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• 18 November 2020: ESA’s Hertz radio frequency test chamber will be playing a supporting role in a forthcoming production at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. ¹⁾

- The cavernous foam-lined space – located in ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands – was filmed by a team from filming company WE ARE WILL, along with a neighboring clean room, to serve as a futuristic backdrop to the events on stage.

- In next year’s Upload, a father and daughter travel to a very special clinic. The parent wants to give up his physical body and have his mind uploaded into a digital version of himself, to try and escape past trauma and achieve immortality. But why did he make this choice, and how will this change his relationship with his daughter?

- “The show is a hybrid of styles, set well into the future,” explains Michel Van der Aa, composer and director of the opera.

- ‘Hertz is an amazing, very theatrical looking space – which doubles in our production as the clinic’s scanning chamber. Then, for our climax, final stage of the uploading takes place in the other chamber we filmed at ESTEC, a clean room for satellite storage inside the Test Centre.”

Figure 1: Upload receives its premiere in Amsterdam on 20 March 2021 (photo credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

• 13 November 2020: Today, ESA signed contracts with Thales Alenia Space in France and in Italy, and Airbus in Spain to build three of the new high-priority Copernicus satellite missions: CHIME, CIMR and LSTM, respectively. Each mission is set to help address different major environmental challenges such as sustainable agriculture management, food security, the monitoring of polar ice supporting the EU Integrated Policy for the Arctic, and all will be used to understand climate change. ²⁾

- There are six Copernicus high-priority Sentinel Expansion missions planned to complement the current capabilities of the Sentinels and address EU policy priorities and gaps in Copernicus user needs.

- The development and operations of these Sentinel Expansion missions will be co-financed between the European Commission and ESA, subject to budget availability. These new industrial contacts kick off the key design phases for the missions, with the continuation to be confirmed in 2021.

- ESA has recently signed contracts for the development of two of the other six missions: the Copernicus Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission and the Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter mission.

- These three new contracts also come at a time when industry and business are suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

- ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs, Josef Aschbacher, said, “We are thrilled to sign these contracts with industry today. Not only because once built, each mission will address real environmental challenges and further Europe’s flagship Copernicus program, but also because we need to help keep our industrial partners in good shape during COVID-19, which has brought untold damage to the economy and employment security.

- “Despite the issues surrounding COVID-19, it is critical that we continue forging new space technologies, and continue developing, building and launching satellites that lead to new knowledge and services that ultimately benefit all humankind.”

- With a contract worth €455 million, Thales Alenia Space France will lead the development of the CHIME (Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment). The contract was signed in the presence of Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy and Finance. The mission will carry a unique visible to shortwave infrared spectrometer.

- It will provide routine hyperspectral observations to support new and enhanced services for sustainable agricultural and biodiversity management, as well to characterize soil properties, which is key to vegetation health. The mission will complement Copernicus Sentinel-2 for applications such as land-cover mapping.

- ESA signed the contract for the development of the CIMR (Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer), mission with Thales Alenia Space Italy in the presence of the Under Secretary of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Riccardo Fraccaro. The contract is worth €495 million.

- Carrying a novel ‘conically-scanning’ multi-frequency microwave radiometer, the mission will measure sea-surface temperature, sea-ice concentration and sea-surface salinity. It will also observe a wide range of other sea-ice parameters such as sea-ice thickness and sea-ice drift. CIMR is being developed in response to high-priority requirements from key Arctic user communities and will support the EU Integrated Policy for the Arctic.

- The contract, worth €380 million,for the Copernicus LSTM (Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) mission, was signed with Airbus Spain in the presence of Pedro Duque, Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation.

- It marks the first time that Spain will lead the development of a Copernicus Sentinel mission. LSTM will carry a high spatial-temporal thermal-infrared sensor to deliver observations of land-surface temperature. Satellite data analysis for mapping, monitoring and forecasting Earth's natural resources helps to understand what, when and where changes are taking place. In particular, this mission will respond to the needs of European farmers to make agricultural production more sustainable as water shortages increase and changes in the environment take place.

- While these contracts are for the development of these three new exciting missions, full implementation relies on further agreements. This includes an agreement between ESA and the European Commission, including a joint positive decision by the Commission and ESA and their Member States to go from Phase B2 to Phase C/D for the prototype missions and to procure the recurrent satellite units. This decision point is planned in the second half of 2021.

- The European Copernicus flagship program provides Earth observation and in situ data, as well as a broad range of services for environmental monitoring and protection, climate monitoring and natural disaster assessment to improve the quality of life of European citizens.

- Copernicus is the biggest provider of Earth observation data in the world – and while the EU is at the helm of this environmental monitoring program, ESA develops, builds and launches the dedicated satellites. It also operates some of the missions and ensures the availability of data from third party missions.

- The European Commission’s Head of Unit for Earth Observation, Mauro Facchini, said, “Built on cooperation between the European Commission and ESA, Copernicus has been an outstanding success not only for Europe, but also for the rest of the world. Key environmental data and derived products are freely available for services and data users to improve the daily lives of all citizens. We are extremely pleased that these contracts are an important step towards the expansion of the suite of satellites delivering critical information, furthering the Copernicus program as a whole.”

• 04 November 2020: Hungary celebrates its fifth anniversary in ESA after becoming ESA’s 22nd and most recent Member State on 4 November 2015. ³⁾

- Hungary was the first central European State to sign a Cooperation Agreement with ESA in 1991. But by the time this cooperation began, Hungary could already look back on an extended tradition in space activities. With its participation in the Interkosmos program, Hungary sent the first Hungarian cosmonaut, Bertalan Farkas, into space on 26 May 1980.

Figure 2: Flag of Hungary (image credit: ESA)

- Hungary also became the first European Cooperating State with the signing of the ECS (European Cooperating State) Agreement on 7 April 2003. This was followed shortly after by the signing of the PECS Agreement (Plan for European Cooperating States) on 5 November 2003, which was extended until Hungary’s accession to the ESA Convention. The signing ceremony took place at the Palace of Arts in Budapest on 24 February 2015 and the ratification instrument was deposited with the Government of France on 4 November 2015.

- Today, Hungary is an active and successful member of the ESA family. This was shown at the Space19+ conference, where the Hungarian contributions to ESA optional programs made a significant leap forward in strongly focusing on Human Spaceflight, Space Safety, Earth Observation and Telecommunications. Compared to the 2016 Ministerial Council with a contribution of €16.1 million, Hungary’s participation rose to €97 million at Space19+ (Figure 34).

- Most recently, the first Hungarian Industry Days were organized in Budapest in October 2020. These were a big success, with 118 participants and great opportunities for Hungarian organizations to deepen their knowledge on ESA technology and application programs, and to also develop their network with the large European space companies.

- Aside from industrial involvement, Hungary has also taken part in several ESA educational activities, including ESA radar courses, student parabolic flight campaigns and the European Student Moon Orbiter project. Hungary’s first satellite, MaSat-1, a CubeSat-type satellite, developed and built by students at the Technical University of Budapest, was launched on the Vega rocket maiden flight in 2012.

- Since becoming ESA’s 22nd Member State in 2015, Hungary has proved to be an active and reliable member of ESA and the European space community with its involvement in more than 60 ESA projects, and an additional 114 contracts awarded during the preceding 12-year period of the PECS Agreement.

• 27 October 2020: Space technologies and satellite applications are poised to power green economic development in Europe in the coming years, creating jobs and boosting prosperity. ⁴⁾

- ESA has several green initiatives to foster economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic while promoting clean living and digital transformation. They seek to use disruptive technologies to transform urban green areas, improve air quality and offer space-based services for marine energy.

Figure 3: Space technologies and satellite applications are poised to power green economic development in Europe in the coming years, creating jobs and boosting prosperity (image credit: ESA)

- The agency is also planning to use space and 5G technologies to enable intelligent transport services. In smart cities, circularity can be enhanced by using space technologies to support public transport shifts towards zero carbon emissions and the dynamic mapping system of roads and traffic signals.

- “I strongly believe that remote sensing and further smart technologies will help humanity to fix the live-threatening impacts from climate heating and biodiversity loss,” says Alfred Schumm, Director of Innovation, Science and Technologies at the World Wide Fund for Nature in Germany.

- “Time is running out and actions are a must. Soon we will be able to monitor indicators for a sustainable economy, so that society will be able to take informed decisions for the benefit of nature and people.”

- Following the pandemic-induced economic crash, the European Commission proposed a major recovery plan that incorporates an earlier initiative called the Green Deal, which aims to make Europe carbon neutral by 2050, alongside an effort for digitization transformation.

- In response, ESA is inviting companies to start work on initiatives that will ignite the European economy while promoting green development and supporting the shift to digital services. It is offering financial and business support to entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses to bring their ideas to market.

- The initiatives cover areas ranging from energy efficiency to responsible agri-tech, from smart buildings and the management of urban green spaces, to transportation and restoring biodiversity.

- ESA is working with the Mirpuri Foundation, which supports sustainable development. “At the Mirpuri Foundation, we believe in the power of innovation and technology, working towards a more sustainable future. As partner of ESA, we can only praise its green initiatives and hope that they will ultimately generate a positive impact on the planet,” says Ana Agostinho, its Head of Public Relations.

- For example, satellites applications can be used to help plan, monitor, predict and improve renewable energy production, especially when complemented by artificial intelligence, the internet of things and remotely piloted aircraft systems.

- Green construction can make use of space-based data and internet-of-things sensors to locate new buildings in ecologically safe zones, conserve energy, reduce the heat island effect and support green renovations.

- Digital technologies, satellite navigation and satellite communication can improve smart mobility and logistics services, and help develop versatile transport plans improving air quality and energy efficiency.

- Finally the “Farm to Fork” program, enabled by satellite navigation, can enhance supply chains and reveal the origins of food to consumers. Satellite applications can improve responsible food production, prevent waste and food loss, and aid sustainable food processing and distribution.

- Ernesto Ciorra, Chief Innovability Officer at the Enel energy group, says: “Partnering with ESA gives Enel the opportunity to further boost the energy transition, by unlocking the tremendous value that can be generated through the application of space technologies in the energy sector.

- “We are committed to addressing what we call ‘global innovability challenges’. We will keep on striving for our planet, that’s why we want our network of partners to be composed of innovative, sustainable and open-minded members.”

- Rita Rinaldo, Head of the Partner-led and Thematic Initiatives in ESA’s Downstream Business Applications Department, said: “Over the past decade, ESA has initiated about 90 activities that relate to the EU’s Green Deal objectives. This represents an investment by National Delegations of more than €40 million, which doubles if industry’s contribution is considered.

- “ESA is well placed to use space to promote green growth in Europe and beyond, thanks to the extended network of partners that we have established, from Municipalities, to corporate networks, industrial associations and foundations active in the green economy. Entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises can access financial and business support to bring their ideas to market. We look forward to working with our partners, industry and other stakeholders to revitalize the European economy.”

• 21 October 2020: As space missions have become more complex, the teamwork needed on the ground has also become more sophisticated and challenging. Through almost four decades at the forefront of Europe’s voyages in space, Paolo Ferri went from Operations Engineer on the Eureca mission to Operations Manager of the four-spacecraft Cluster mission and then the Rosetta mission, followed by serving as Flight Director on Rosetta, Venus Express and GOCE. His career has been capped off by eight years as Head of Mission Operations for the Agency, overseeing all of ESA’s robotic mission operations. ⁵⁾

Figure 4: In five episodes of ‘Leadership at Mission Control’, Paolo takes us through major events in his career at ESA, covering cornerstone missions, first attempts, overcoming technical challenges, building diverse teams, working under pressure and solving the unexpected problems that are part of any space endeavor (video credit: ESA)

- In his third masterclass, Paolo shares what he has learnt going from an engineering expert with complete and specific knowledge of a single mission, to being responsible at a senior manager level for the success of dozens of missions operated by international teams each as diverse, unique and complex as the spacecraft they fly.

- With 36 years’ of experience at ESA, Paolo Ferri is responsible for mission operations, and he has played a leading role in ensuring the success of missions like Eureca, ESA’s first-ever reusable satellite; Cluster, one of the longest-flying science missions; Venus Express, Europe’s first exploration of Earth’s ‘evil twin’; and Rosetta, humanity’s first landing on a comet.

• 20 October 2020: A Madonna and Child painting with a history almost as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa’s smile has been identified as an authentic Raphael canvas by the Czech company InsightART, which used a robotic X-ray scanner to investigate the artwork. ⁶⁾

- The 500-year-old painting had long been attributed to Raphael, a contemporary of Leonardo Di Vinci and Michelangelo, but doubts about its authenticity occurred during its recent history.

- The Madonna and Child painting’s turbulent backstory encompasses some of Europe’s great historical figures, as well as violent fights and lucrative art deals. Commissioned by Pope Leo X, it has hung in the Vatican as well as passing through the hands of the French royal family and Napoleon. However at the end of the 19th century, the painting disappeared from the general consciousness. It is now part of a private collection.

- InsightART’s robotic X-ray scanner had earlier been used to identify a previously unknown painting by Vincent van Gogh. The machine uses a particle detector developed at CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics, that was repurposed for space exploration and manufactured by the Czech company ADVACAM.

Figure 5: That Raphael was in fact the creator of the masterpiece has been confirmed by expert studies from around the world as well as an international advisory board. This has now been further supported by InsightART, a start-up company based in the Czech Invest-operated ESA business incubation centre in Prague, which uses cosmic detector technology to examine artworks(image credit: Jiri Lautenkratz, InsightART)

- “This technology – which is also used to measure radiation at the International Space Station – is capable of detecting and counting single photons, as well as establishing their exact wavelength,” says Josef Uher, chief technical officer of InsightART.

Figure 6: Spectral X-ray images of the Madonna and Child painting (image credit: Jiri Lautenkratz, InsightART)

- “While the standard X-ray machine only creates a black and white image, the RToo scanner provides ‘color’ – or spectral – X-ray images, which allow the materials to stand out on the basis of their elemental composition,” he says.

- The artwork was scanned in great detail – from the foundation layers to the final glazes, revealing the internal structure of Raphael’s painting in detail.

- “During this process it became clear that the work was executed layer by layer by Raphael, without the aid of his workshop assistants and apprentices,” says Jiří Lauterkranc, an art restorer and co-founder of InsightART.

- The company received business advice and financial support from the ESA business incubation centre in Prague.

- “We are used to different kinds of technological applications which make use of satellite data, navigation systems, airplanes or satellites. However, the combination of space technology and art is very unconventional – this is the only project,” says Michal Kuneš, project manager of the ESA business incubation centre.

- The centre is part of ESA Space Solutions, which is the go-to place for great business ideas involving space in all areas of society and economy. Its mission is to support entrepreneurs in Europe in the development of businesses using satellite applications and space technology.

Figure 7: Madonna and Child optical and X-ray images (image credit: Jiri Lautenkratz, InsightART)

• 18 September 2020: Europe’s space community came together through two days of virtual presentations and business-to-business meetings during ESA’s online Industry Space Days on 16–17 September. ⁷⁾

Figure 8: ESA’s Industry Space Days on 16–17 September 2020 brought Europe’s space community together through two days of virtual presentations, round table discussions and thousands of prescheduled business-to-business meetings (image credit: ESA)

- A record 1900 participants registered for the event. Companies, including hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises, from ESA Member States, Cooperating States and Associate States networked via an online platform in thousands of prescheduled meetings over both days.

- The Industry Space Days (ISD), organized by ESA's SME Office (Small & Medium-sized Enterprises), normally take place at ESA’s Technical Centre in Noordwijk in the Netherlands. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESA moved it online for the first time since its inception in 1999.

- “Holding this event online has not deterred the enthusiasm and drive of our space-based community,” commented Eric Morel de Westgaver, ESA Director of Industry, Procurement and Legal Services.

- “Establishing business partnerships and working together to strengthen Europe’s space economy through common goals, is at the core of this event.”

- ESA’s Director General, Jan Wörner opened ISD 2020 followed by presentations on business opportunities on ESA’s wide variety of space programs and activities. Industry leaders and associations also contributed in round-table discussions and presentations. Listeners could send in questions, which were answered by presenters.

- The second day included additional ESA presentations and a one-hour workshop on additive and advanced manufacturing given by ESA’s directorate of Technology and Engineering.

- Participants in the EIB Advisory Space Finance Lab discussed how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the space industry and what could be done to improve the conditions for European space companies.

- ESA hopes to host its next Industry Space Days on site at its European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands on 8–9 September 2021.

• 11 September 2020: This year’s ESA Open Day at ESTEC in the Netherlands is taking place on an online basis. Continuing COVID-19 restrictions make it impossible to let people on site in person, but participants will still enjoy virtual tours of the extensive establishment, get unique close-up views of space hardware and interact directly with astronauts and space experts. ⁸⁾

- This will be the ninth annual ESA Open Day at ESTEC, taking place on Sunday 4 October, and will be open to participants from across Europe and the world.

- The Open Day has become an annual highlight, and we regret not being able to welcome people into ESTEC this year,” comments Franco Ongaro, head of ESTEC and ESA’s Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

- “Instead we will use technology to make people feel like they are right with us on site. We have adapted to the situation as best we can, and our work has resumed its usual pace, so we have lots of exciting activities to share with the wider public.”

- Participants will sign in to a virtual auditorium, then be free to choose which ‘rooms’ they attend. Many of the most popular highlights of previous years will be on offer, including space careers talks from ESA Human Resources, details of ESA Education’s work with school and university students and Space Rocks and Space Story Tellers giving new perspectives on space and society.

- The Netherlands Space Office will present the work done by Dutch companies and researchers in the space sector. Participants can also go on a virtual backstage tour of the ESTEC Test Centre, which is specially equipped to check space missions are ready to fly into orbit. Guest astronauts will give talks and field questions – full details of the guest list will come later this month.

- The ESA Open Day at ESTEC 2020 will have the theme of ‘ESA and the Environment’. Space professionals knows the importance of sustainability: the finite resources of a space mission must be managed carefully to keep it running. The same is true down here on spaceship Earth.

- The virtual Open Day will focus on the many ways space is safeguarding the environment, through satellite-based Earth observation for environmental monitoring, as well as recycling technologies developed for astronauts in space habitats then applied to daily life.

- The efforts made to operate ESTEC and other ESA establishments in an environmentally friendly manner will also be highlighted – because we all live on the same blue planet.

- There will be an official registration for the online element of the Open Day, with a single ticket per household. More details will follow soon.

Figure 9: Photo of ESA’s ESTEC technical centre (image credit: ESA, SJM Photography)

- On the left of the image can be seen ESTEC’s Test Centre for full-scale testing of satellites, equipped with a suite of simulation facilities to reproduce every aspect of the space environment.

- In the centre is the main building, home to ESA laboratories and mission teams, distinguished by an almost 200-m long main corridor. To the right of the main building is the restaurant and tower complex built by renowned Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck in the late 1980s.

- On the other side of the car park is the two-tone square-shaped Erasmus building, focused on human spaceflight, and to its right is the T building, home to ESA’s Galileo team.

- This photo was taken during a weekend flight by ESA biomedical engineer Arnaud Runge.

- Come see ESTEC for yourself during the annual ESA Open Day on Sunday, 7 October 2020.

• September 2020: The view from the top of ESTEC, ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. ⁹⁾

- ESTEC is ESA’s largest establishment, the technical heart of the Agency. The site is devoted to program management, technology development and satellite testing. This year’s ninth ESA Open Day at ESTEC is taking place on Sunday 4 October on an online basis. To participate you need to register.

Figure 10: This picture east from ESTEC’s laboratory block towards the main entrance, with the flags of the ESA’s Member States seen flying to the right of center. To the left is the T-building, home of ESA’s Navigation Directorate. The set of rooftop antennas belong to ESTEC’s Telecom Laboratory (image credit: ESA, G. Porter)

• 01 September 2020: Estonia has a long tradition of space research, characterized by the Tartu Observatory, which was once one of the largest telescopes in the world and today is Estonia’s main research centre for astronomy and atmospheric physics. ¹⁰⁾

Figure 11: Estonia celebrates its fifth anniversary in ESA after becoming ESA’s 21st Member State on 1 September 2015 (image credit: ESA)

Since 2010, Estonia has been strongly involved in more than 50 ESA-related projects and has developed capabilities in the downstream sector, particularly in the area of Earth observation and PNT applications. In 2013, Estonia joined the group of spacefaring nations with the launch of its first indigenous small satellite, ESTCube-1, with the purpose of testing an electric solar-wind sail.

As the first Baltic state, Estonia’s cooperation with ESA started with the signature of a Cooperation Agreement on 20 June 2007 in Tallinn and was strengthened through the European Cooperating State Agreement signed on 10 November 2009.

Estonia took a further step in its relations with ESA by signing the Accession Agreement to the ESA Convention on 4 February 2015. The signing ceremony took place at the ESA Headquarters in Paris with the participation of, among others, then ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications responsible for Foreign Trade and Entrepreneurship Anne Sulling, Member of Parliament and Head of Estonian Space Committee Ene Ergma and the Estonian Ambassador in France Sven Jürgenson.

Following the signing, the process of ratification by the Estonian government began and was concluded on 1 September 2015, when Estonia deposited its instrument of ratification of the ESA Convention in Paris, to become officially ESA’s 21st Member State.

Ever since, Estonia has successfully proved to be an active, present and reliable part of ESA and the European space community.

• 23 June 2020: This is ESA — an illustrated guide to what ESA is and what we do. It shows a range of our activities and missions at the cutting edge of space design and technology, from making space safer to monitoring climate change and exploring our Solar System. ^{11) 12)}

Available in eleven languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish, Czech, Polish.

The brochure comes with an attractive space poster —both of the newest brochures (Czech and Polish) can be downloaded here.

Figure 12: This is ESA's behind the scenes poster — a visual component of the brochure, which takes you on a journey through ESA’s activities, showcasing how ESA is making space work for the benefit of humankind. The poster encapsulates these achievements in one dynamic image. But integrating our diverse space activities, including past, present and future missions, into one cohesive color poster was a challenge. In this interview, the poster’s designer explains how he achieved this and where he found his inspiration (image credit: ESA, Attilio Brancaccio)

The poster represents some of ESA’s most influential space missions spanning the past 30 years, as well as some of the ambitious science and discovery programs planned for the next decade. The brief was given to designer Attilio Brancaccio, who also designed ESA’s Columbus anniversary posters and our collection of Space Safety and Security images.

He explains that the initial approach to designing the poster was very much a collaborative process with the ESA team: “Initially we experimented with greater separation of the different areas representing the past, present and future missions, in terms of composition and layout. However, the main challenge was to create fluidity between the storylines and to get it to work in a balanced way.”

The next approach was to create a visual timeline: “Of course, it’s not an exact timeline because there are areas where the past and present merge together. For example, the International Space Station (ISS) is shown near to Orion, which is an upcoming mission and above we have Rosetta, which is a mission that ended in 2016.”

Figure 13: To create a cohesive image, diagonal lines were used to separate the different types of missions, while maintaining a fluid and dynamic feel. “If you look at the poster, you see there are five different bands – but you see it as just one design,” says Attilio. He adds that he then focused on balancing the different elements to find the best way to visually represent ESA’s story and heritage (image credit: ESA, Attilio Brancaccio)

The concept

On the left-hand side of the poster, three figures represent an astronaut, a scientist and an engineer, who gaze out across space. The female astronaut, who wears a patch containing the flags of ESA’s 22 member states, looks upwards towards the ringed planet Saturn, where the Cassini-Huygens mission is orbiting. The light from her EVA spacesuit shines on the spacewalker in the next section of the poster, who is attached to the ISS, flying 400 km above the green and blue shapes of planet Earth.

Just above the ISS, the Orion spacecraft can be seen on a future journey to the Moon. Rosetta and the icy grey comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko are seen in the upper central area of the poster. And in the next panel, we see the Ariane and Vega family of launchers, together with Space Rider, zoom up towards the top-right corner.

To the right of the rockets, a scene shows a futuristic Moon village, complete with the artist’s impression of a moon lander. This was inspired by the Prospect mission, a partnership between ESA and Roscosmos. In the same scene, BepiColombo can be seen on its journey to Mercury.

In the lower right corner, Rosalind the ExoMars Rover explores an imagined Martian city on the Red Planet, while the Mars Sample Return mission can be seen in the background heading back to Earth on board the Mars Ascent Vehicle.

Design inspiration

So what was the designer’s technique and inspiration for creating this image? After researching images of the ESA missions and with input from the ESA editor and designers, Attilio then sketched different ideas and compositions. One of the challenges was to depict the past missions in a realistic way, while some artistic licence was needed to imagine the future programs. For example, the images of the Rosetta spacecraft and BepiColombo had to reflect the actual missions, while the Moon village and the futuristic Martian city required some creative thinking.

The final image is the result of experimentation with layout and color, both on paper and using digital design tools. The designer explains: “This process enabled me to find a balanced placement for the different images. Once we had agreed on the style of the illustration and the composition, then I started to create the final design with professional illustration software.”

One of the key factors in creating a poster that really encapsulates the spirit of ESA was to find the perfect match between theme and style. Posters from the golden age of space and Moon discovery were a strong influence. Attilio was then able to add a 21st century feel using a fresh, modern color palette. He says: “I found myself inspired by the style of the 1960s and 70s era of US and Russian space missions. During those years there were amazing designs about space using the visual element to create the dream of future space exploration.” More than half a century later, ESA is more focused than ever on making this dream a reality.

Figure 14: The designer's hand-drawn sketches show the creative development behind the poster (credit: Attilio Brancaccio)

• 30 May 2020: After celebrating the 50th anniversary of the European space cooperation in 2014, we now mark 45 years since the signing of the Convention for the creation of a single European Space Agency on 30 May 1975. ¹³⁾

- The idea of building an independent space capability in Europe dated back to the early 1960s when six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) formed the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) to develop a heavy launcher, later called ‘Europa’.

- Those same countries, plus Denmark, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, established the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) soon after, to undertake mainly scientific satellite programs. Signed in 1962, their Conventions entered into force in 1964.

- In 1975, a convention was drafted at diplomatic and ministerial level to set up one ‘European space agency’, and broadening the scope of the agency’s remit to include operational space applications systems, such as telecommunications satellites.

- ESRO and ELDO operations ended, the activities of the former being continued under the name of ESA and taken as the core of the new organisation, while the latter, which had already terminated its programs, was dissolved.

- On 15 April 1975, at the last European Space Conference in Brussels, European ministers adopted the final version of the ESA Convention. This document was opened for signature until 31 December 1975.

- It was signed by the representatives of ESRO and ELDO at the European Space Conference in Paris on 30 May 1975, and Ireland signed in December the same year. The ESA Convention entered into force on 30 October 1980, with the deposit of the last instrument of ratification by France.

Figure 15: Signing of the ESA Convention on 30 May 1975 at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Paris, Mr Michel d’Ornano, French minister, signing the ESA Convention. From left, Danish ambassador Mr Paul Fischer, Spanish ambassador, Mr Miguel Maria de Lojendio e Irure, Mr d’Ornano, and Irish ambassador, Hugh McCann. Behind, Secretary of the European Space Conference, Mr Michel Bourély (image credit: ESA)

- Since then, the original members have been joined by Austria and Norway (1986), Finland (1995), Portugal (2000), Greece and Luxembourg (2005), the Czech Republic (2008), Romania (2011) and Poland (2012). The latest to join are Estonia and Hungary, which signed accession agreements in February 2015, to become the 21st and 22nd ESA Member States, respectively.

- Seven other EU states are European Cooperating States or have Cooperation Agreements with ESA: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia. Slovenia is now an Associate Member. Canada also participates in some programs under long-standing Cooperation Agreements, the first of which was signed in 1979.

- Many successes have been achieved in all areas of space activities since the creation of ESA, all successes of European space industry, laboratories and research centers.

- Over the past 45 years, for example, Europe has marked a series of firsts in the exploration of our Universe: from an encounter with Comet Halley in 1986 (Giotto), parachuting a probe on to Saturn’s moon Titan in 2005 (Huygens) and landing on a comet in 2014 (Rosetta/Philae), to studying our Sun in unprecedented detail (SOHO) and producing the most detailed map ever created of the Cosmic Microwave Background – the relic radiation from the Big Bang (Planck), to name a few.

- ESA has also developed a range of launchers (Ariane and Vega), using a European launch site in French Guiana (Europe’s Spaceport, CSG). To have access to space is the first enabling element in the utilization of space and the many benefits this brings.

- ESA has developed one of the most complex Earth observation satellites (Envisat), is managing the space component of Copernicus, the most ambitious Earth observation operational program to date, and has made many more breakthroughs and innovations in technology, navigation (Galileo) and satellite communications.

- European astronauts have been taking part in human spaceflight missions for over three decades, and ESA is a fully-fledged partner in developing and operating the International Space Station (having provided the Columbus lab module and five ATV supply vehicles, among other elements, for example). Today, ESA is developing the European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft, and is ensuring that Europe plays a key role in the future international exploration of space, including missions to the Moon and beyond.

- Over time, stakeholder interests and partnership expectations change. Geopolitical and space-related environments become increasingly interwoven. In the 1970s, ESRO and ELDO were transformed into ESA in response to different needs of the space arena of those days. ESA has carried forward this readiness and ability to respond to change by applying its ‘normative’ framework to new situations and in new ways.

- This framework has not lost its ability to adapt, putting us in the best position to serve the space community: enhancing the benefits delivered by space systems to more Member States and their citizens. ESA’s Convention was visionary enough to allow such evolution.

Figure 16: An ESA astronaut patch with 22 Member State flags floats in the Cupola during Thomas Pesquet's Proxima mission on the International Space Station in 2017 (image credit: ESA/NASA)

• 27 May 2020: With most European states in lockdown because of COVID-19, ESA has continued to operate its space missions. Scientific, exploration, Earth observation, climate and technology testbed satellites are continuing to produce data and provide vital services. ¹⁴⁾

- Since early March, the majority of the workforce at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, have been working from home. But despite the constraints this involves, mission controllers have overseen complex maneuvers and procedures. These have included testing a laser space communications system, space debris avoidance maneuvers, a dramatic Earth flyby and even recovering a spacecraft after it experienced a major power failure.

Figure 17: This video includes Skype interviews with mission controllers in their home offices, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs and smartphone footage shot in the empty corridors of ESOC (video credit: ESA)

• 19 May 2020: With the Covid-19 pandemic halting our daily lives and forcing many countries and region into lockdown, the economic effects have been devastating. Closed borders have caused traffic jams and disrupted supply chains. ¹⁵⁾

Figure 18: In Europe, for example, the agriculture industry has suffered. Normally the industry relies on migrant labor to harvest crops, but as the lockdown continues, crops remain unpicked – putting farmers and the food supply under pressure. How can the food supply chain more sustainable? This video includes an interview with Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs (video credit: ESA)

• 28 April 2020: The Dutch royal family has formally honored the head of ESA’s largest site for his work forging links between ESA and the Netherlands, and helping make space a strong economic cluster within the nation. ¹⁶⁾

Figure 19: ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality Franco Ongaro also serves as Head of Establishment of ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands (image credit: ESA, G. Porter)

- ESA’s Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality Franco Ongaro, the Head of Establishment of ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, based in Noordwijk, has been appointed an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

- This chivalric honor is awarded to individuals who make a special contribution to the country.

- On hearing the news, Director Ongaro said: “You can imagine my total surprise when the Mayor of Noordwijk Wendy Verkleij gave me the news about the Order of Orange-Nassau! I am delighted, happy and extremely proud because I see this as a reward for all in ESTEC and what we bring to the Netherlands.”

- ESA’s Director General Jan Wörner added his congratulations: “The order is open for people who have earned special merits for society. I congratulate Franco for this really high award from the Netherlands, paying tribute to Franco’s engagement for ESA’s establishment ESTEC, ESA’s largest site, which accommodates many programs and facilities.

- “Franco has been able to master several issues and develop the site to be much more than just a place for work, it is a place for interaction of ESA people internally but with the local community and the country at large. ESTEC is regularly hosting big conferences and attracts visitors from various countries.”

- ESTEC is ESA’s single largest site with around 2,700 employees, and the technical heart of the Agency. It hosts the teams managing most ESA space projects, and operates a full-scale test center for spacecraft, along with a suite of laboratories specialized in all aspects of space engineering.

- The site also supports the wider European space sector, working closely with universities, research institutes and companies, as well as national space agencies and partner organizations worldwide.

- During his tenure as Head of ESTEC, Director Ongaro has instituted annual Open Days to invite local people and the wider European public to see the innovative work performed there, with more than 8,000 visitors each year.

- He has also worked closely with local, regional and national authorities on the planned establishment of the Space Campus Noordwijk adjacent to ESTEC, and the addition of a new international meeting center on the site. Director Ongaro also serves on the Advisory Council of the Department of Aerospace Engineering of Delft University of Technology.

- Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, Director Ongaro will be presented with the Royal Declaration in person at a later date.

Figure 20: ESA research fellow Alexandre Meurisse and Beth Lomax of the University of Glasgow producing oxygen and metal out of simulated moondust inside ESA's Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory (image credit: ESA, A. Conigili)

• 28 April 2020: As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks vast changes on people’s daily lives, ESA is examining how space can help improve life on Earth both during and after the outbreak. ¹⁷⁾

- Experts in economics, geopolitics, psychology, medicine, data science and digital services will contribute to a series of online seminars organized by the agency and led by its Director General, Jan Wörner.

- The interactive sessions aim to leverage collective intelligence and expertise to build a better world.

- Life has changed profoundly since the arrival of the coronavirus. Many shops and restaurants have closed as people stay at home, and millions of people have lost their jobs. Schools have struggled to rapidly shift teaching online.

- Demand for delivery services is booming, but public transport has plummeted. Environmental pollution has fallen significantly, as industry and transport emissions reduce.

- Donatella Ponziani, Downstream Gateway Officer at ESA, said: “ESA is leading actions to leverage space to support the management of the crisis and contribute to the resilience needed in possible post-crisis scenarios. The world may experience an acceleration in technological developments such as digitalization, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, and the prioritization of axes of research such as healthcare and biotechnology.

- “Access to health, ubiquitous communication and remote access to education are no longer problems just for isolated areas; new business models and solutions are also needed for big cities.

- “Last but not least, the impact of the measures taken to contain the spread of the pandemic gives an outstanding demonstration of how slowing down society can have a tangible impact on the environment, as reported by the Earth observation data.”

Figure 21: NO₂ concentrations over Europe. These images, using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, show the average nitrogen dioxide concentrations from 13 March to 13 April 2020, compared to the March-April averaged concentrations from 2019. The percentage decrease is derived over selected cities in Europe and has an uncertainty of around 15% owing to weather differences between 2019 and 2020 (image credit: ESA, the image contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019-20), processed by KNMI/ESA)

- Five one-hour webinars have been scheduled so far, each featuring a range of invited guests. “Climate care: remote life, better life?” will take place on 4 May at 17:00 CEST. It will be followed by “Healthcare” at the same time on 20 May, “Post-millennials education and social life” at the same time on 3 June, “Working efficiently, working remotely” at 15:30 CEST on 9 June and “COVID-19: Reinvent your business model” at 17:00 CEST on 15 June.

• 16 April 2020: A start-up company that has repurposed upcycled solar cells to generate ultraviolet light to disinfect people’s hands has won €20 000 in a hackathon designed to share and rapidly develop ideas to combat the coronavirus pandemic. ¹⁸⁾

- More than 12,000 people from over 100 countries took part in the Global Hack, organized by Estonian-based Garage48 and sponsored by ESA’s business incubation center in Estonia. Entrants were kept motivated by a recorded message from ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. - The winners were announced on 12 April.

- A start-up company that has repurposed upcycled solar cells to generate ultraviolet light to disinfect people’s hands has won €20,000 in a hackathon designed to share and rapidly develop ideas to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Figure 22: The disinfection station uses light at wavelengths demonstrated to kill germs but to be safe for skin and eye contact. It was presented by SunCrafter, a German start-up business that uses modules decommissioned by industrial solar farms to provide power to remote communities (image credit: SunCrafter)

- Lisa Wendzich, founder and chief executive, said that the company – which is based on the Siemens innovation campus in Berlin – was now working with partners to identify how to manufacture significant numbers of the units in the coming weeks and months.

- “This technology could be used in field hospitals, refugee camps and urban slums in countries with poor energy supplies, as well as in public spaces in the global north,” she said.

- The hackathon tackled 12 topics, including education, the economy, mental health and the environment.

- Joana Kamenova, an outreach and business analyst at ESA, was one of 180 people to volunteer as a response mentor during the hackathon and she helped to evaluate some of the proposals.

- “There were very progressive ideas about tackling the current crisis. How do we support small businesses coming out of the current lockdown? How do we learn from this crisis and tackle climate change? To contemplate how the emerging solutions can be scaled up by using space data and technology is very exciting. Some of the ideas are truly epic,” she says.

Figure 23: Photo of the solar-powered hand sanitation unit (image credit: SunCrafter)

- “We have partnered with this truly global movement to put Estonia’s exceptional digital infrastructure to best use to make the ideas come alive,” says Andrus Kurvits, manager of the ESA business incubator center in Tartu, Estonia.

- “We will connect with teams that developed novel space-related ideas to help them get the financial support they need to bring their solution to market.”

- ESA’s business incubation centers provide funding and support to help entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to market.

• 24 March 2020: In response to the escalating coronavirus pandemic, ESA has decided to further reduce on-site personnel at its mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany. ¹⁹⁾

- The new adjustments require temporarily stopping instrument operation and data gathering on four Solar System science missions, which are part of the wider fleet of 21 spacecraft currently flown by the Agency from ESOC (European Space Operations Center) in Darmstadt.

- ESA implemented risk mitigation measures early on. The vast majority of ESA’s workforce has been teleworking for nearly two weeks. Only key personnel performing critical tasks, which include maintaining real-time spacecraft operations, are still present on site at ESA’s establishments throughout Europe.

Supporting enhanced national measures

- Recent developments, including strengthened restrictions by national, regional and local authorities across Europe and the first positive test result for COVID-19 within the workforce at ESOC, have led the Agency to restrict on-site personnel at its mission control center even further.

- “Our priority is the health of our workforce, and we will therefore reduce activity on some of our scientific missions, especially on interplanetary spacecraft, which currently require the highest number of personnel on site,” says ESA’s Director of Operations Rolf Densing.

- “These have stable orbits and long mission durations, so turning off their science instruments and placing them into a largely unattended safe configuration for a certain period will have a negligible impact on their overall mission performance.”

- Among the affected missions are:

a) Cluster – A four-spacecraft mission launched in 2000, orbiting Earth to investigate our planet’s magnetic environment and how it is forged by the solar wind, the stream of charged particles constantly released by the Sun;

b) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter – Launched in 2016, the spacecraft is in orbit around Mars, where it has been investigating the planet’s atmosphere and providing data relay for landers on the surface;

c) Mars Express – Launched in 2003, the workhorse orbiter has been imaging the Martian surface and sampling the planet’s atmosphere for over one and a half decades;

d) Solar Orbiter – ESA’s newest science mission, launched in February 2020 and currently en route to its science operations orbit around the Sun.

- “It was a difficult decision, but the right one to take. Our greatest responsibility is the safety of people, and I know all of us in the science community understand why this is necessary,” says Günther Hasinger, ESA’s Director of Science.

- “This is a prudent step to ensure that Europe’s world-class science missions are safe, along with the instruments from European scientists and our international partners flying on our missions. We are talking about some of humankind’s most advanced scientific experiments – and if switching some missions into temporary standby keeps them safe, then this is what we will do.”

- The temporary reduction in personnel on site will also allow the ESOC teams to concentrate on maintaining spacecraft safety for all other missions involved, in particular the Mercury explorer BepiColombo, which is on its way to the innermost planet in the Solar System and will require some on-site support around its scheduled Earth flyby on 10 April.

- The challenging maneuver, which will use Earth’s gravity to adjust BepiColombo’s trajectory as it cruises towards Mercury, will be performed by a very small number of engineers and in full respect of social distancing and other health and hygiene measures required by the current situation.

- The temporary reduction in personnel on site will also allow the ESOC teams to concentrate on maintaining spacecraft safety for all other missions involved, in particular the Mercury explorer BepiColombo, which is on its way to the innermost planet in the Solar System and will require some on-site support around its scheduled Earth flyby on 10 April.

- The challenging maneuver, which will use Earth’s gravity to adjust BepiColombo’s trajectory as it cruises towards Mercury, will be performed by a very small number of engineers and in full respect of social distancing and other health and hygiene measures required by the current situation.

Figure 24: Artist's rendition of BepiColombo's upcoming Earth flyby (image credit: ESA)

- Commissioning and first check-out operations of scientific instruments on the recently launched Solar Orbiter, which had begun last month, have been temporarily suspended.

- ESA expects to resume these operations in the near future, in line with the development of the coronavirus situation. Meanwhile, Solar Orbiter will continue its journey towards the Sun, with the first Venus flyby to take place in December.

Coasting through space

- “Over the coming days, our interplanetary missions will be gradually commanded into a safe configuration, so that thereafter they will need little or no intervention from ground,” says Paolo Ferri, responsible for mission operations at ESA.

- “These probes are designed to safely sustain long periods with limited or no interaction with ground, required for instance for the periods they spend behind the Sun as seen from Earth, when no radio contact is possible for weeks,” he adds. “We are confident that with very limited and infrequent interactions with ground control the missions can safely remain in that operation mode for months, should the duration of the coronavirus mitigation measures require it.”

- In the coming days, ESA will monitor the evolving environmental conditions and restrictions, develop special procedures, plans and decision logic for the future restart of the scientific operations.

- “The decision on when to return to normal science production mode will be taken independently for each mission, depending on several variables, including the type and complexity of each mission,” adds Paolo Ferri.

Figure 25: Artist's impression of Mars Express. The background is based on an actual image of Mars taken by the spacecraft's high resolution stereo camera (Artist's impression of Mars Express. The background is based on an actual image of Mars taken by the spacecraft's high resolution stereo camera)

- The measure does not affect other ESA missions that are operated from Darmstadt, such as space science missions for astronomy or Earth observation missions, including those that are part of the European Commission’s Copernicus program. For these missions, which require frequent care from ground, teams are able to conduct most control actions remotely, with just a single technician in a control room.

People first

- Even before this measure, the community of European and international scientists behind the interplanetary missions were already feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, with processing and analysis hindered by local and national work restrictions and the need for social distancing.

- “I wish to thank all the scientists, engineers and other colleagues not only at mission control but across the Agency and at our partners who are keeping Europe’s essential space missions flying in the middle of this global crisis”, says ESA Director General Jan Wörner.

- “I am glad to see how professional everyone at ESA is throughout this difficult situation. It shows that the Agency is, first and foremost, an ensemble of humans from all over Europe who care. Humans who care not only about science and space, but even more about the well-being of colleagues, families and fellow citizens all over the planet.”

• 18 March 2020: ESA's Mission Control adjusts to coronavirus conditions. ²⁰⁾

Figure 26: Responsible for spacecraft orbiting Earth, the Sun and exploring the Solar System, teams at ESA’s mission control deal with in-flight challenges every day, from faulty hardware, problematic software and hazardous space debris to computer viruses that could affect ground stations (image credit: ESA/ESOC)

So how do they keep missions flying when a viral pandemic puts the people of the Agency at risk? The first priority is the health and well-being of the workforce across the Agency, while those working at ESA’s mission control center, in Darmstadt, Germany, have the unique challenge of maintaining missions in orbit while ensuring critical ground infrastructure functions as it should, including seven ground stations located on three continents.

Plans on the ground

ESA is currently flying 21 spacecraft from ESOC, ranging from Earth observation to astronomy and planetary exploration missions, as well as five Sentinel satellites belonging to the European Union’s Copernicus program.

Figure 27: This animation shows different types of space debris objects and different debris sizes in orbit around Earth. For debris objects bigger than 10 cm the data come from the US Space Surveillance Catalog. The information about debris objects smaller than 10 cm is based on a statistical model by ESA (video credit: ESA) .

Number of space debris objects in orbit:

- > 1m: 5,400 objects

- > 10 cm: 34,000 objects (among them are only 2,000 active satellites)

- > 1cm: 900,000 objects

- > 1mm: 130,000,000 objects

Color code of Figure 27

- Red: satellites (functional or dysfunctional)

- Yellow: rocket bodies

- Green: mission related objects (covers, caps, adapters, etc.)

- Blue: fragments.

These missions do not fly by themselves. Engineers must take regular measures to, for example, protect spacecraft from gradually drifting off their intended orbits or colliding with debris, ensure solar panels are getting enough light from the Sun, operate the scientific instruments, receive bundles of crucial data and keep both onboard and ground systems working and up-to-date.

To deal with the Covid-19 outbreak, ESA is implementing numerous preventative measures taking account of guidance provided by national and regional civil authorities, especially with respect to minimizing personal contact.

For the mission operations teams or the experts in technical ground segment areas like flight dynamics and ground stations, work is typically done together in small-ish control rooms, and so a range of plans are in place to respond to the developing severity of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Responses differ primarily in the amount and type of personnel required on site in the control rooms and technical facilities.

Figure 28: Inside the Sentinel control room at ESA's operation center in Darmstadt, Germany (image credit: ESA, J. Mai)

Taking mission control home

For now, the aim at mission control remains maintaining the generation of mission data, and keeping the entire fleet of spacecraft, young and old, operating in a routine way.

At the same time the preparation and execution of ad-hoc critical activities, like collision avoidance maneuvers or the upcoming Earth flyby of BepiColombo, have to be ensured.

As of Monday, 16 March, the majority of the workforce at ESOC began working from home. Similar to staffing levels on a typical weekend, mission teams are now keeping a minimum presence on site, while everyone who can is performing the maximum possible daily activities off site.

In the history of ESA’s mission control center, there has never been a period with so few people on site,” says Rolf Densing, Director of Operations for ESA.

This of course has big implications for how missions are flown, and for the next few weeks, the priority will remain on protecting health by minimizing the number of people physically present, while ensuring effective daily operations".

In the future, if necessary, ESA could reduce on-site personnel even more, necessitating a reduction or even a halt to science data gathering so as to focus on simply maintaining spacecraft in safe, stable orbits.

“Such a scenario could be maintained for quite some time, extending into many weeks or months, if necessary,” says Paolo Ferri, Head of Mission Operations.

• 17 March 2020: With significant developments in the coronavirus situation and recent directives in our host nations, ESA has taken steps ensure the operation of its critical tasks while carefully reinforcing its duty of care and social responsibility. ²¹⁾

Last week, many ESA staff and contractors were advised to stay at home and take up teleworking, but the weekend saw border restrictions, closure of schools, shops and centers of social activity in France, Spain and the Netherlands, and even more stringent measures in other host nations. Preempting these events, ESA decided to apply this condition to the majority of ESA personnel across all establishments.

Several weeks ago, ESA’s management team began the process to confirm the list of critical tasks that ESA needs to protect, and identify the key resources that are required to support them, should the response to the coronavirus pandemic call for more stringent measures designed to reduce social interaction.

ESA Director General Jan Wörner said, “The health and welfare of our employees, their families and their communities remain my top priority. ESA has a duty of care to them all. But at the same time, we must also protect the core tasks of the Agency. My business priority has to be to ensure that these critical tasks continue uninterrupted.”

Only key workers required to support the formally identified critical tasks will be active at ESA sites, with all others now teleworking wherever possible both to reduce unnecessary social interaction and to allow maximum focus on critical tasks.

The ESA Council scheduled for 17/18 March was cancelled, but ESA management is working to identify the best process to allow executive committee approval of actions if necessary. Business continuity in the financial and procurement areas is being maintained.

The European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, is also adopting significant restrictions on operations and access. In compliance with measures decided by the French government, launch campaigns under way at the center have been suspended. These launch preparations will resume as soon as health conditions allow. See the Arianespace press release.

• 13 March 2020: Europe and the world battle the surging SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. ²²⁾

It is difficult to remember any disease or situation that has transformed the world as rapidly as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is causing COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease-19) across all European countries and wreaking havoc across daily life. Across all of ESA’s member states, cases are increasing, in some cases rapidly. WHO has said that Europe is now the center of the global pandemic.

It most cases, it is anaesthesiologists that are on the front line caring for patients. Anaesthesiologists are the prime specialists in treating severely ill patients needing haemodynamic and ventilator support. All over Europe, anaesthesiologists are involved in the care of the critically ill COVID-19 patients and are working day and night to combat the severe consequences of the disease and improve the status of the critically ill patients.

ESA’s President Professor Kai Zacharowski is Director of the Department of Anesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Germany, and has himself treated a number of patients with COVID-19. “On a European level more than 70% of intensive care patients are treated by anaesthesiologists. This reflects our responsibility being equipped with the best possible training and competencies to treat and, whenever possible, to heal and improve the outcome of our patients 24 hours a day.”

He adds: “Our members are to face a very intense working period over the months to come. We at ESA will aim to keep all our members as up to date as possible with key developments as the pandemic develops.”

Despite suffering over 80,000 cases, China has used all of its state powers to gradually take control of the pandemic within its borders, reducing the number of new daily infections and deaths to relatively low levels after the explosion of new infections in Hubei province which began with a trickle of cases in December 2019.

However, now ESA member states — including some of Europe’s largest countries — are suffering one of the most serious public health crises of modern times. Since Monday 9 March, Italy has been in a nationwide lockdown, with all 60 million of its citizens asked to stay home for all but essential journeys for food, drug supplies and to care for relatives. As of Friday, March 13, there have been 15,113 confirmed cases of COVID-19, causing 1,016 deaths. The Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, has asked all Italians to stay home for all but exceptional circumstances, and all public gatherings are banned.

One of the most acute problems experienced by Italy is one that is now being faced by France and Spain and will likely soon be faced by other ESA member states and countries worldwide — a shortage of intensive care beds. Even in Lombardy, in Italy’s wealthier northern region, hospitals and especially their intensive care departments are being overwhelmed by a huge increase in cases, many requiring life-saving respiratory interventions. Intensivists, critical care specialists and anaesthetists are among the teams battling to save these patients. Very difficult choices are being made regarding which patients will receive treatment and those who will not. These new COVID-19 cases, of course, come on top of the usual requirements for critical care from other sources such as road accidents and emergency surgery.

“According to the data provided by our Italian colleagues the mean age of all COVID-19 patients is 70 years, and one of the major risk factors for ICU admission is obesity,” explains ESA Immediate Past President Stefan De Hert, based at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium. “Interestingly, patients less than 50 years old without major comorbidities seem to constitute 20% of the COVID-19 ICU patients. Finally, infected women seem to develop less symptoms than men, and also children seem to experience the infection without important clinical problems. These data are quite similar to what we have learned from the experiences of our Chinese colleagues.”

The situation in Spain is also rapidly worsening, with reports that Madrid’s public health system is creaking under the strain and several well-known politicians have been diagnosed with COVID-19. On Friday, March 13, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared a state of alert, giving the government emergency powers to take control of factories and restrict people’s movements. The entire Spanish parliament is going through testing as a result of these alerts, and there are concerns that the entire region of Madrid may need to go into quarantine. As of this date, Spain has 4,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 120 recorded deaths, around half in the Madrid region. The country has banned medical conferences, asking all doctors to remain available for work, and the country’s La Liga football league has been suspended after the entire Real Madrid Team was potentially exposed.

In Germany, Europe’s most populous country, many regions have closed schools and universities, and a raft of measures have been proposed, including bus passengers in Berlin being asked to enter through the back door, to protect the health of the drivers who must continue working. By Friday March 13, the country had recorded 3,059 cases and 6 deaths.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said in a press conference on March 11 that up to two-thirds of the country could eventually be infected. On Thursday, March 12 it was announced, also in Berlin, that “With the aim that the hospitals in Germany concentrate on the expected increasing need for intensive care and ventilation capacity for the treatment of patients with severe respiratory diseases by COVID-19, as far as medically justifiable, basically all planned admissions, surgeries and interventions in all hospitals be postponed and suspended indefinitely from Monday, March 15.”

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, was one of the first Western leaders to publicly accept the inevitability of the COVID-19 pandemic. And France has experienced one of the highest number of cases: 2876 cases and 61 deaths as of Thursday, March 12. Doctors in Paris have reported intensive care units filling up rapidly, with a risk that the country will follow the same trajectory as Italy but with an 8-day delay, having to choose who among coronavirus patients and others requiring critical care can receive treatment. It has already banned any public meetings of 1,000 people or more, reducing this from the previously announced number of 5,000.

Countries in Europe are not all adopting the same measures to fight the pandemic. Despite having one of the smallest number of cases, Ireland decided that from Friday 13 March, all schools and universities would be closed. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar all banned all indoor gatherings of more than 100 people, and all outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people.

Within the UK, which has 798 cases and 11 deaths so far, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not yet adopted some of the more severe tactics to confront the epidemic. On Thursday, March 12, he asked all people with the symptoms of a high temperature or continuous cough to self-isolate for seven days, but has so far ruled out closing schools and cancelling major events, although the English and Scottish football leagues decided on Friday, March 13, to postpone all fixtures for at least two weeks. The advice from medical experts in the UK is attempting to push the peak of the pandemic into the summer months and also flatten its intensity, to ensure as many people who need critical care in the coming months are able to receive it, and thus reduce the mortality rate.

Both Slovenia and Austria have closed their borders with Italy in order to stop the flow of cases, and Czechia has banned all non-citizens and non-permanent residents to manage its own increase in cases, as has Slovakia. Israel has effectively suspended its tourism economy by asking all incoming nationals of other countries to self-isolate for 14 days.

And late on March 11, US President Donald Trump announced a ban on travel to the USA from residents of 26 European countries, a move that was rapidly condemned as without evidence by the European Union. The announcement came as cases in the USA passed 1,000, with the actual toll thought to be far higher due to problems accessing testing kits nationwide and a fear that community transmission had been occurring long before the USA reacted properly to the pandemic. At the time of writing of this article, President Trump was expected to declare a state of emergency to tackle COVID-19.

At a personal level, people are being asked to wash their hands, for 20 seconds at a time with soap and water, as often as they can, or use a hand sanitizer. Avoiding touching your face with your hands at any time has also been proposed by public health experts, as has maintaining a minimum distance of 2 meters from any other person to reduce transmission.

“The European Society of Anaesthesiology, like all medical societies, has reviewed its own activities as this pandemic has developed,” explains Prof Zacharowski. “We have postponed all of our courses and the European Diploma in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (EDAIC) exams. We have also changed the meetings of our board of directors from face-to-face to teleconferences. Most importantly, we have decided to postpone our annual Euroanaesthesia congress to a later date. We realize how vital anaesthetists and intensivists are during this time, and that being present in their hospitals far outweigh any other normal activities. Our members and community are crucial in containing this epidemic and saving countless lives.”

Two dates are currently under consideration for the new date for Euroanaesthesia: either 21-24 August or 28-31 August. The ESA team will inform all members as soon as a decision has been taken.

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• 30 December 2019: As the year comes to a close, it is once again time to look back and reflect on some of the achievements and highlights of European spaceflight. The new Gaia star catalogue and the launch of Cheops are keeping ESA at the forefront of space science, as will Solar Orbiter, being prepared for launch next year. The Copernicus program continues to be the largest Earth observation program in the world, with ESA preparing even more missions. On the Space Station, Luca Parmitano became the third European to command an ISS expedition. During his second mission, he made some of the space program's most complex and demanding spacewalks. At the end of 2019, the ESA Space19+ ministerial conference agreed to give ESA its largest budget ever and expressed continued support for Europe’s independent access to space with Ariane 6 and Vega-C. ²³⁾

Figure 29: ESA highlights of 2019 (video credit: ESA)

• On 6 December 2019, representatives from ESA, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Italian Space Agency met at the States General for Space, Security and Defence event in Naples, Italy, to discuss upcoming challenges for European industry. ²⁴⁾

The meeting follows the very successful Council at Ministerial Level, Space19+, which took place two weeks ago in Spain and where Member States fully endorsed ESA’s activities – with a total funding of €14.4 billion – the largest part of which is to be invested in ESA’s Earth Observation Programs.

The meeting was organized by ESA, the European Parliament and the Italian Space Agency, and Copernicus and Galileo were the subject of several talks by prominent speakers such as David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament.

With space-related activities recognized as having a strategic and relevant impact on industry, innovation, employment, new services for citizens and businesses, and environmental and civil protection, the European Union will also continue to invest in the space sector.

Europe’s Multiannual Financial Framework foresees a budget of €16 billion for the EU space program. However, the financial allocation will be negotiated by EU Member States and the European Parliament during 2020.

The funds will allow for a wide participation of industry, research centers and universities, which will serve to promote competitiveness, efficiency and innovation – supporting the collaboration between European industries.

Space will also benefit from funds for innovation and research foreseen in the Horizon Europe program, for which the European Commission has proposed a budget of €100 billion for the period 2021—27. The European Parliament, however, proposes to increase this to €120 billion.

Copernicus was highlighted as a European success story. The increased budget of Earth Observation Programs at ESA’s Space19+ will allow for the initial development, for example, of six new high-priority Copernicus missions, one of which will track global carbon dioxide emissions.

Josef Aschbacher, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programs, attended the Space, Security and Defence event, and presented ESA’s contributions to the European space program. He commented, “Copernicus is the world’s largest Earth observation system led by the European Union, while the Copernicus space component is managed by ESA. Today, the central Sentinel data hub provides 250 TB of data per day. Copernicus is a good example of how Europe can work together at its best. Copernicus is a European success story.”

Figure 30: Earth observation at Space, Security and Defence event in Naples, Italy (image credit: ESA)

• 28 November 2019: ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level, Space19+, has concluded in Seville, Spain, with the endorsement of the most ambitious plan to date for the future of ESA and the whole European space sector. The meeting brought together ministers with responsibility for space activities in Europe, along with Canada and observers from the EU. ^{25) 26) 27)}

Figure 31: Ministers from ESA’s Member States, along with Associate Member Slovenia and Cooperating State Canada, gathered in Seville, Spain, 27-28 November 2019, to discuss future space activities for Europe and the budget of Europe’s space agency for the next three years (image credit: ESA, S. Corvaja)

The Member States were asked to approve a comprehensive set of programs to secure Europe’s independent access to and use of space in the 2020s, boost Europe’s growing space economy, and make breakthrough discoveries about Earth, our Solar System and the Universe beyond, all the while making the responsible choice to strengthen the efforts we are making to secure and protect our planet.

For the first time in 25 years, there will be a significant boost in funding for ESA’s world-class and inspirational science program, pushing the boundaries of our understanding of who we are and where we come from. It will allow the first gravitational wave detector in space, LISA, to fly alongside the black hole mission Athena and enable fundamental advances in our understanding of the basic physics of the Universe. There is also a strong reinforcement and accordingly funding for research and development and ESA’s laboratories, to underpin the missions of the future.

Figure 32: Artist's impression of the merger of two supermassive black holes during a galaxy collision. What happens when two supermassive black holes collide? Combining the observing power of two future ESA missions, Athena and LISA, would allow us to study these cosmic clashes and their mysterious aftermath for the first time. (image credit: ESA)

With worldwide partners, Europe will take its place at the heart of space exploration going farther than we have ever gone before – we continue our commitment to the International Space Station until 2030 as well as contributing vital transportation and habitation modules for the Gateway, the first space station to orbit the Moon. ESA's astronauts recruited in 2009 will continue to receive flight assignments until all of them have been to space for a second time, and we will also begin the process of recruiting a new class to continue European exploration in low Earth orbit and beyond. European astronauts will fly to the Moon for the first time. Member States have confirmed European support for a ground-breaking Mars Sample Return mission, in cooperation with NASA.

ESA will help develop the commercial benefits of space for innovators and governments across the Member States, boosting competitiveness in the NewSpace environment. We will develop the first fully flexible satellite systems to be integrated with 5G networks, as well as next-generation optical technology for a fibre-like ‘network in the sky’, marking a transformation in the satellite communication industry. Satellite communications will join forces with navigation to begin satnav for the Moon, while closer to home commercial companies can access funding for new applications of navigation technologies through the NAVISP program. ESA Ministers have secured a smooth transition to the next generation of launchers: Ariane 6 and Vega-C, and have given the green light to Space Rider, ESA’s new reusable spaceship.

Our Member States have committed to the responsible use of our environment both on and off our planet. ESA’s world-leading position in Earth observation will be strengthened with the arrival of 11 new missions, in particular addressing topics linked to climate change, Arctic and Africa.

There was also a significant development with the adoption of Space Safety as a new basic pillar of ESA’s activities. This will lead to new projects in the areas of keeping the space environment operational – through the removal of dangerous debris and plans for automation of space traffic control – and early warnings and mitigation of damage to Earth from hazards from space such as asteroids and solar flares. The Hera mission marks a joint collaboration with NASA to test asteroid deflection capabilities. New investments in the field of cyber-resilience and cyber-training have also been confirmed.

Figure 33: This taken from the new Hera mission trailer featuring rock star Brian May (image credit: ESA, Science Office)

The coming years will also see ESA reinforce its relationship with the European Union and increase its own organizational agility, effectiveness and efficiency.

“Bringing together our Member States, 22 governments that change regularly, and agreeing on such inspirational projects to share a joint future in space might seem an impossible task on paper. But in two days in Seville, we have proved it is possible,” said ESA Director General Jan Wörner. “It is possible because we work together to develop good programs, and it is possible because people are dedicated, and invest all their effort in a long and thorough decision process involving the scientific community, industry and national delegations.

“Together we have put in place a structure that sees inspiration, competitiveness and responsibility underpin our actions for the coming years, with ESA and Europe going beyond our previous achievements with challenging new missions and targets for growth along with the wider industry.”

Co-chairing the meeting, Manuel Heitor, Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education declared: “Today at Space19+ in Seville, together with my colleagues Ministers from ESA Member States, we secured a further step to foster Europe’s competitive position in the global space arena. We approved an ambitious portfolio of space programs, and addressed the challenges linked to the sector. We therefore invited all ESA Member States to seriously engage in taking stock of space activities in a continuous way and strengthen the role of ESA in Europe in close articulation with EC. In addition, we invited ESA Member States to work with ESA to take the necessary steps towards modernizing ESA's industrial policy and guarantee the agency evolves in a way to match a constantly changing environment, changing markets and a fast rate of digital transformation of our societies.”

Also co-chair of the meeting, French Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Frédérique Vidal said: “Space19+ has demonstrated the value of space as a critical infrastructure and enabler for our daily lives. Thanks to the European excellence in space, we are able to mutually tackle human and global challenges such as climate change, space safety and security. In subscribing to the programs, Member States have made a great step towards inspiring society and renewing our ambition to address those challenges. The high level of subscriptions that was decided at the Sevilla ministerial conference will permit to strengthen the European excellence in space and will also commit us towards European citizens.”

Figure 34: Official group photo Space19+. Ministers from ESA’s Member States, along with Associate Member Slovenia and Cooperating State Canada, gathered in Seville, Spain, 27-28 November 2019, to discuss future space activities for Europe and the budget of Europe’s space agency for the next three years (image credit: ESA, S. Corvaja)

About the European Space Agency

ESA is an intergovernmental organization, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of which 20 are Member States of the EU.

ESA has established formal cooperation with seven other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programs under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programs and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programs.

ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities. Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.

02 December 2019: In a world where change is the only constant, leadership is more important than ever. European ministers have strongly endorsed ESA to take this lead, increase its organizational agility, effectiveness and efficiency, and reinforce its relationship with the European Union. “We have looked at the future of our activities solely from the point of view of benefits we can bring to society, industry, governments and all Europe’s people,” says ESA Director General Jan Wörner. “We tried to explain these benefits to European citizens, scientists, company leaders, the politicians and our international partners. With the support of our member States we created the Space19+ proposal, which was not only looking nice on big screens. European Ministers funded everything proposed with 14.4 billion Euro, the highest subscription in the history of ESA. This is a full success, a collective success!”.

Inspiration, competitiveness and responsibility Modern societies heavily depend on services enabled by space technology. Without being aware we permanently use satellite-based navigation devices to find our way, rely on satellites to check the weather forecast, watch television brought to us by satellites and try to understand the consequences of climate change – collecting data via satellites. European citizens expect ESA to make their lives better – reaping the benefits of space technology in day-to-day activities. This is a challenging responsibility. To fulfil it, ESA needs to excel in the global competition with inspiring space programs in all domains of space.

Inspiration “At Space19+, ministers decided on a boost of space science in Europe for the first time after 25 years,” says Prof. Günther Hasinger, ESA Director of Science. “This enables Europe to embark on some of the biggest upcoming scientific opportunities. Observing supermassive black holes mergers, analyzing at the same time the light as well as the gravitational waves, will tell us how these gargantuan monsters alter time and space. This is absolutely essential to understand how our Universe works.” The 10% increase for Science allows also for more small but fast-developed missions in close cooperation with ESA Member States like Cheops and Comet Interceptor. “The holy grail in astronomy today is to find a second Earth,” says Prof. Hasinger. “Everybody is intrigued by the question whether there is life out there. I am very much looking forward to the launch of our first exoplanet mission Cheops, on 17 December this year. It is the first mission in a series of three dedicated to the search for life elsewhere than Earth.” European astronauts enjoy a huge popularity in their home countries and beyond. Their missions to the International Space Station capture the imagination of citizens and inspire the younger generations in Europe. “Humankind has been living and working permanently in space on the International Space Station for nearly two decades,” says David Parker, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration. “Now it is time to expand our presence to the Moon and one day Mars. The one-third growth in Europe’s space exploration program will make our dreams a reality. While we fully explore the Moon and its resources in preparation for going further, we will also bring pristine samples back from Mars to understand why the Red Planet is hostile to life today although long ago it was similar to our Earth.” With the funding provided at Space19+, ESA will be able to issue a call for a new generation of European astronauts, send them to the International Space Station and also to the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft. ESA will strengthen its partnership with NASA by contributing vital transportation, technology and habitation for the Gateway, the first lunar spaceport. As part of the most ambitious robotic exploration program ever attempted, ESA will build the first spacecraft to return pristine samples from the surface of Mars, transforming our knowledge of the Red Planet.

Competitiveness Autonomous access to space is of strategic political importance for Europe to realize its own ambitions. The entry into service of Europe's new family of launch vehicles, Ariane 6 and Vega-C and the investment in the future of space transportation will reinforce Europe's independent access to space, transport in and return from space for both commercial customers and critical government users. “The demand for space transportation services is growing fast while competition is fiercer than ever,” says Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Space Transportation. “Europe is ready to play a strong role in all segments from heavy to small launchers and even in support to commercial micro launchers. Space Rider, ESA’s small shuttle for fast turnaround such as science experiments in microgravity, complements our portfolio. It’s time to embrace the private sector and we are ready for it. Space19+ demonstrates Europe’s determination to maintain its 40-year legacy of autonomous access to space.” The cooperation between the EU and ESA in Galileo and EGNOS is a success with more than a Billion users for one of the most, if not the most accurate system in the world. It provides European companies and citizens with independent access to satellite positioning, navigation and timing services crucial to day-to-day life. “Europe’s space ministers have given a clear vote of confidence to the Navigation and Innovation Support Program, by subscribing to its next phase with a significantly enhanced yearly budget,” says Paul Verhoef, ESA Director of Navigation. “The program looks to the future of ‘positioning, navigation and timing’ by supporting commercial R&D projects, efforts to sharpen European competitiveness and long-term R&D including navigation beyond Earth. Its flexible, agile nature makes it a very suitable partner for ESA Member States and companies, including small-medium enterprises and the New Space ecosystem.” Fast-paced digitalization and miniaturization have disrupted the telecommunication market forcing everyone to change. “European ministers responsible for space have increased our budget by 35%,” says Magali Vaissière, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, “Allowing us to implement all three strategic lines of our ARTES 4.0 program.” “In partnership with the satellite communication industry, we will drive Europe’s competitiveness in the global market in particular by developing the first fully flexible satellite systems to be integrated with 5G networks, space systems for safety and security including SAGA as part of the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure as well as the next-generation optical technology for a fibre-like ‘network in the sky’.” The past success of Europe in space depends fully on the competitiveness of its industry and of the cutting-edge basic R&D and world-class facilities of ESA. All domains of space technology, including innovative propulsion, digital design and new production methods, first flight of specialized microprocessors dedicated to artificial intelligence tasks and cyber-resilience both in terms of enabling technologies for a wide range of applications and resilience of space systems will benefit from the increase of funding at Space19+. “Member States have recognized the key role of investment in basic technology research and the associated laboratories,” says Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality. “Once the technology is mature the private sector is ready to use it. Europe’s ministers responsible for space understand that better than anybody else. They have substantially upgraded the funding for developing ideas, by increasing the basic activities by 10%, and by strongly supporting the generic support technology program; converting ideas into working prototypes and for readying leading-edge technology for spaceflight and open markets. I am very grateful for this strong endorsement of R&D programs at ESA. Now our challenge is to keep our technology target promise: to increase innovation sustainability and efficiency’ and to reduce the development time of our systems.” "Substantial funds will be devoted to the mission operations infrastructure over the next three years," adds Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations. "This infrastructure is essential for mission success. We will deliver advanced new capabilities as well as increased efficiency, notably a 'multi-mission operations infrastructure as a service', the deployment of new software to control satellites, dubbed 'European Ground Systems Common Core' and a new deep space antenna. Major investments have also been decided to make ESA a fully cyber-resilient agency. These efforts will all boost European industrial competitiveness on the global market." “Now, we need to quickly transform this fantastic success into jobs and economic growth in all ESA Member States” said Eric Morel de Westgaver, ESA Director for Industry, Procurement and Legal Services. “Ministers have clearly recognized the industrial policy as a key challenge for the future of ESA. We will therefore work to further increase responsiveness and flexibility to adapt to all industrial actors, in particular SME who have a key role to play in this new space eco-system.”

Responsibility Reflecting one of the major concerns of European citizens, European ministers responsible for space have made the greatest funding increase in Earth Observation. This will allow for a suite of eleven Earth Observation satellites to monitor climate change and the global carbon cycle to meet the Green Deal goal of a carbon-free Europe by 2050. “Europe further enhances its role as global leader in Earth observation with clear targets to play an active role in supporting solutions to global issues related to Climate, Arctic and Africa,” says Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director of Earth Observation. “The Copernicus space component program, co-funded with the EU, has received a record over-subscription of nearly one third, to develop six new Sentinel missions and the related ground segment. This is a clear endorsement for the continuation of a successful EU-ESA cooperation in space.” “We will also initiate the Digital Twin Earth project combining high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and cloud-based processing to push the frontier of science and technology to better understand and model the Earth system with the most advanced technologies” adds Aschbacher. The sky has so far not been falling on our heads – However, dinosaurs did not have a space agency, which explains why European Ministers established now firmly Space Safety as a new program. “Compared to its precursor, Space Situational Awareness, Space Safety is more than four times bigger in volume” says Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations. “We will be able to build three new missions: Lagrange, the first satellite to warn us of extreme space weather from an orbit simultaneously viewing both the Sun and Earth, Hera to demonstrate for the first time Asteroid deflection together with NASA and ADRIOS to demonstrate for the first time active debris removal.”

United space in Europe Recognizing ESA's vital role in guaranteeing Europe's place in space, Ministers have expressed their full support to the Director giving him a clear mandate to reinforce both ESA's relationship with the European Union and to increase its own organizational agility, effectiveness and efficiency. “Taken by the European ministers at Space19+ in Seville, these far-sighted decisions allow ESA to look with confidence and fresh commitment towards the opportunities of the next decade and beyond. I am proud to be the Director General of a stronger European Space Agency, leading a united space in Europe, cooperating where possible and competing where necessary, but uniting Europe in and through space” says Jan Wörner.

Table 1: Reflections on ESA’s Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, Space19+ ²⁸⁾

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• 27 November 2019: A Memorandum of Cooperation to further commit to strengthening cooperation in the field of space resources and innovation was signed by Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider and ESA Director General ESA Jan Wörner. ²⁹⁾

Figure 35: A Memorandum of Cooperation to further commit to strengthening cooperation in the field of space resources and innovation was signed on 27 November in Seville, Spain, by Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider and ESA Director General ESA Jan Wörner (image credit: ESA, P. Sebirot)

- Following the establishment of the SpaceResources.lu initiative in 2016 to promote and develop the research, economic and legal aspects of space resources, ESA and the Luxembourg Space Agency have been working together to explore opportunities for cooperation and have identified common objectives for research and development.

- The Luxembourg Space Agency is establishing ESRIC (European Space Resources Innovation Center), to create additional opportunities for European and international innovation. Its initial focus is on space resource extraction, processing and manufacturing to advance sustainable space exploration.

- The Memorandum signed at ESA’s Ministerial Council Space19+ in Seville, Spain, sees ESA join the Space Resources Innovation Center as a strategic partner, broadening the scope of the activities started under the spaceresources.lu initiative and giving it a more European character.

A common goal

- The cost of launching people and materials into space and the lack of an established, affordable means of resupplying essentials such as fuel and life support is currently a major barrier to sustainable space exploration.

- Overcoming these challenges, by developing technology that turns resources found in space into oxygen and water, fuel or building materials will open up new opportunities for Europe’s exploration of the Solar System, and provide new business opportunities, as well as benefits for communities on Earth.

- ESA is focused on in situ resource utilization to support sustainable exploration of our Solar System. As we look to take our next steps to the Moon and Mars, ESA sees in situ resource utilization as an enabling capability for sustaining human operations.

- The agency has already made significant progress in this area by developing the ESA Strategy for Space Resources that implements a number of ground-based research, technology and mission definition activities, using in situ resources for sustainable space exploration.

- Together with ESA, the Luxembourg Space Agency will set up the facilities that will allow ground-based research on space resources for both public and private researchers from all over Europe, establishing the key European center for space resources utilization.

- The scope of the cooperation will include research, business support and incubation, knowledge management and competence concentration and community management.

• 16 April 2019: The Contribution Agreement between ESA and the EU on space technology activities was signed today by ESA Director General Jan Wörner and the European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Pierre Delsaux. ³⁰⁾

The objective of the EU’s In Orbit Demonstration/Validation (IOD/IOV) activities pursued through this agreement, in the frame of the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, is to set the grounds for a potential future provision of a regular IOD/IOV service for new technologies in Europe, based on European solutions for spacecraft, ground segment and launch services.

The choice of the European Commission to delegate ESA with the full implementation of the EU Horizon 2020 IOD/IOV actions acknowledges ESA’s leading expertise in managing such programs and mitigating risks, based on its long-standing experience in managing its own IOD/IOV programs.

Through the agreement, the EU also contributes to ESA’s Light Satellites, Low cost, Launch opportunities (LLL) initiative, specifically for the Proof of Concept demonstration flights for the Vega Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) and Ariane 6 Microsat Launch Share (MLS).

Figure 36: ESA and EU sign Contribution Agreement on Horizon 2020 space activities (image credit: ESA/European Commission)

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• 14 December 2018: The ESA Council held its 277th meeting at the ESOC (European Space Operations Center) in Darmstadt on 12 and 13 December 2018. ³¹⁾

The Council welcomed NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who presented NASA’s vision for future space exploration. Mr Bridenstine praised the long-standing cooperation between ESA and NASA over the past 40 years through more than 260 major agreements including the iconic Hubble Space Telescope.

He strongly advocated international cooperation with ESA regarding space science, Earth science, the extension of the International Space Station operations and recognized the leading role of ESA on space safety and protection of space assets.

Figure 37: The ESA Council 2018 in Darmstadt, Germany, welcomed NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine as guest, here seen at right of ESA Director General Jan Wörner. Also to the right are, Jean Yves Le Gall, Chair of ESA Council, and Elena Grifoni-Winters, Council Secretary and Head of ESA Director General's Cabinet (image credit: ESA)

Looking at the future of exploration, Mr Bridenstine invited ESA to build from the International Space Station towards the Lunar Gateway as a sustainable and reusable outpost around the Moon. He congratulated ESA for delivering in November the first European Service Module as a critical element of the Orion missions and set the horizon for future missions to Mars, including the prospect of a joint cooperation with ESA on Mars Sample Return.

Discussions with the Member States were held in view of the conclusion of the industrial contract to be signed for the production of the first batch of Ariane 6 launchers to be launched after its maiden flight in 2020. ESA proposed a way forward to stabilize the transition until full operational capability of Ariane 6

After almost 40 years of outstanding collaboration with Canada, which will be celebrated next year, the ESA Council unanimously approved the renewal of the cooperation agreement between ESA and the Government of Canada for a period of 10 years.

Finally, the Council unanimously approved the proposal of the Director General concerning the renewal of its Director team of teams covering the four pillars of the agency, namely ‘Applications’, 'Safety and Security', ‘Science and Exploration’, ‘Enabling and Support’ as well as ‘Administration and Industrial Policy’.

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• 17 August 2017: ESOC – the European Space Operations Center, in Darmstadt, Germany – has served as Europe’s ‘gateway to space’ for half a century. In 2017, ESOC is celebrating its 50th anniversary, highlighting a rich history of achievement in space. ³²⁾

The articles stated provide a brief overview of ESOC's rich history, which encompasses 77 spacecraft, ranging from communication, weather, Earth observation and climate monitoring satellites to spacecraft studying the Sun or peering deep into our Universe. Exploring our solar system, ESOC has flown missions to the Moon, Mars and Venus, as well as three epoch-making triumphs: Giotto’s flyby of Halley’s Comet in 1986, the Huygens landing on Titan in 2005 and Rosetta’s delivery of Philae to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014 – humanity’s first-ever landing on a comet.

This special report takes a look at the center’s beginnings in 1967, the pioneering spirit of the early decades, the steady growth of mission operations expertise in Darmstadt, developments at the center and milestones in European space flight, ESOC’s evolving economic importance and the present challenges and future opportunities.

Figure 38: ESOC dresses up for its 50th anniversary. A new banner featuring the #ESOC50 logo has been installed on the fence, just outside the main gate. Since 1967 more than 70 satellites belonging to ESA and its partners have been successfully controlled from Darmstadt, Germany (image credit: ESA/D. Scuka, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

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• 02 December 2016: ESA today concluded a two-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Lucerne, Switzerland. Ministers in charge for space matters from ESA’s 22 member states plus Slovenia and Canada allocated €10.3 billion for space activities and programs based on the vision of a United Space in Europe in the era of Space 4.0. ³³⁾

The high level of subscriptions demonstrates once more that ESA’s Member States consider space as a strategic and attractive investment with a particularly high socio-economic value.

It also underlines that ESA is THE European Space Agency capable of channeling their investment to respond effectively to regional, national and European needs by covering all elements of space: science, human spaceflight, exploration, launchers, telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, applications (combining space, airborne and terrestrial technology), operations and technologies; as well as responding to the needs and challenges of Europe and the Member States by bringing together all stakeholders.

Ministers confirmed the confidence that ESA can conceptualize, shape and organize the change in the European space sector and in ESA itself. While also acting as a global player, broker and mediator at the center of international cooperation in space activities, in areas ranging from the far away in exploration (with the concept of a Moon Village for instance) to supporting closer to home the international global climate research effort following the Paris Agreement of 2015.

At this summit, Ministers in charge of space matters have declared support for ESA’s Director General’s vision for Europe in space and the role and development of ESA: now the Space 4.0i era can start with ESA committing to inform, innovate, interact and inspire. And, building on commercialization, participation, digitalization, jobs and growth, the concept of “United Space in Europe” will soon become a reality.

Figure 39: ESA Council meeting at Ministerial Level, in Lucerne, on 1 December 2016. Ministers in charge of space activities from the 22 ESA Member States, plus Slovenia and Canada met to decide on future space activities for Europe (image credit: ESA, Stephane Corvaja)

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• 18 June 2015: ESA’s business incubators hit a milestone this month: they have now fostered 300 start-up companies – and more are joining all the time. ³⁴⁾

Figure 40: Portuguese Minister of Education and Science Nuno Crato and ESA Director of Technical and Quality Management Franco Ongaro at the fifth Portuguese Space Forum, where the ESA Business Incubation Center Portugal was opened, 5 November 2014 (image credit: TV Ciência) ³⁵⁾

Thanks to innovations from the many Business Incubation Centers (BICs) start-ups, leading-edge applications that spring from space are spreading throughout Europe.

“Technologies from Europe’s space programs have turned out to be great problem-solvers here on Earth,” notes Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technical and Quality Management.

“They are now used in the most diverse applications, from healthcare to transport, from sport to entertainment, from managing Earth’s resources to helping the environment – and many more areas of our daily lives.

“These transfers of space technology result in new companies and jobs improving regional economies and helping to secure Europe’s global competitiveness.

“We have now boosted this spin-off effect by supporting more than 300 new companies, and each year we nurture another 100 via our Technology Transfer Program and incubation centers.”

These start-ups and their entrepreneurs offer smarter and better solutions to problems. For example, safety for lorry drivers at mines in Chile and Botswana has been improved by a Dutch start-up inspired by astronaut monitoring. The carbon emission and fuel consumption of heating systems have been cut by a UK company thanks to advanced coatings on satellite microthrusters.

Figure 41: The EstrellaSat driver fatigue system is now monitoring 30 drivers operating 10 trucks at a high-altitude mine in Peru. The same system is being installed in a mine in Botswana. EstrellaSat, now Wombatt, was supported during start-up by ESA’s Business Incubation Center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The system incorporates spin-offs from several space technologies to lowerworkplace incidents caused by fatigue of haulage truck and other large machinery operators in open pit mines (image credit: Stracon GyM S.A.C.)

ESA incubators in eight countries

Many such new offerings are put to the market every year by entrepreneurs hosted by incubators in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the UK, France, Spain and Portugal.

“The ideas from our entrepreneurs and start-ups are in most cases directly based on spin-off from Europe’s space programs,” explains Mr Ongaro.

“It can be a special technology developed for a spacecraft, an ESA patent, our Galileo satnav system, Earth observation satellites data or it can be the reuse of expertise from our development of satellites and launchers that is turned into a novel non-space application. In all cases, it results in a new European company.”

Figure 42: Finding the best wind farm site is simple by using a new system from start-up company Leosphere, hosted at ESA’s Business Incubation Center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The lidar technology the company has used is taken from ESA’s forthcoming Aeolus mission, which will do the same task except from space, to capture a 3D map of Earth’s wind fields (image credit: Leosphere) ³⁶⁾

300 start-ups and many new jobs

The first application round of 2015 saw 21 new start-ups selected, taking the total beyond 300. Among these are good examples of the diversity of business ideas.

In Barcelona, Spain, the company North Europe 2012 will develop an underwater robot to collect detailed data on sea depth, water quality and sea floor details to create accurate 3D underwater maps. Accurate satnav data, autonomous navigation, radio systems and advanced sensors will be combined to develop a prototype.

Figure 43: An unmanned aircraft system guided by satnav has been developed at ESA’s Business Incubation Center in Darmstadt, Germany, to provide rapid monitoring of land areas and disaster zones. The planes have already helped Spanish farmers in Andalusia to fight land erosion (image credit: Mavinci) ³⁷⁾

In Germany, the young Geodetic Cloud Computing Service company is hosted in Darmstadt to develop a web-based service offering satnav information at higher accuracy, faster and at lower cost than is currently available.

Rather than using conventional satnav data, they will work with the satnav’s phase signal combined with corrective information from ground stations to obtain higher accuracy.

At the Sud France incubator, TRAXxs entrepreneurs will combine satnav tracking and shoes. With miniaturized, low-power microelectronics and antennas embedded in shoes, realtime tracking will be available on smartphones, tablets and web portals.

The Active Aerogels group are hosted in Portugal to develop new uses for aerogels in aircraft manufacturing to improve thermal and acoustic insulation.

Figure 44: The stability of buildings and infrastructures like roads can now be monitored in real time by a new technique with its roots in space. The approach was developed by Italian start-up company Nhazca at ESA’s Business Incubation Center in Lazio near Rome, Italy, by combining satellite Earth observation data and ground-based radar imaging technology, which works in much the same way as satellites scan surfaces on Earth (image credit: NHAZCA) ³⁸⁾

In Bavaria, Germany, the Vemcon start-up are looking to increase the productivity of bulldozers and other heavy-duty mobile machines by improving the operational tools available to drivers. These machines have become more complex, carrying different tools for a variety of tasks, and Vemcon proposes to use the latest man-machine methodologies to improve the driver’s handling of these large machines.

Incubator approach is expanding

“We expect more BICs, as ESA Member States see the advantage of supporting spin-off from their investment in Europe’s space programs to create successful new local companies and jobs under this initiative,” adds Mr Ongaro. “It is just a matter of taking advantage of all our space technologies, patents and expertise which are ripe and ready to use to create new businesses in Europe.”

Figure 45: ESA's Technology Transfer Program Office coordinates the eleven ESA Business Incubation Centers (BICs) in nine countries (image credit: ESA) ³⁹⁾

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ESA Training Program for YGT (Young Graduate Trainees) from Universities

The Young Graduate Trainee program offers a one-year experience at ESA and is a launch pad for many exciting opportunities in aerospace, research institutes or in international organizations such as ESA. ⁴⁰⁾

Are you about to take your finals? Or do you already have your Master’s degree? If so, then you can apply to ESA as a 'Young Graduate Trainee' (YGT). This high-caliber program lasts for one year and gives successful applicants an opportunity to gain valuable experience in the development and operation of space missions.

Who can apply? Every year, we publish about 100 YGT job opportunities, aimed mainly at engineers and scientists, graduates in Information Technology, Natural or Social Science and Business. To be eligible for the YGT program, you must be: • A student in the final year of a Master’s degree at University or an equivalent institutes or have just graduated. Candidates are required to have completed their Master's degree by the time they start work at ESA. (Should you already hold a PhD, please have a look at our Research Fellowship program, which will be in line with your background and level of qualification) • A citizen of one of the ESA Member States or from one of the European Cooperating States, Slovenia as an Associated Member State or Canada as a Cooperating State. • ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. Applications from women are encouraged. - If you need support with your application due to a disability, please email contact.human.resources@esa.int. What we offer you • Valuable experience that could open doors to a career within Europe’s space sector, renowned research institutes or, of course, ESA. • An international and multicultural environment • A one year contract • Approximately €2,300 per month exempt from national income tax in ESA Member States and excellent employment conditions. The exact amount will depend on the location of the ESA Establishment. • Travel expenses at the beginning and end of the contract (including travel expenses for spouse and children if they reside with the trainee during the contract) • 2.5 days paid leave per month • Comprehensive health cover under ESA’s social security scheme How to apply Opportunities go online once a year in mid-November, and stay open for one month. Before applying • Once published, you will be able to browse the ESA list of opportunities on our page here. • Select the one that best matches your interests and profile - focus your application on an opportunity that genuinely interests you and fits your educational background. • To apply, you first have to register and create your candidate profile with your CV and motivation letter. Once you have applied, you will be able to track the status of your application. After applying • Candidates are selected by the relevant tutor and recruitment interviews typically take place in March. • The take-up-duty date is then made by mutual agreement and can be any time from May to September of that same year. All candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application by email. Throughout the year you may find that some additional YGT posts are published. So that you do not miss a single chance for your career at ESA, you can now sign up with us to receive job alerts. - Towards the end of the traineeship period, trainees are asked to submit a report on their activities and the accomplishments achieved during the year.

Table 2: The application procedure

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Some reports from Trainees & from Workshops and Program Announcements

Successful CDR workshop for Fly Your Satellite! teams

• November 25, 2020: The Critical Design Review (CDR) workshop of the three student CubeSat teams participating in the third cycle of ESA Education’s Fly Your Satellite! program, was held online between 11 and 25 November. ⁴¹⁾

- The CDR is an expert-led review process that evaluates the overall quality of the CubeSat design to confirm that it is suitable to meet the technical and programmatic requirements. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic,for the first time the event was organized in an online format.

- In preparation for the CDR workshop, a panel of 23 specialists from ESA’s Technological (ESTEC) and Operations Centers (ESOC) reviewed the comprehensive design data package delivered by the teams. During the workshop, the student teams presented their progress since they joined the FYS program, project status and current challenges to the panel. Following the presentations, the students had the opportunity to discuss the issues raised during the review in one-on-one meetings with specialists from different technical domains and received valuable feedback and input for improvement. By following similar methods to those usually adopted in the ESA review processes for large missions, the students became familiar with the standard practice in a professional environment, while further increasing the chance for mission success of their CubeSats.

- The participating teams in the third cycle of FYS (Fly Your Satellite!) are:

a) AcubeSat – The Aristotle Space & Aeronautics Team (ASAT) is composed of students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. ASAT is developing a CubeSat to conduct a biological experiment that investigates molecular mechanisms in space conditions.

b) SOURCE (Stuttgart Operated University Research CubeSat for Evaluation and Education) – is a CubeSat mission of the University of Stuttgart, Germany, which will monitor the processes involved in uncontrolled entry into Earth's atmosphere by imaging meteoroids and using in-situ heat flux measurements to characterize demise.

c) UCAnFly – Developed by a student team from the University of Cadiz, Spain, UCAnFly is a nanosatellite to characterize novel miniaturized magnetic measurement systems at millihertz frequencies with low-noise conditions and long integration times in the harsh space environment.

- When all the major issues have been closed-out successfully, the design of the CubeSats will be declared ready to proceed to the next phase of the CubeSat project: manufacturing, assembly and integration of the spacecraft, followed by testing in ambient conditions to demonstrate functionality. To help the teams in preparing for the upcoming steps, the workshop was accompanied by lectures on In-Orbit-Demonstration CubeSats and project management, as well as a virtual tour of ESEC-Galaxia’s CubeSat Support Facility (CSF). The CSF is ESA Academy’s test centre which hosts environmental test campaigns for the satellites of the Fly Your Satellite! program and space-related hardware of other programs from ESA Education. Networking and team bonding – integral parts of any workshop – were supported by social activities, such as a pub quiz.

- Despite the unusual format for a review workshop, both students and ESA specialists were happy with the achieved results and experience. One student shared his experiences from the workshop:

- “Knowledge gained, perspective changed, awareness raised are some of the many benefits from the CDR Workshop. Although during the pandemic, live participation was not feasible, the fun of the workshop did not go away. Our team has a great benefit from the CDR Workshop from the interaction we had with the experts for the technical aspects. Getting such a quality feedback from experts who work on real missions is invaluable!”

- With confidence that they will keep up the high quality work that they have been doing so far, ESA wishes all teams the best of luck in the steps that follow.

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Human Space Physiology Training Course goes fully online for 2020 edition

• November 19, 2020: ESA’s Education Office and Space Medicine Team have successfully adapted ESA Academy’s Human Space Physiology Training Course to run online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 12 – 23 October 2020, 53 university students from 16 different ESA Member States, Slovenia and Canada learned about life in space and the physiological adaptations associated with it. ⁴²⁾

- 18 experts from ESA and research institutes across Europe, including several universities, highlighted how current human spaceflight and Earth-based analogues such as long-term bed-rest and over-wintering in Antarctica are used to investigate underlying physiological changes. Understanding these changes is critical to help plan humanity’s future exploration of the Solar System.

Figure 46: Tutor session to discuss the group project (image credit: ESA)

- A Spanish student from Autonomous University of Madrid reported: “In spite of the challenges posed by the online format, this was much more than a course: it was a learning experience where we could meet top-tier experts, and moreover, get to know students from diverse backgrounds with shared interests about life in space. After these two weeks, I know for sure that space medicine is not sci-fi anymore – thank you ESA for broadening our horizons!"

- The course began with students learning about the fascinating history of human spaceflight. This led onto how the environment of space differs from life on Earth, presenting novel challenges for space exploration. Physiological systems were discussed, examining how underlying mechanisms respond to being in space. The field of human spaceflight is supported by many other areas of expertise, so students received a grounding in how nutrition, exercise, and psychology all play a role in supporting crew during their space missions. Two additional elements trialled on the course last year and retained after positive student feedback were: adaptation of the immune system in space, and operational space medicine delivered by an experienced ESA flight surgeon.

- This solid foundation of knowledge propelled the students into the second week, which was spent working on a group project. Working remotely in teams of five or six, the students were tasked with investigating the challenges of human spaceflight in future missions beyond the International Space Station.

- The teams were assigned a topic from a wide range of complex problems and, with the support of expert tutors, asked to consider approaches including identifying knowledge gaps and devising innovative solutions. The groups then presented their findings to their fellow students and experts on the final day. The topics included:

a) One-size-fits-all: Evaluate the operational impact of imposing crewmember size restrictions for the Lunar Gateway, a planned mini-space station.

b) A Sense of Perspective: Evaluate potential orientation, hand-eye coordination and decision-making issues that arise from living and working in micro-gravity, and approaches to support safe and productive operation of vehicles on the Lunar surface.

c) Doing the Lunar Locomotion: Evaluate approaches that could enable safe and productive Lunar Extra Vehicular Activities.

d) Research Rocks!: Evaluate the challenges, risks and considerations for surface geological / biological sampling selection and collection.

e) Beyond Van Allen: Evaluate the risks and approaches to limit the effects of radiation exposure for one-year missions to the Lunar Surface.

- Some student groups also took on an optional creative challenge: designing their own team badge! This is common among teams working in the space sector, and helped the students to bond and rally around their chosen challenge. "I’m so lucky to have been part of such an incredibly intensive course,” enthused a Portuguese student from the University of Lisbon. “Space has always intrigued me and this training was just the beginning of unravelling such mystery. From inspiring and educational lectures on human physiological adaptions, to the possibility of developing a group project with colleagues from around the world, to real-life testimonies of people who work directly in this field, ESA made a tremendous positive impact on my training as a future health professional."

- Transforming the course from in-person to online required numerous changes to content and methods. Extending the duration to 10 days gave enough time for remote work on the group project, and allowed additional lecture content to be included. The course trainers adapted their approach too, allowing virtual Q&As during and after lessons, and suggesting simple experiments that the students could perform at home for a more hands-on experience. Amazingly, ESA astronaut and former ISS commander Alexander Gerst joined the group for a session on the last day of the course, answering students’ questions about life in space!

- “I loved participating in the whole training course from the beginning to the end,” said a Belgian student from the University of Antwerp. “Not knowing what to expect, it was very exciting to start a course about a space-related subject in a European setting. I learned a lot about human physiology in space, and why it is critical to examine this regarding future deep space missions. Was it all worth it? Yes, definitely! My fascination for human space research has only grown, making me want to pursue a career in this area and explore new horizons.”

Figure 47: Group picture participants Online Human Space Physiology Training Course 2020 (image credit: ESA)

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Raising standards: 50 University students virtually attend Online Standardization Training Course 2020

• October 14, 2020: ESA Academy’s Online Standardization Training Course 2020 has been successfully completed, running from 28 September to 7 October 2020. A collaboration between ESA’s Education Office and ESA's Requirements and Standardization Section (TEC-QES), this was the fourth fully-online ESA Academy training session, allowing University students to participate safely despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ⁴³⁾

- In virtual attendance were 50 students with engineering and science backgrounds, from 14 different ESA Member States, Canada and Latvia. Course trainers were ESA and external experts from a variety of different disciplines within the space industry.

- The core intent of the training course was to introduce students to the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS), and to explore how the standards within the ECSS system are applied to space-related disciplines. The ECSS provides a coherent, single set of standards that are made applicable by ESA in the space related projects and business agreements and are crucial to the sector as they form an essential tool to facilitate work between Space Agencies and industry.

- Despite the importance of standardization, the ECSS standards are not usually taught at universities, which leads to a gap between students’ education and the knowledge they need for a career in the sector. The Online Standardization Training Course 2020 bridges this gap. Said a German student from Dresden University of Technology, "I was impressed by the practicality and comprehensiveness of the lectures. It was a fascinating experience, covering a lot of aspects related to spacecraft and space mission design, focused on the reasoning of the standards and their application in practice. Highly recommended to anyone interested in space mission design."

Figure 48: Introduction to software engineering standards (image credit: ESA)

Figure 49: Lecture about management standards (image credit: ESA)

- The students began by receiving an overview of the ECSS system, focusing on what are the challenges related to space technology when compared to the terrestrial applications, on the key concepts from top disciplines. This was followed by exploration of the applicable standards, why they are important, and how to apply them to a number of disciplines throughout the space mission cycle:

a) Power Management

b) Product Assurance and Quality Assessment

c) Mechanisms

d) System Engineering

e) Communications Protocols

f) Control Engineering

g) Thermal Engineering

h) Electrical Engineering

i) Software Engineering and Software Product Assurance

j) Ground Systems and Operations

k) Structures

- The course trainers made good use of examples, exercises, and personal experience to demonstrate the importance of the standards, explaining when and how they use them. "Along with the description and the use of the ECSS standards, we had a broad overview of all the disciplines met during the different phases of a space project,” said a Belgian student from University of Liège. “This endows me with a better understanding of how you can contribute to top-notch space missions and how they are made possible thanks to high-quality recommendations and guidelines provided by the standards."

Figure 50: Some students share their point of view with us (image credit: ESA)

- On the final day, the students were evaluated through an online evaluation questionnaire in order to obtain a grade for their course transcript. With this document and their certificates of participation, the students will be able to claim ECTS credit(s) from their respective universities.

- “The ESA Standards online training course was a great opportunity to get a fundamental insight into different space disciplines,” concluded a German student from Konstanz University of Applied Sciences. “Standards are important tools in the development of space technology, therefore it was exciting to learn about this highly interesting topic from ESA professionals who work with these standards daily. It is remarkable how much knowledge was imparted within a very short time, which was brought to the students online in an understandable and compact way.”

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60 students attend Online Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations Training Course 2020

• September 28, 2020: ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Program has resumed after a summer break with the 2020 edition of its highly-regarded Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations Training Course. ⁴⁴⁾

- Moving the course fully online, to ensure safe participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed for a large cohort of 60 Bachelor, Master and PhD students, with a science or engineering background, from 15 different ESA Member States and Canada. The training course was offered by a senior ESA Engineer belonging to the Advanced Mission Concepts and Management Support Office of the Operations Department.

- Running over eight morning sessions between 7 and 18 September, the course had two main objectives: teach students how to think like an operator; and explain the ways in which each subsystem affects how spacecraft are operated. The style of teaching was in line with the “Ladybird approach" where lectures are kept to a general point of view and avoid overly-complex analytical and mathematical detail. Many concrete examples would be given, with students aided by well-designed diagrams that anybody with a general science background could understand and interpret. “I would characterize it as ‘A Ladybird Guide to thinking outside of the box’,” said a Greek student from the University of Patras. “This course was a combination of engrossing teaching and well-balanced interaction. Thanks ESA not only for getting us closer to our dreams but bringing people having common dreams together as well. I feel immensely inspired and motivated!”

- The students were thrown in at the deep end with their very first lesson imparting upon them the importance of having an operator’s mindset, flagging a multitude of psychological traps that they would need to avoid in order to be successful in spacecraft operations. Clearly, this would be no ordinary training course! “You can definitely understand how a spacecraft works and the technical and psychological traps you are facing as an operator,” explained a Romanian student from Politehnica University of Bucharest. “It was an amazing course, really enjoyable and interactive despite it being held online. It increased my passion for the space sector and, honestly, I didn't think that this was even possible.”

The week’s lectures were themed around spacecraft subsystems, with course leaders and students discussing the advantages and disadvantages of various technologies within each:

a) Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS)

b) Orbit Control System (OCS)

c) Power

d) Thermal

e) Telemetry, Telecommunication & Command (TT&C)

f) On-Board Data Handling (OBDH)

g) On-Board Software (OBSW)

- Supplementing the lectures were a plethora of real-life examples of operational mistakes. Students were tasked with determining the cause of the problems, and how they could have been fixed – or ideally avoided altogether. This approach to learning fully engaged the students, and turned past mistakes into valuable learning experiences for this upcoming generation of operations specialists.

- Alongside these lessons were sessions on the Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System and the ESEC-Redu site, home of the PROBA satellites operations centre. Normally tours of ESEC-Redu would be conducted in-person, but the online approach was still impactful and gave the students a taste of what life is like for real operators at this site.

- The final day culminated with an online test to evaluate the students’ performances. Those that pass will be able to use this, along with their certificate of participation, to request ECTS credit(s) from their universities.

Figure 51: Lecturers and participants during spacecraft operations training course (image credit: ESA)

“The course was totally unlike anything I'd ever done before and I really enjoyed myself,” said an Irish student from the University of Limerick. “In particular, it was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about spacecraft operations, a topic that is rarely covered at university. Furthermore, we were able to apply the skills we'd learned to real-life operational experiences, comparing our strategies with those used by the operations teams looking after spacecraft in those cases. One of the highlights, though, was getting to meet other university students also interested in space and to network with them. The Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations was an experience I won't forget in a hurry. I'd recommend it to anyone!”

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ESERO France takes off to support and inspire STEM education

• On 23 June 2020, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) officially launched the French European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO). ⁴⁵⁾

Hosted at CNES and led by the CNES Education team based in Toulouse, ESERO France joins ESA’s ESERO network, currently active in 17 other ESA Member States.

In the past decade the project has been supporting school education through the inspirational power of space - an approach that has already proven very effective for the teaching and learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects at school.

All ESEROs are driven by common overarching objectives and are run under the coordination of ESA and with the contribution of multiple national organizations and institutions. Best practises and resources are exchanged within the network, but the national activities are tailored to the national education curricula, needs and context.

Jan Wörner, ESA Director General, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES, signed the ESERO France contract during the ESA Council Meeting taking place in Germany this week.

This joint project builds on the strong commitment of the two space organizations to support scientific and technical education, thereby recognizing its vital role in Europe’s growth, development and competitiveness for society as a whole.

France, a leading European country in science and technology research and a pivotal player in Europe’s space program, also needs to meet the continuous demand for qualified specialists and professionals. “Since its creation CNES has always pursued an active education policy in close collaboration with the French Ministry of Education and Youth. By joining the ESERO project through CNES, we reaffirm the importance of educating students, starting from an early age, to nourish their interest in STEM, enhance their competences and skills, and stimulate them to pursue a career in this domain, including space,” said Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of CNES.

ESERO primarily addresses teachers – the key access point to students – by means of teacher trainings and an innovative didactic approach based on real-life professional practices and role models. The project also offers direct opportunities for students via interdisciplinary school projects and initiatives.

“The ESERO project is a very good example of the multiple tangible benefits space can provide to society”, said Jan Wörner, ESA Director General. “We need to ensure that future citizens have the scientific knowledge and skills expected from them in the 21st century, and that they are able to keep fostering innovation. The space context has proven to be an incredibly powerful means to achieve this,” he continued. “ESERO is a collaborative large-scale project that is able to respond to the specific needs of each country and that brings tangible results.”

Figure 52: The ESERO France contract was signed on 23 June 2020. From left to right: CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and ESA Director General Jan Wörner (image credit: ESA)

ESERO in France

Under the leadership of CNES, and with the continuous support of ESA, ESERO France can count on the educational and pedagogical expertise of a key consortium of national partners, such as: the Cité de l’espace (Science and Space Museum), the national network Planète Sciences, as well as La Fondation La Main à la Pate, with its Maisons pour la Science.

As a first task, ESERO France will perform a thorough study this summer with the aim of identifying national needs: analyzing the curriculum, identifying gaps and niche-areas where ESERO can have the greatest impact, assessing the role of ESERO and ESA’s space–related resources in meeting those needs, and providing recommendations for the ESERO France activity portfolio.

The results of the study will also contribute to meeting one of the project’s key objectives: to reach the whole territory in an inclusive way, by ensuring that the widest possible range of ESERO opportunities are available for teachers and students across the whole country.

The trainings offered by ESERO France will be entirely free of charge and accredited by the French Ministry of National Education and Youth. ESERO will also provide for free innovative classroom materials that cater to the French STEM curriculum, interdisciplinary school projects, and access to STEM career information and role models from the space sector. In addition, it will contribute to increasing awareness about the significance of space as an important backbone of contemporary society and economy.

ESERO in Europe

ESERO is ESA’s flagship educational project targeting primary and secondary school education in Europe. With France joining, the European network of ESERO offices now covers 18 ESA Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

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Final congratulations to the 2019-2020 Climate Detectives student teams

• June 17, 2020: More than 450 students took up the role of Climate Detectives and shared their investigations in 2019-2020, ending another great year for this school project. ⁴⁶⁾

Teams of students were challenged to work like detectives and identify and investigate a local climate problem. In order to do this, they collected and analyzed Earth Observation data, either from satellites or from local weather measurements. Based on their investigations, teams proposed ways to help reduce the climate problem identified by them, or raise awareness about it.

ESA is very inspired and impressed by the work done by the teams. The COVID-19 lockdown meant harder work conditions for everyone. With schools switching to online and distance learning, many teams had to find alternative ways to complete their investigations, and some were unable to perform the field work they had planned.

Taking into consideration the hard circumstances, ESA decided to cancel the Climate Detectives School Award for the 2019-2020 project edition. However, all teams that shared their projects on the Climate Detectives platform will receive a special ESA goodie in recognition of their very special efforts.

Figure 53: Creative Students’s laboratory Team working on EO Browser looking for satellite images of their town (image credit: ESA)

Some of the projects shared by the participating teams stood out for the investigation presented and for the way teams explored a local climate problem, and ESA has therefore decided to mention these highly commendable teams:

- Flood and wildfire explorers, Greece – The team investigated the effects of wildfires, deforestation, and increased precipitation on the severity of flash floods.

- I.E.S.S. FOR CLIMATE, Italy – The team explored why in recent times sudden and violent whirlwinds are generated in the geographical area of Emilia Romagna, Italy.

- Vianu Climate Detectives, Romania – The team investigated whether there is any connection between deforestation and the disappearance of the ‘classical’ four seasons.

- Water Detectives, Malta – The team investigated how changes in climate, mainly rainfall and temperature, are impacting water flow and farming in Qlejgħa Valley, Malta.

ESA would also like to highlight a team of promising young scientists:

- Creative students’ laboratory, Romania – This student team, from 8 to 9 years old, investigated whether changes in climate are affecting the Danube river.

All the commended teams will receive a special certificate in addition to the goodie.

The ESA Education team would like to thank all the student teams who participated this school year, together with their teachers, for their remarkable efforts and great work, and challenge them to continue making a difference to protect Earth’s Climate!

The Climate Detectives school project will be back for the 2020-2021 school year. Stay tuned!

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Thailand team wins UN access to ESA’s hypergravity centrifuge

• June 9, 2020: ESA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have selected a team from Mahidol University, Thailand to carry out research using ESA’s hypergravity-generating Large Diameter Centrifuge. The team will see how watermeal – the smallest flowering plant on Earth, even smaller than the more familiar duckweed – responds to changing gravity levels to assess its usefulness for space-based life support systems. ⁴⁷⁾

The team, composed of five members, including two women scientists, teaching or studying at Mahidol University, wants to investigate the high-protein aquatic plant as a food and oxygen source for space exploration and on other planets that may have higher gravity than Earth. The team members bring a variety of academic backgrounds to the project, including physics, bio-innovation, biochemistry and electrical engineering.

They are the winners of the inaugural cycle of the HyperGES fellowship, offering scientists all over the world the chance to conduct their own hypergravity experiments using ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC, see Figure 79). This fellowship is part of the Access to Space 4 All Initiative of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

Tatpong Tulyananda, leading the winning team, said: “This is a great opportunity and a big step for the space biology research program in Thailand. We are very excited to explore how aquatic plants perform in a hypergravity environment, which might answer questions for future space exploration.”

Figure 54: ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge at the Agency’s technical heart in the Netherlands is seen running here at full speed. The 8-m diameter four-arm centrifuge gives researchers access to a range of hypergravity environments up to 20 times Earth’s gravity for weeks or months at a time. At its fastest, the centrifuge rotates at up to 67 revs per minute, with its six gondolas placed at different points along its arms weighing in at 130 kg, and each capable of accommodating 80 kg of payload. (image credit: ESA –A. Le Floc'h)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the experiment schedule of experiments is not yet settled, although the team aims to conduct its testing before the end of this year.

Located at ESA’s Netherlands-based ESTEC technical center, the LDC is an 8-m diameter four-arm centrifuge that gives researchers access to a range of hypergravity up to 20 times Earth gravity for weeks or months at a time.

Figure 55: Winning team from Mahidol University, Thailand. The team members bring a variety of academic backgrounds to the project, including physics, bio-innovation, biochemistry and electrical engineering (image credit: ESA)

The idea behind this new fellowship is to widen LDC access to teams from all over the world, particularly for teams from developing countries, who may otherwise lack access to such equipment. It is formally known as the ‘United Nations / European Space Agency Fellowship Program on the Large Diameter Centrifuge Hypergravity Experiment Series’, or HyperGES for short.

Figure 56: Studying tiny plant. Sutamas Satthong of Mahidol University studying watermeal under a microscope (image credit: ESA)

ESA Director General Jan Wörner commented: “I congratulate the team of Mahidol University for being the first to win the HyperGES fellowship. This unique initiative by ESA and UNOOSA combines all that space accounts for: high-tech, science and research and international cooperation for the benefit of our societies.”

Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality and head of ESTEC, remarked: "We are pleased and grateful to UNOOSA for this opportunity to open up LDC access to worldwide researchers for testing, in order to explore the role of gravity within, in this case, life support systems. This proposed experiment is a good example of how such ground-based centrifuges can be used to support space activities.”

Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA, said: “We are delighted to announce the selection of the Thailandese team as the first winners of this unique opportunity. Their ambitious project will shed light on an important challenge for space missions, how to produce food and oxygen, potentially leading to important breakthroughs. We look forward to working with the team and ESA to apply their talent to this fascinating question.”

UNOOSA plans to publish the announcement of opportunity for the next HyperGES cycle in the second half of 2020. More information about HyperGES can be found here.

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ESA Academy’s Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Communications Training Course 2020 gives students new perspectives

• 06 March 2020: Thirty Bachelor, Master and PhD students from 11 different ESA Member and Associate States have successfully completed the fifth edition of ESA Academy’s Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Communications Training Course. Taking place between 18 – 21 February 2020, and hosted at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Center, ESEC-Galaxia in Belgium, the course was delivered by a senior ESA engineer from the Operations Department of ESOC. ⁴⁸⁾

Also attending were 20 students who were unable to be present in person, but rather participated via Livestream. Explained one of these, a Spanish student from ISAE-SUPAERO, "this course has been not only a hugely educational experience with the impressively good trainer, but also a really interesting and challenging one that has allowed me to meet some truly interesting people. The fact that the course was livestreamed did not detract at all from its usefulness or my enjoyment of it, and one can only hope to be involved in similar activities in the future."

The course’s objective was to familiarize students with the fundamental concepts that lie at the heart of spacecraft communications. The “Ladybird approach” was taken, meaning that lectures took an overview of topics rather than getting lost in details, with mathematical and analytical perspectives kept to a minimum. The course was peppered with easily understandable examples and accessible diagrams. A secondary objective was to “fill the gap” between spacecraft operators and telecommunications designers. Often designers have difficulty considering the operators’ points of view, which is a challenge that needs to be addressed when designing a ground station or telecommunications subsystem of a spacecraft.

Content was split into six key spacecraft telecommunications topics:

- Signal modulation and demodulation

- Channel coding

- Communication protocols

- Transmission

- Signal reception

- An overview of some real ground stations.

The trainer has many years of experience with spacecraft operations, and was able to supply ample real-life examples of spacecraft missions and operational scenarios, bringing students close to the actual problems that may be encountered. During lectures the participants were challenged with quizzes, putting themselves into the position of operators facing mission communication problems, and inviting them to devise solutions!

The pressure was then turned up as the students were tasked with a group exercise to put theory into practise. They were divided into three teams, which after careful consideration they named Atlas, Sagittarius, and Omega. These teams each had to produce a “Ladybird Design” of the communications system for a fictional mission. On the final day, they had to operate their spacecraft during a simulated communications scenario. Eight online students formed a fourth team in order to complete the exercise. With some tips from the trainer along the way, all teams performed well in the simulation, ably demonstrating the knowledge they had gained in just a few days!

In addition to the lectures and group exercise, the on-site students enjoyed a visit to ESEC-Redu with three Operations Engineers. Beginning with introductions about the site and information about the PROBA and GALILEO satellite programs, the keen attendees continued on to visit the PROBA Operations Room to gain insight into how ESEC-Redu communicates with these satellites. They also explored the Baseband Equipment Room, as well as inside the Redu 1 Antenna (boasting a 15 m diameter dish). During the visit, the students asked questions direct to the satellite and ground station engineers that work in ESEC-Redu, complementing their training by learning from real-life experiences.

“This training course was amazing!”concluded a Portuguese student from Instituto Superior Técnico, participating online. “We had the opportunity to learn a lot of things about spacecraft communication as well as get to know about some of the problems that occurred in the past. This was really insightful and was also one of the main reasons why this course was so engaging! Although the course could be a little demanding at times, since we were learning so many things in so short time, the fact that everyone who participated in the livestream was so enthusiastic and always ready to help each other made me feel really motivated. I would say this was a stupendous opportunity and I am really happy I was able to take part in it.”

Figure 57: After an intense week the university students received their certificates of participation (image credit: ESA)

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New CubeSat missions selected for the third cycle of Fly Your Satellite!

• 02 March 2020: Three university teams have been selected for the third edition of the Fly Your Satellite! program following a call for proposals open in the second half of 2019. The CubeSats’ evaluation and selection was carried out by a CubeSat Evaluation Panel, consisting of ESA experts from a range of disciplines. ⁴⁹⁾

Figure 58: Photo of the participants at the 'Fly your Satellite! 3rd Selection Workshop (photo: ESA)

ESA invited university student teams from ESA Member States, Canada and Slovenia that are developing a one, two or three-unit CubeSat with mainly educational objectives to propose their satellite for the third edition of the “Fly Your Satellite!” (FYS) program. Student teams from many universities worked hard to prepare proposals which were reviewed by a CubeSat Evaluation Panel.

The selection process culminated with a Selection Workshop held at ESTEC in December 2019, where seven teams -shortlisted as the best proposals among the applications submitted to ESA- presented their CubeSat mission. During the same week, the students were offered a number of lectures offered by ESA specialists.

All shortlisted CubeSat student teams did an outstanding job in presenting their missions and responding to the questions raised by the ESA specialists. Although the decision was not easy for the CubeSat Evaluation Panel due to the excellent quality of all CubeSat proposals, finally the following three teams were selected:

• AcubeSAT, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Greece

The Aristotle Space & Aeronautics Team (ASAT) is composed of students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. ASAT is developing a CubeSat to conduct a biological experiment that investigates molecular mechanisms that are affected by the space conditions. In particular, they will probe the dynamic regulation of gene expression of eukaryotic cells in Low Earth Orbit, using advances in Synthetic Biology and MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems).

• SOURCE, University of Stuttgart – Germany

SOURCE (Stuttgart Operated University Research CubeSat for Evaluation and Education) is a mission of the small-satellite student society at the University of Stuttgart with educational and technological objectives. Their CubeSat will monitor the processes involved in uncontrolled entry into Earth's atmosphere by imaging meteoroids and using in-situ heat flux measurements to characterize demise.

• UCAnFly, University of Cadiz – Spain

UCAnFly is an educational nanosatellite developed by a student team from the University of Cadiz. Their objective is to explore the feasibility of novel miniaturized magnetic measurement systems at miliHertz frequencies with low-noise conditions. The mission will allow the in-flight characterization of the system under the harsh space environment.

The selected teams will begin to work on preparing for the Critical Design Review in collaboration with ESA, and their technical documentation will be reviewed by ESA specialists in different areas of expertise.

In recognition of the great work of the other CubeSat teams that unfortunately could not be selected, ESA Education will offer support to the teams, by inviting students to attend one of the training sessions organized by the ESA Academy Training and Learning Program (TLP).

Complementary to the Fly Your Satellite! program, the ESA Education Office offers 5-day training weeks dedicated to CubeSats in collaboration with the ESA Academy Training and Learning Program. The training weeks particularly aim at university students and teams in early phases of CubeSat projects, and include a CubeSats Concurrent Engineering Workshop, and a CubeSat Hands-On Training Week. In the future a CubeSats Testing Training Week will be included in the portfolio.

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A new cycle under Gravity

• 06 February 2020: From the 28th of January to the 31st of February 2020, five student teams participating in the Spin, Drop and Fly Your Thesis! 2020 programs met at ESEC-Galaxia in Belgium for the ESA Academy’s Gravity-Related Experiments Training Week 2020. ⁵⁰⁾

These students, selected at the end of 2019, were provided with elaborate workshops and lectures. The teams got to know one another and their experiments a bit better during the week, and they learned why so many various research fields require altered gravity in order to conduct ground breaking science.

What are the 2020 gravity-related experiments?

Once again, the student experiments selected represent the wide diversity in the sciences and technologies that need altered gravity environments.

The program 'Fly Your Thesis! 2020' will provide parabolic flights to two teams. The British team RELOX aims at monitoring electrolysis efficiency under different g-levels to investigate oxygen production for future manned space mission, and the German team AIMIS-FYT intends to develop a resin 3D-printing process based on UV-curing for space applications.

The Polish team Black Spheres selected for 'Drop Your Thesis!' will analyse objects’ non-linear motion in microgravity conditions generated in the ZARM Drop Tower.

On the other side of gravity’s scale, the program 'Spin your Thesis!' is fully related to biomedical sciences. The Portuguese team ARTEMIS will study the impacts of hypergravity on the efficiency of gastro-intestinal permeability and drug delivery whilst the Italian team TOFU will investigate the effects of hypergravity on the binding of Tau-proteins to microtubules, trying to better understand the mechanisms of diseases such as Alzheimer.

In order to help the teams to reach their ambitious goals, a special recipe was cooked up for this Gravity-Related Experiments Training Week.

Figure 59: Gravity-related experiments training week group photo (photo credit: ESA)

Step 1 - First contact with gravity

After an introduction to ESA and its activities, the workshop started with a lecture on the history of gravity, from Galileo’s discoveries to ESA future missions such as LISA, which will monitor gravitational waves with three satellites localised at Lagrange Point L1. Not all the students had a space-related background and this first glimpse of space activities raised their interest:

"The GREAT training week was a fruitful experience! […] Being able to be in the Space Agency and contact with space related matters was really a unique opportunity for us and aroused even more interest to the space science," commented a student from Artemis.

Figure 60: Presentation of the effect of gravity on the vestibulo-ocular system (photo credit: ESA)

After such an inspiring way to initiate this week dedicated to gravity-related experiments, practical activities were carried out to demonstrate concrete examples of gravity in our everyday environment. The students had the opportunity to grow their own seeds in a simulated micro-gravity setup to alter natural gravitropism, monitor the effect of gravity on their own vestibular-ocular system and blood pressure.

Step 2 - Glimpse of advice from the platforms’ experts

No one is better able to teach the students how to design experiments for specific platforms than the platform experts. Therefore, engineers and scientists working for the Large Centrifuge Diameter (ESTEC, The Netherlands), the Zero-G A-310 (Novespace, France) and the Bremen Drop Tower (ZARM, Germany) were invited to present their facilities and meet the teams. This prime contact sealed the first of numerous upcoming meetings as the students will also be in direct contact with these experts during the development of their experiment.

These face-to-face meetings enabled the teams to better frame their objectives and make early discoveries of the main technical challenges of their experiments. The sessions with the experts paid off, as students from Black Spheres and AIMIS-FYT remarked.

“All the lectures, training sessions and time with engineers were really well tailored to help define the project properly”.

“The experts shared a lot of helpful information in a very efficient way, which will help us a lot in the upcoming development process”.

In addition, former students who participated in last year’s programs delivered presentations on their own experiences, thus giving precious lessons-learned on the challenges the new teams will face.

Step 3 – A touch of hands-on

The development of an experiment set-up, whether for parabolic flight, drop tower or centrifuge, also requires at least basic engineering knowledge. Hence, interactive workshops on system engineering, 3D design and automation were delivered in order to help the students further develop their skills.

The aim of the system engineering workshop was to provide the students with enough knowledge on setting requirements to their experiments in accordance with ECSS standards, concepts that most students encountered for the first-time last week but are at the heart of all space-related projects.

In order to gain knowledge valuable for the design of their hardware, half of the students attended a workshop on SolidWorks, where they were taught the main rules of Computer-Aided Design. Finally, as for some platforms it will not be possible to manually operate the experiments during their execution, an automation workshop allowed students to learn how to implement automation techniques in experiments.

Step 4 – The final hint of organization

For most students, participating in a hands-on gravity-related project offers them a first encounter to a large project involving many stakeholders and external partners. Topics such as project and risk management, finances, documentation, communication and outreach were discussed in great length. Especially in times of pressure and stress, these aspects are often overlooked, when in reality they are crucial for good project completion. The message was well received by the team: “The lectures about how to manage relationships with stakeholders and the preparatory work before the campaign were fundamental", said one student from team TOFU. Said another, “The training week gave us the opportunity to acquire knowledge about how to manage our project successfully. In particular, what I really appreciated was the part dedicated to project communication because nowadays it's very difficult to sensitize people about scientific research".

The intense week ended with an engaging lecture by the French ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who flew twice, to MIR and the ISS.

Figure 61: Léopold Eyharts, French astronaut, giving a lecture about the International Space Station (photo credit: ESA)

Now that the workshop is over, the teams are back home, motivated to pursue the development of their experiment. Besides preparing the team for the year ahead, the workshop was also valuable from an individual point of view, as summarized by another student from TOFU: "This experience will be one of the most crucial in my professional and scientific development. I've discovered and acquired plenty of tools about thinking, projecting and implementing research, all of which will be determinant in my future career."

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Concurrent Engineering takes students to the edge of the Solar System

• 31 January, 2020: 30 university students from 12 different ESA Member States and Canada have begun the new year in style by attending ESA Academy’s latest Concurrent Engineering Workshop. Held from 14 to 17 January 2020, the event took place at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility, ESA-ESEC, Belgium — which is also home to ESA’s educational Concurrent Design Facility (CDF). Providing tuition and technical expertise were two ESA Systems Engineers, supported by a National Trainee as a Systems Engineering Assistant, all from ESA’s Systems and Concurrent Engineering Section. ⁵¹⁾

Figure 62: Group photo of participating students (image credit: ESA)

The workshop’s goal was to familiarize students with the Concurrent Engineering approach, and its many benefits for spacecraft design. Participants would also gain experience with the Open Concurrent Design Tool (OCDT) used in ESA’s CDF.

On the very first day, the students were given their challenge: use Concurrent Engineering to design a mission, called EDGE, to explore our Solar System’s heliopause – the limiting region where the Sun’s solar wind is dissipated by the interstellar medium. To make this ambitious task even more difficult, EDGE would need to be very low-cost, making CubeSat’s technology the practical choice. Could the students work together to complete their design in just four days?

A French student from Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées explained, “It was amazing to share a few days with people with the same passion for space, because if you put them together you can only have an amazing result. It was perfectly balanced between working hard, being super focussed, having fun, improving technical skills, communication skills, working as a big team and celebrating all together.”

The participants got to work right away, splitting into different teams to cover the vital aspects:

- Configuration

- Structures

- Trajectory analysis

- Propulsion

- Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystems (AOCS)

- Power

- Thermal

- Communications & Data Handling

- Optics & Sensors.

Figure 63: University students learning about the Concurrent Engineering approach (image credit: ESA)

The ESA Systems Engineers encouraged the students to create several iterations of their designs, with each one an improvement on the previous effort. Assessing the needs and functions of each team was an important early step, before proceeding to consolidate the overall design.

It did not take long before the scale of the task became apparent. Reaching the edge of the Solar System is hugely challenging, especially when restricted to only CubeSats! To tackle the volume and mass constraints while guaranteeing the scientific performance of the mission, they had to consider many different trajectories and system options, including electrical propulsion, gravity assists, a large deployable antenna and a solar reflector.

The students then continued with their refinements, carefully considering what needed extra attention, before the third and final iteration. This allowed further improvements and fine-tuning of all the sub-systems, enhancing the design toward an ultimate convergence of all of the components.

A German student from Darmstadt University of Technology was particularly impressed with what Concurrent Engineering makes possible. “Going from a state of ‘how could we ever hope to achieve this?’ to a concept that actually looks feasible in a matter of days, reiterating and planning together with all subsections present in one room, showed me what the Concurrent Engineering approach is capable of — not just for the space sector, but for every early design phase of a project! I hope to apply it at a future workplace one day.”

To conclude the week, the students presented their results to the ESA experts. They detailed their final design, explaining the trade-offs they had to perform to obtain the best results, as well as proposing potential improvements and open tasks to still be performed. The experts were highly satisfied with the overall design and the results of each team! The students then received their certificate of participation. This document, along with the transcript of the workshop, will allow the participants to claim ECTS credit(s) from their university.

In addition to the workshop’s core challenge, participants also had the chance to play the EcoDesign game, learning about the environmental impacts of a space mission and lifecycle assessments of a satellite. A visit to ESEC-Redu and the PROBA Control Room was also organized, which was greatly enjoyed by all.

“It has been an incredible week,”declared an Italian student from the University of Bristol. “We had full immersion into the process that CDF engineers at ESTEC use every time they develop a space mission concept and assess its feasibility. And we got to use it for an extremely challenging mission. I had the time of my life and would definitely love to wake up every day to go to work if this was my job. This experience has enriched me so much, both professionally and personally. Thanks to everyone that made this possible.”

Figure 64: Final design presentation of the Structures team (image credit: ESA)

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University teams rose to the challenge during ‘Fly Your Satellite!’ Selection Workshop this week

• 17 December 2019: For the past week, 9-13 December 2019, 60 university students representing seven teams from seven universities have been taking part in ESA Education’s Fly Your Satellite! Selection Workshop, hosted at ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Center). These participants were vying for the chance to be accepted to the Fly Your Satellite! program, in which they will design, test and launch their own CubeSat – a miniature fully-functional satellite – into space! Having successfully completed the proposal and short-listing processes earlier this year, the Selection Workshop was the mandatory next step toward admission to the program. ⁵²⁾

Figure 65: Group photo of Selection Workshop attendees (image credit: ESA)

The participating teams and their missions were:

1) Aalto-3, Aalto University, Finland: demonstrate complex signal analysis with a Software-Defined Radio payload.

2) AcubeSAT, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece: demonstrate lab-on-a-chip technology for biological experiments in Low Earth Orbit.

3) CLIMB, University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Austria: use a propulsion system to reach the inner Van-Allen belt and measure the radiation environment.

4) MIST, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden: characterize the radiation environment and radiation effects in Low Earth Orbit.

5) SOURCE, University of Stuttgart, Germany: image meteors during entry into Earth’s atmosphere, and characterize re-entry of the CubeSat.

6) UCAnFly, Universidad de Cadiz, Spain: measure magnetic fields with low noise using shielded magnetoresistive sensors.

7) WUSAT-3, University of Warwick, United Kingdom: demonstrate a signal direction finding payload to locate wildlife tracking tags.

Figure 66: FYS (Fly Your Satellite) students attending lectures during the workshop (image credit: ESA)

The students presented their projects (30 minutes per team) to a panel of ESA experts and they were questioned on various aspects of their missions during a subsequent question and answer session. Students were required to justify design decisions to the panel, proving that they and their missions have what it takes to be successful. A set of lectures were offered by ESA specialists, dedicated to equipping potential teams with the knowledge and resources necessary to undertake the first milestones of the Fly Your Satellite! program. The topics of the lectures included project level activities, such as Assembly, Integration and Verification, Product Assurance and CubeSat reliability or Space Debris Mitigation, as well as technical content on the subsystems of a satellite.

The students will now wait for the evaluation outcome and to find out if they can progress to the first phase. Successful teams will then be challenged to prepare for the Critical Design Review of their satellites. To complete this, the selected teams will have to produce a “data package”, which is the documentation to be presented to ESA reviewers so they can assess the readiness and maturity of the selected student teams’ projects. With this information, ESA experts will be equipped to identify any blocking points to be resolved by students in order to pass the Critical Design Review.

• 05 December 2019: Eleni joined ESA in October 2018 to work on the MC (Visual Monitoring Camera) of Mars Express. She shares her experience from ESAC in Spain where she helps observe the red planet. ⁵³⁾

Hi Eleni, could you introduce yourself to our readers?

- My name is Eleni, I am 23 years old, I was born and raised in the UK but am half British and half Greek. I have been passionate about space since a very young age so after initial studies in Geography, I studied for a Masters Degree in Planetary Science at UCL in London during which time I applied to be a YGT at ESA.

What do you as a YGT?

- At ESA, I work for the Mars Express Mission in the Science Ground Segment Team at ESAC. My role specifically deals with the Visual Monitoring Camera instrument. This is an instrument on-board Mars Express which was originally designed to be an engineering camera and is now used as a scientific instrument.

Figure 67: Photo of Eleni Ravanis at ESA/ESAC (photo credit: ESA, Loraine B)

How did that shift in use come about?

- The VMC (Visual Monitoring Camera) is a wide-angle camera, which means that we can take pictures of Mars with the entire planet, or large regions, in the shot. It is a relatively low-resolution camera but it allows us to collect scientific information and data for atmospheric observation. For example, in the past few days we have seen evidence of high-altitude clouds around Mars, which our science team is studying.

Figure 68: Image from VMC on-board Mars Express acquired on 27 November 2019 (image credit: ESA)

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

- This changes throughout the month as we work through the planning cycle for Mars Express. Over the past couple of days, I have been adding limb observations for VMC, using ESA’s planning program ‘MAPPS’. I find it really exciting to know that we plan these now, and then in about two months a camera orbiting around Mars will take these pictures! The rest of the month, I am working on data processing with our pipeline written in Python, and discussing things like calibration with our science colleagues at the UPV/EHU university in Bilbao. Most of my time right now is spent preparing datasets for ingestion into the Planetary Science Archive, so that VMC data can be more widely used by the community.

Do you have fun?

- Definitely, the Mars Express team are really kind, enthusiastic and supportive, and I was given responsibilities quite quickly which I liked.

Have you always been passionate about space?

- Definitely! Although my undergraduate degree was in geography I have always been passionate about space. Most people think that you have to study physics to work in the space sector, I don’t think that is true. I think it is useful to have a background in geography and/or planetary science and apply that to other areas.

From all the opportunities published, how did you choose the one you applied for?

- I was really interested in Mars missions or future Human Exploration missions so my first action was to look for ‘Mars’ using the search tool! After I narrowed down my selection, I was really inspired by the opportunity related to the Mars Express Mission and happily my background was also better suited to this position.

- Interestingly, during the Young Professional Event at ESA this year, another YGT told me “I almost applied for your position” and the funny thing was that I almost applied for her position! So it ended well that we both applied for the one that we eventually got!

What are your plans for next year?

- I am now into an extension for a second year, so I am very excited to continue my mission with the Mars Express team! After this year, I hope to do a PhD (continuing with Mars science).

And we usually ask for one piece of advice to share with people who would like to apply. What would yours be?

- Apply for the opportunity that you find the most interesting. Look carefully at the criteria, select one and show how it matches your profile and your interests.

- And if you are selected for an interview, and at some point someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer, explain how you would try to know. During my interview, my supervisor asked me something I didn’t know. It was a bit daunting, but I replied “ok, now I don’t know, but here is what I would do to find the answer” and that is the attitude they were looking for.

• 02 December 2019: Nicolas Soubirous, Spacecraft Operations Engineer, shares his YGT (Young Graduate Trainee) experience at ESA, working in the EarthCARE, SEOSat & SMOS Missions Operations Unit at ESOC, Germany. ⁵⁴⁾

Figure 69: Nicolas Soubirous of France shares his YGT (Young Graduate Trainee) experience at ESA (video credit: ESA)

• 30 November 2019: Ina's YGT experience in space architecture and infrastructure. ⁵⁵⁾

Figure 70: Ina Cheibas talks about her Young Graduate Trainee (YGT) experience in the Advanced Concepts Team at ESTEC, The Netherlands, where her role was to propose and develop additive manufacturing techniques for a space habitat with in situ resources (video credit: ESA)

• 26 November 2019: Pierre-Yves Cousteau is a marine conservationist, professional diver and filmmaker. Prior to exploring the oceans like his father Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the famous undersea explorer, he joined ESA as a Young Graduate Trainee in 2008. Pierre-Yves shares his recollections of ESA and the space sector and his experience of now being the head of his own marine conservation citizen’s organization. ⁵⁶⁾

- One of his ongoing activities, Project Hermes, aims to improve climate models by supplementing sea surface temperatures from satellites with in situ measurements, to better understand and protect the ocean.

- Pierre-Yves, after several years, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your YGT experience?

- The amazing colleagues and friends that I met there. I also keep fond memories of casually meeting astronauts in the office hallway, how cool is that? I also remember strolling around the propulsion laboratory and seeing the amazing projects going on in there. ESTEC is such a playground for the mind, constantly stimulating!

- What did you do as a YGT?

- I worked on coordination between the Agency’s engineers and scientists who were planning to fly biology experiments to the International Space Station (ISS). My job was to go back and forth between the two until all requirements for both parties were met. Once done, I gathered all the information into a report, one of the many moving pieces required to take the experiment to the ISS.

- What did you study that led you to this job?

- I started my undergraduate degree in general biology. I was passionate about understanding the origin of life on Earth and exobiology. That quickly brought me from the stars to the oceans, but at the time I joined the International Space University to learn more about space studies.

- This led me to do an internship at NASA Ames. An amazing experience. We went to the Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on Earth where it rains every eleven years. Due to its surface conditions, it is considered a Mars analogue on Earth. I was in charge of finding and studying nematodes in the soil. These microscopic worms have the uncanny ability to remain dormant in a dry state (anhydrobiosis) for thousands of years until water becomes available again.

- After my internship, I really wanted to understand all these processes of anhydrobiosis and evolutionary biochemistry. So I went back to university for a Master’s degree in biochemistry before I applied for a YGT position in biology at ESTEC.

- And after your YGT, did you continue to work in the space sector?

- I became a diving instructor just before finishing my YGT and while I was scuba diving, I realized that I wanted to focus on that. I really love diving and my name being Cousteau, I thought ‘maybe I should do something about it!’ And I did.

- I founded Cousteau Divers, the organization I’ve run for 10 years, with the aim of bringing together a community of divers and ocean lovers, and giving them a way to effectively share their knowledge of the ocean. Basically, a platform to share what we explore during our dives, pictures of the species we see, how the area evolves. Cousteau Divers has evolved quite a bit in the past ten years and this year we’re launching Project Hermes to monitor climate change beneath the surface of the ocean (www.project-hermes.com).

- Tell us more about Project Hermes!

- What I do now is more related to the conservation of the natural environment on Earth and specifically the oceans. There is such an emergency to protect our planet so I am trying to do my bit in that. - One of the hopes for Project Hermes is to help ground-truth satellites measuring sea surface temperatures and improve climate models.

- The ocean plays a major role in the climate system, it is basically Earth’s air conditioning, absorbing 90% of the planet’s heat. In the shallow areas, there is a lot of exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean through wave action and a lot of the ocean’s biodiversity is located in the coastal areas. Dive computers are unfortunately not accurate enough to measure temperatures for scientific purposes. We are specifically looking to monitor thermoclines, the temperature layers in the oceans where change can be several degrees within a 2-3 cm depth change. There are missing pieces of information today in our understanding of how the oceans work.

- How will temperature be monitored around the world?

- Thanks to the work of Project Hermes volunteers including our two brilliant engineers, Brad Bazemore and Brendon Walters, our device ‘Remora’ was born this year. It can easily be fixed onto a scuba diving tank which means that any diver around the world can participate in this project. The device is a data platform collecting information with high precision and sending it seamlessly to our cloud application in near real-time. The entire project is open-source, and invites divers and engineers to collaborate in better understanding the ocean.

- What’s your advice to students who would like to apply for a YGT?

- Do your best and enjoy the ride. The more you put into your work environment, the more you get out of it. In retrospect (and this doesn’t apply only to my YGT experience but to most of my career and my personal life too), it is not so much where you work and who you work for than who you work with that can shape your experience. At ESA, I found really wonderful, inspiring people who helped me grow as a person, professionally and personally.

Figure 71: Pierre-Yves Cousteau (photo credit: Remy Steiner)

• 25 November 2019: YGT experience in the ESA Future Missions Office. ⁵⁷⁾

Figure 72: Priya Patel, System Engineer, talks about her experience as a Young Graduate Trainee (YGT) working on the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna Mission (LISA), video credit: ESA

• 14 September 2019: How to come up with an idea for Mission Space Lab. ⁵⁸⁾

Figure 73: For those looking for ideas for Mission Space Lab, this video offers some tips on how to come up with experiments by taking into account the AstroPi sensors available as well as some practical constraints (video credit: ESA)

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Some ESA Test & Support Facilities

The Testing Support Facilities are part of the Engineering Services Section and cover the following main areas: ⁵⁹⁾

• Electrical, optomechanical and dimensional metrology

• Electronic design and manufacturing, maintenance of electronic equipment

• Mechanical design, multiphysics numerical simulations and mechanical manufacturing.

This Section is ISO 9001 certified. It is organised as follows:

Metrology Laboratory

This Laboratory is tasked with performing mechanical, optomechanical and dimensional measurements for the ESTEC Test Center, ESA laboratories and ESA projects. It also participates in the development and maintenance of auxiliary test equipment and methods for the ESTEC Test Center.

The Laboratory, located in the class 100,000 of the Test Center, has the following capabilities:

• Optical alignment (theodolite, laser tracker)

• Mechanical positioning and alignment (two 3D coordinate measurement machines, laser tracker)

• Spacecraft alignment, payload assembly and alignment (Class 10 000 cleanliness is achievable)

• Interface checks and 3D dimensional measurement

• Laser interferometry (linear optics)

• Vacuum-compatible 3D measurement system (videogrammetry)

• Vacuum-compatible infrared camera system for thermography

• Reverse engineering (part to computer-aided-design modelling)

• Strain/stress/roughness measurements.

Support tasks in its field of competence have been carried out for numerous ESA projects including XMM and Cluster (focal length measurement); MetOp, PROBA-2, Galileo GIOVE-A, COROT, ATV, GOCE, LISA Pathfinder and Herschel-Planck.

Laboratory Equipment Pool

The main task of the Laboratory Equipment Pool (LEP) is to organise the calibration and repair of electronic equipment used on the ESTEC site. Associated tasks include maintaining in-house primary standards, performing inspections of incoming equipment and technical consultancy. The LEP manages a pool of electronic measurement and test equipment for temporary loan to other ESTEC laboratories or Test Center customers.

The LEP belongs to the engineering area of the ESTEC Test Center. It works closely with the engineers of the Electronic Design Office (EDO), facilitating mutual cooperation which is beneficial for electronic test set ups and measurement methods. Expertise on electronic calibration and temperature/humidity sensors is available.

The Laboratory has the following capabilities:

• Primary electrical standards which are traceable to national and international standards

• A Faraday cage which allows high-frequency measurements and ensure disturbance-free measurements

• Support for measurement set-up definition, loan of measurement equipment

• A network of accessible LEP database to retrieve data concerning in-house electronic equipment

• A facility for temperature/humidity sensor calibration

• Management of outside calibration control.

The LEP is ISO 17025 accredited for the following measurements: DC voltage, resistance, capacitance, temperature/humidity.

Figure 74: Camera mounted inside the ESTEC Test Center's LSS (Large Space Simulator), image credit: ESA

Electronic Design Office / Electrical Workshop

The Electronic Design Office (EDO) has the task of designing, manufacturing and assembling electronic hardware. It supports ESTEC testing facilities in the conception and realisation of new equipment or the modification and upgrading of existing equipment. It also provides advice to project groups to assess electronic or electromechanical design concepts by simulation or breadboarding – the creation of test models.

Located close to the ESTEC Test Center the EDO is in direct contact with the Electrical Workshop (EWS), qualified for electronic hardware prototyping and manufacturing as well as flight hardware assembly.

The EDO is equipped with numerous tools for electronic design, combined with specific expertise in many electronics fields. The EDO, with the EWS, have the following capabilities:

• Electrical design tools (for example Pspice, fully programmable gate array (FPGA) software, thermal analysis software for printed circuit board (PCB) design) including various measurement tools

• A large amount for special tools for cable harness manufacturing, PCB manufacturing and assembly and modification/repair of medium-sized electromechanical devices.

• A clean room for flight hardware assembly, integration and repair.

EDO and EWS are ISO 9001 certified as part of the Engineering Services Section.

Mechanical Design Office / Mechanical Workshop

The Mechanical Design Office (MDO) participates in the design and realisation of dedicated test equipment and mechanical ground support equipment (MGSE) for the ESTEC Test Center and its customers.

It cooperates closely with the other units to carry out investment and maintenance tasks to update or modify the test facilities. It is in direct contact with the Mechanical Workshop (MWS) which can handle a large variety of mechanical manufacturing tasks.

Located close to the ESTEC Test Center, the MWS provides a quick reaction time when ad-hoc support is urgently requested. It also backs up ESTEC laboratories in the field of parts and components manufacturing or rapid prototyping.

The MDO performs multi-physics simulations at the request of customers such as vibration test runs of shakers or structural simulations of ESTEC Test Centre hardware or MGSE. It maintains a Product Data Management system with a 3D model database of the ESTEC Test Center.

The MDO is in possession of state-of-the-art computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) equipment and simulation software tools for mechanical design and manufacturing. The MWS is equipped with traditional and numerically controlled machines.

The capabilities of the MDO and MWS include:

• CAD/CAM stations equipped with advanced software modules for design, simulation or manufacturing

• A Product Management System (SMARTeam) including a large repository of the ESTEC Test Center facilites.

• Multi-physics vibration facilities simulators

• Standard tooling and equipment

• High-precision 5-axis computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine

• High-precision CNC turning machine

• Sheet metal manufacturing including a CNC press break

• Vacuum compatible welding and soldering corner

• 3D rapid prototyping printer

• Multi-layer insulation (MLI) blanket room

As part of the Engineering Services Section both MDO and MWS are ISO 9001 accredited.

GRALS (GNC Rendezvous, Approach and Landing Simulator)

The robotic arm, attached to a 33 m track is ESA's GRALS (GNC Rendezvous, Approach and Landing Simulator). Part of the Agency's Orbital Robotics and Guidance, Navigation and Control Laboratory, GRALS is used to simulate close approach and capture of uncooperative orbital targets, such as drifting satellites or to rendezvous with asteroids. It can also be used to test ideas for descending to surfaces, such as a lunar or martian landing. ^{60) 61)}

The moveable arm can be equipped with cameras to test vision-based software on a practical basis to close on a scale model of its target. Image-processing algorithms recognize various features on the surface of the model satellite seen here, and uses those features to calculate the satellite’s tumble, allowing the chaser to safely come closer. Alternatively, the robotic arm can be fitted with a gripper, to test out actually securing a target, or with altimeters or other range sensors.

The Orbital Robotics and GNC Lab is located at ESA’s ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands.

Figure 75: This robotic arm, attached to a 33 m track, is ESA's GRALS (GNC Rendezvous, Approach and Landing Simulator), image credit: ESA, M. Grulich

GRALS tests and status

• 01 October 2020: A camera closes in on a detailed model satellite, to simulate the extreme ‘guidance navigation and control’ (GNC) challenge of rendezvousing with an uncooperative target, such as a derelict satellite or distant asteroid. ⁶²⁾

Figure 76: This scene takes place in ESA’s GRALS (GNC Rendezvous, Approach and Landing Simulator), based at the ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, which is used to test vision-based navigation algorithms as well as cameras in development for future space debris removal, as well as the Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence (image credit: ESA, M Schwendener, L Pasqualetto-Cassinis)

• 05 June 2020: GRALS was recently used to try out a new GNC testbed system for improved high-fidelity testing of navigation cameras, processors and other hardware, developed with ASTOS Solutions GmbH in Germany, supported through ESA’s General Support Technology Program. ⁶³⁾

Figure 77: Photo of GRALS being used to simulate close approach to targets such as drifting satellites or asteroids (image credit: ESA, G. Porter)

ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC)

ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge gives scientists access to high gravity levels for minutes, days or even weeks on end.
Based at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) is a centrifuge designed not for astronaut training but specifically for research. Jointly financed by ESA and the Dutch government, the LDC is available for a wide variety of applications. ⁶⁴⁾

Figure 78: The 8 m diameter LDC can operate at up to 20 g, with four gondolas able to accommodate up to 80 kg of payloads, with central gondola as a control. Two additional gondolas can be optionally attached to on mid-arm to simultaneously provide different g-levels. Experiments can be spun for up to six months non-stop (video credit: ESA)

In order to understand and describe the influence of gravity in systems the observation of behaviour in microgravity and at 1 g (where g is the gravitational acceleration at the surface of the Earth) is not sufficient. A broad gravity spectrum has to be explored to complete the scientific picture of how gravity has an impact on a system: samples have to be exposed to a variety of acceleration values above 1 g (hypergravity). ⁶⁵⁾

Figure 79: Pohoto of ESA's LDC (Large Diameter Centrifuge) facility at ESTEC (photo: ESA)

Status and events of LDC

• October 02, 2020: Last week, a team of university students from Portugal successfully completed its research under various hypergravity levels in ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) located at ESTEC, Noordwijk. ⁶⁶⁾

Figure 80: Team Artemis during Spin Your Thesis! campaign. Working in close proximity, the team had to wear face masks and shields at all times (image credit: ESA)

- The team has been developing its experiment since the selection last October 2019. During this period, they not only learned how to prepare for scientific research in another establishment, but all team members were also highly active in project and financial management, logistics, coordination and outreach. An additional challenge this year was the COVID-19 pandemic that affected all aspects of their project. This made the SYT! campaign extraordinary in terms of learning goals for students. As the leader of the team mentioned, “Being at the European Space Agency for the "Spin Your Thesis!" campaign was a truly unforgettable experience. The preparation for the campaign was not easy since everything has to be programmed in advance and taking into account the pandemic situation. It was hard work but was absolutely worth it!”

- Composed of four Portuguese PhD students specialized in nanomedicine and translational drug delivery from University of Porto i3S group, the Artemis team investigated the role of increased gravity stress on permeability of an intestinal cell line using specialized transwells which allows to culture and test permeability in a variety of ways, namely electrical resistance and ability for compounds to traverse the monolayer of cells.

- Systemic delivery of orally-administered biopharmaceuticals remains a real challenge due to rapid enzymatic degradation in the stomach and gut and minimal absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Nanoparticle formulations and encapsulation of drugs have been extensively studied as a strategy for the effective treatment of several diseases, since they are a strategy to overcome those biological obstacles and to improve the delivery of biopharmaceuticals through biological barriers.

- The team believe that by investigating the cellular model used to test the absorption of biopharmaceuticals under environmental stresses such as shear stress and increased hydrostatic pressure would yield accurate results on the permeability of intestinal epithelium.

Figure 81: The Artemis team with the ESA Academy and ESA TEC support staff during the Spin Your Thesis! campaign (image credit: ESA)

- There is plenty more work and analyses to be performed back in the university of Porto labs, and the team is enthusiastic about the experience, “We were able to contact with professionals specialized in the gravity field, which allowed us to acquire new knowledge and improve our practical skills. This was a unique experience, both personally and professionally that will never be forgotten. We would recommend anyone to go on this fantastic ride!”

- The employees working at the LDC and at ESA Academy enjoy working with the students. “Every year, Spin Your Thesis! brings new students who are so eager to perform top quality science on this centrifuge, said Nigel Savage, Program Coordinator for university student experiments. “Their boundless enthusiasm is contagious and we do everything to help them achieve their goals. We are confident that their first ‘professional’ encounter was positive for them and that they will pursue their career in gravity related research.”

- The first part of our SYT! 2020 campaign has been successfully completed but stay tuned for the second team’s experiment “TOFU”, which will investigate the degeneration of neurons via tau protein aggregation in hypergravity.

- If you are interested in participating in the SYT! campaign, please click here and see how you can propose and conduct your own experiment in altered gravity.

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CATR (Compact Antenna Test Range)

CATR is located at ESA/ESTEC in the Netherlands. This anechoic chamber is used to test space antennas of 1 m across or less, or else entire small satellites. ⁶⁷⁾

- With a diameter of 8 m, the LDC offers hypergravity environments from 1 to 20 g simulated by the centripetal forces due to rotation. Within the LCD, scientists can conduct studies involving cells, plants and small animals, as well as physical science and technology demonstrations. Data acquired in the LDC are particularly important since observations done in microgravity may not be sufficient enough. Therefore, a broader gravity spectrum with gravity levels rising above 1 g can usefully add to the general scientific data set. Another advantage of the LDC is that the different g levels can be controlled for an extended period of time (even up to 6 months, although students in the SYT (Spin Your Thesis)! campaign will only use it for 2,5 days) with a constant supply of power, gas or liquids.

Figure 82: CATR is screened against external electromagnetic radiation, while their inside walls is covered with pyramid-shaped non-reflective foam to absorb signals and prevent unwanted reflections, mimicking infinite space (image credit: ESA, G. Porter)

- In addition, a pair of wall-mounted parabolic cylindrical aluminium reflectors alter the shape of signals as they reflect them, as if they have travelled thousands of kilometers instead of a handful of meters.

- The CATR is supplemented by the larger Hybrid European RF and Antenna Test Zone (HERTZ) for larger antenna or satellite testing, as well as a lab for the testing of candidate antenna materials.

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ESA's Hertz Chamber

Isolated from the outside world with radio- and sound-absorbing internal walls, the chamber simulates the boundless conditions of space. Its hybrid nature makes it unique: Hertz can assess radio signals from antennas either on a local ‘near-field’ basis or as if the signal has crossed thousands of kilometers of space, allowing it to serve all kinds of satellites and antenna systems. ⁶⁸⁾

Figure 83: A view inside ESA’s cavernous Hertz chamber for radio-frequency testing of satellites. This photo was taken during a visit to ESA’s technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands by artist and photographer Monica Alcazar-Duarte: “Once the door of the chamber was opened I was presented with a landscape that could have come from a science fiction film. I know this is not the case of course but the room was incredibly inspiring.” (image credit: ESA, Monica Alcazar-Duarte)

ESA/ESTEC operates some of the largest European test facilities dedicated (but not limited) to testing of space hardware. Among them is the Antenna Laboratory. The Antenna Laboratory, through its several facilities and over 30 years of existence, provides state-of-the-art measurement services to ESA projects and external customers and explores and develops new measurement techniques. They comprise various labs located in ESTEC, ESA and an offsite facility, the DTU-ESA Spherical Near Field Antenna Test Facility, operated by the Technical University of Denmark, provides additional services. ⁶⁹⁾

Between them, these facilities support testing across the entire spectrum of antenna development, from characterizing the properties of candidate materials for antennas, including measurement of their RF absorption, reflectivity and dielectric properties, to assessing the performance of antenna subsystems up to the qualification validation of full-scale complex radiating systems such as a fully-integrated satellite incorporating multiple antennas aboard.

Figure 84: Antenna Test Facilities and Electro-Magnetic Compatibility Laboratories (image credit: ESA)

The Antenna Laboratory provides support to both ESA projects and external customers – including small-medium-sized companies lacking access to comparable private-sector facilities – needing to assess new antenna designs and techniques and qualifying designs for flight. This has included some of ESA’s largest flight hardware.

Projects that received recent support include antenna measurements for forest monitoring mission Biomass, ongoing tests for the next generation of Galileo, as well as numerous CubeSat missions. The facility has also been greatly involved in the testing of mesh samples for large deployable reflectors.

Antenna Test Facilities

Antennas have evolved into an indispensable tool for radio-based space science, exploration and Earth observation, allowing in-depth characterization of many proprieties of distinct space bodies, such as galaxies, planets, stars, and comets, enabled through the use of imaging radar, scatterometry and radiometry. ⁷⁰⁾

To serve this variety of applications, a broad portfolio of different antenna technologies are continuously being developed, from small navigation antennas overlooking the whole sky, to dish-shaped 'high-gain' antennas, which concentrate the radio signals they send or receive into a very small area to maximize signal strength. Typically operating across thousands of kilometers, if their pointing direction is off by even a tiny fraction of a degree then their radio beam may end up weakened, or hundreds of kilometers away from their intended target.

Modern antennas are often extremely complex: the current generation of telecommunication satellites transmit multiple small beams instead of a single main beam. Antenna dishes are carefully shaped to optimize signal strength across the region being served and enable frequency reuse for different channels while avoiding 'cross-talking'. Additionally, radio-based instruments for space science research, planetary exploration and Earth observation make use of a very large frequency spectrum, from a few megahertz up to (sub)-millimeter waves, operating well beyond 500 GHz.

The Antenna Testing Laboratories have the challenging task of testing these complex space antennas. By doing this they reduce the risks inherent in adopting state-of-the-art instruments within ESA programs and allow future missions to be selected with confidence. They are made up of four test facilities, the Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR), the Hybrid European RF and Antenna Test Zone (HERTZ) and the Microwave and (Sub) mm-wave Material RF Characterization Laboratories.

Both CATR and HERTZ are anechoic chambers, screened against external electromagnetic radiation and their inside walls are covered with pyramid-shaped non-reflective foam to absorb signals and prevent unwanted reflections. The CATR can handle antennas of up to 1m in diameter while HERTZ performs measurements on larger antennas or complete satellite payloads. The HERTZ laboratory is also located within a cleanroom area to allow testing of flight hardware.

The Microwave and (Sub) mm-wave Material RF Characterization Laboratories are quasi-optical set-ups based on high performance corrugated horns, grids and refocusing mirrors to allow the determination of complex material properties for antenna applications. The (Sub) mm-wave set-up is installed in a controlled cleanroom environment ensuring adequate conditions for flight hardware testing.

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Expanding ESTEC’s Test Centre

• September 9, 2020: The ESTEC Test Centre is expanding. A new 350 m² cleanroom is being added to the Netherlands-based site, already Europe’s largest facility for satellite testing. ⁷¹⁾

To begin with, 110 foundation piles have been inserted into the sandy soil, ranging in depth from 10 to 17 m. Now ground is being excavated to dig a connecting tunnel bringing power, data, heating and cooling infrastructure to the new cleanroom.

The ESTEC Test Centre is a 3000 m² environmentally-controlled complex nestled in dunes along the Dutch coast, filled with test equipment to simulate all aspects of spaceflight. It is part of ESA’s main technical centre, but is maintained and operated on a commercial basis on the Agency’s behalf by private company European Test Services (ETS) B.V.

Most of the time the ESTEC Test Centre has several test items within its walls simultaneously. Complex planning and traffic management are necessary to ensure every project get access to the facility they need at the time they need it. So sufficient room is required needs to accommodate the different programs and allow their movement between test facilities.

“The new clean room will offer extra space to host satellites as they come on site,” explains Gaetan Piret, overseeing the Test Centre . “It will also host our sensitive micro-vibration measurement facilities, used to characterize the very low vibration generated by mechanisms mounted aboard satellites.”

“For this reason we rejected hammering in the piles,” explains Jan Trautmann of ESA Facilities Management, managing the construction project. “Instead ‘cast in place’ piles were used, involving drilling deep holes, then lowering a steel reinforcement and filling them with concrete. This method generates much less noise and vibration.”

Planned to take account of current COVID-19 restrictions, the aim is to complete the new building by next summer, which will then be linked via large corridor to the current building.

Figure 85: The building work, led by Dutch company Heijmans, is intended to have as little impact on the rest of the site as possible, allowing the rest of the Test Centre to continue nominal operations (image credit: ESA)

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ESA Business Incubation Centers (BICs) — Start-up opportunity for entrepreneurs

ESA Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Office initiated its ESA Business Incubation Centers (ESA BICs) in 2003 to inspire and work with entrepreneurs to turn space-connected business ideas into commercial startup companies. ⁷²⁾

This has proven to be a very successful initiative. Over 700 start-ups have been fostered throughout Europe with thousands of new high tech jobs created thanks to the applications of space systems, the valorization of ESA intellectual properties and the space technologies transfers - and more than 180 new start-ups are taken in yearly at the ESA BICs.

Twenty ESA BICs, spread over more than 60 cities, in 17 European countries have been set-up with more already in the planning. Together with their national partners and ESA the centers provide all the needed technical expertise and business-development support to the more than 300 start-ups currently under incubation.

Many examples are illustrated in the “Our Future in the Space Age” introducing ESA’s technology transfer programme and telling the stories of how some space technologies spin-offs have resulted in innovative applications and smart solutions for citizens on Earth.

Successful ESA BIC entrepreneurs

The ESA BICs provide an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs and start-ups to turn their ideas and inventions into successful businesses in Europe. At the centers they are provided with:

- office space and logistics support

- technical support

- business assistance

- seed money and access to equity loan facilities

- access to inventors, VCs and other finance opportunities

- help to find partners and launch business internationally through the extensive ESA BIC network.

ESA offers business incubation at:

• ESA BIC Noordwijk located in Noordwijk near ESTEC in the Netherlands.

• ESA BIC Hessen & Baden-Württemberg with three centers located in Darmstadt near ESOC, in Reutlingen close to Stuttgart, and at Friedrichshafen-Immenstadt in Germany.

• ESA BIC Lazio located in Rome near ESRIN in Italy.

• ESA BIC Bavaria with three centers located in Oberpfaffenhofen, Nürnberg and Ottobrunn, Germany.

• ESA BIC UK with three centers located at Harwell, in Edinburgh and in Daresbury in UK.

•ESA BIC Belgium with 6 centers located in Redu, Charleroi, Liège, Louvain-la-Neuve, Antwerpen and Ghent.

• ESA BIC Sud France with 11 centers located in the Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Corsica, and Auvergne Rhone Alpes regions in the south of France, and in French Guyana.

• ESA BIC Barcelona in Spain.

• ESA BIC Portugal with three centers in Coimbra, in Porto and in Cascais near to Lisbon.

• ESA BIC Madrid Region with four centers in Pozuelo, in Tres Cantos, in Leganés and in Mostoles, all in the Madrid region in Spain.

• ESA BIC Sweden with three centers in Luleå, in Uppsala and in Trollhättan.

• ESA BIC Czech Republic with two centers in Prague and in Brno.

• ESA BIC Austria with two centers in Graz and in Wiener Neustadt.

• ESA BIC Ireland with four centers in Cork, in Athlon, in Maynooth and in Ringaskiddy.

• ESA BIC Switzerland with the center in Zürich and supporting start-ups throughout the country through virtual incubation.

• ESA BIC Estonia with two centers in Tartu and Talling.

• ESA BIC Finland with two centers in Espoo and Tarku.

• ESA BIC Nord France with six centers in Brest, in Nantes, in Paris, in Lille, in Troyes and in Caen.

• ESA BIC Hungary in Budapest.

• ESA BIC Norway with four centers in Kjeller, Oslo, Stavanger and Tromsø.

Figure 86: Overview of ESA BICs in Europe (image credit: ESA)

Figure 87: The network of ESA Business Incubation Centers (ESA BICs) consists of 20 centers in 16 European countries, providing in more than 60 cities the needed technical expertise and business-development support to the more than 300 start-ups currently under incubation. To date over 700 start-ups have been fostered throughout Europe with thousands of new high tech jobs created thanks to the applications of space systems, the valorization of ESA intellectual properties and the space technologies transfers - and more than 180 new start-ups are taken in yearly at the ESA BICs (image credit: ESA)

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53) ”Travel to Mars with Eleni Ravanis, YGT at ESA!,” ESA / About Us / Careers at ESA, 05 December 2019, URL: http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Travel_to_Mars_with_Eleni_Ravanis_YGT_at_ESA

54) ”Nicolas's YGT as a Spacecraft Operations Engineer,” ESA, 2 December 2019, URL: http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/11
/Nicolas_s_YGT_as_a_Spacecraft_Operations_Engineer

55) ”Ina's YGT experience in space architecture and infrastructure,” ESA, 30 November 2019, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/11
/Ina_s_YGT_experience_in_space_architecture_and_infrastructure

56) ”From the stars to the ocean, Pierre-Yves Cousteau’s YGT experience,” ESA, 26 November 2019, URL: http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/
From_the_stars_to_the_ocean_Pierre-Yves_Cousteau_s_YGT_experience

57) Priya's YGT experience in the ESA Future Missions Office!,ESA 25 November 2019, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/11
/Priya_s_YGT_experience_in_the_ESA_Future_Missions_Office

58) ”How to come up with an idea for Mission Space Lab,” ESA, 14 September 2019, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/09/
How_to_come_up_with_an_idea_for_Mission_Space_Lab

59) ”Testing Support Facilities,” ESA Enabling & Support, URL: https://www.esa.int
/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Test_centre/Testing_Support_Facilities

60) ”GRALS Testbed,” ESA, 16 May 2018, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2018/05/GRALS_Testbed

61) Jesus Gil and Guillermo Ortega, ”ESA Developments on GNC Systems for Non-Cooperative Rendezvous,” ESA, 23-27 May 2016, Clean Space Industrial DaysESTEC, The Netherlands, URL: https://indico.esa.int/event/128/attachments/732/848/
07_GNC_developments_Uncooperative_RV_Clean_Space_Industrial_Days.pdf

62) ”Simulated satellite rendezvous,” ESA Enabling & Support, 01 October 2020, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/09/Simulated_satellite_rendezvous

63) ”Arm out to asteroid,” ESA, 05 June 2020, URL: http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/06/Arm_out_to_asteroid

64) ”Science In a Spin: ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge,” ESA Science & Exploration, 30 September 2011, URL: http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2011/09/
Science_In_a_Spin_ESA_s_Large_Diameter_Centrifuge

65) ”The Large Diameter Centrifuge,” ESA / Education / Spin Your Thesis, 30 October 2009, URL: https://www.esa.int/Education/Spin_Your_Thesis/The_Large_Diameter_Centrifuge

66) ”Drug delivery research in hyper gravity,” ESA / Education / Spin Your Thesis (SYT), 02 October 2020, URL: https://www.esa.int/Education/Spin_Your_Thesis/Drug_delivery_research_in_hyper_gravity

67) ”Place for space testing,” ESA Enabling & Support, 15 July 2020, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/07/Place_for_space_testing

68) ”Inside Hertz Chamber,” ESA, 4 October 2017, URL: http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2017/10/Inside_Hertz_Chamber

69) ”Antenna Laboratory,” ESA Enabling & Support, URL: http://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Antenna_Laboratory

70) ”Antenna Test Facilities,” ESA Enabling & Support, URL: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Test_centre/Antenna_Test_Facilities

71) ”Expanding ESTEC’s Test Centre,” ESA Enabling & Support, 9 September 2020, URL: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/09/Expanding_ESTEC_s_Test_Centre

72) ”ESA Business Incubation Centers,” ESA, URL: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Telecommunications_Integrated_Applications
/Business_Incubation/ESA_Business_Incubation_Centres5

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The information compiled and edited in this article was provided by Herbert J. Kramer from his documentation of: ”Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors” (Springer Verlag) as well as many other sources after the publication of the 4th edition in 2002. - Comments and corrections to this article are always welcome for further updates (herb.kramer@gmx.net).

ESA Training Program for YGT     Some ESA Test & Support Facilities     Business Incubation Centers    
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