under realistic space conditions.

    Strengthening the Swiss innovation landscape
    With the ESDI, the ESA will further intensify its collaboration with Swiss innovation players. The support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and the ETH Domain guarantees the sustainable development of this project. The planned opening ceremony in spring 2025 marks the official starting point for an era of closer ties between ESA, Swiss research and industry that could extend far beyond the space sector.

    Long-standing partnership between ESA and PSI
    The connection between ESA and PSI has a long tradition. PSI has been carrying out material tests as part of space research for many years. One example of this is the JUICE mission, in which the RADEM detector developed by PSI is used to analyse radiation conditions in the Jupiter system. Thierry Strässle, Chief of Staff at PSI, sees the ESDI as playing a crucial role for Switzerland: “The ESDI will be a central hub for space research and Switzerland’s high-tech ecosystem.”

  • Researchers mix concrete on the ISS

    Researchers mix concrete on the ISS

    Experiments on the ISS (International Space Station) should help to better understand the hardening of concrete under conditions of weightlessness. Ultimately, they could help to develop more environmentally friendly compositions of the material without detracting from its positive properties. This is a joint project of the BIOTESC competence center at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hergiswil, the German Aerospace Center , the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University of Cologne .

    BIOTESC works on behalf of the European Space Agency ESA . This so-called User Support and Operations Center is one of four such centers at ESA. It supports researchers in conducting experiments in the infrastructure of the ISS.

    The research design for the experiments on the ISS also comes from Hergiswil. The 64 small test containers prepared there, each with different mixtures and injectable liquid, were tested, filled and packaged by the BIOTESC. Since there are plans for permanent presences on the Moon and Mars, some of them also contain moon dust, according to a press release from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The BIOTESC containers were checked for space standards at the ESA logistics center in Turin. Then they were flown to Cape Canavaral, from where they were rocketed to the ISS.

    The experiment was conducted on February 1st. The concrete samples will not return to Earth until the next flight in July. In the meantime, the containers developed by the BIOTESC have already been patented in Germany. According to BIOTESC research group leader Dr. Bernd Rattenbacher: “All material that has a solid and a liquid component can be mixed in it.”