Seven new teams selected for the ESA Academy Experiments Programme
The ESA Academy Experiments Programme offers the possibility for universities to design and develop experiments to be operated on a series of gravity-related platforms and in space. The newest programme cycle saw the inclusion of two new platforms: ESA’s Space Rider,and the ESA Orbital Robotics Lab. Following the Call for Proposals, numerous applications of extraordinary quality from universities across Europe were received by ESA. Shortlisted teams were invited to present their project to a panel of experts from ESA and its programme partners, and addressed the panel’s questions on the scientific, engineering and management aspects of their proposals. After deliberation, the panel selected seven excellent new teams to participate in this cycle of the ESA Academy Experiments Programme.
A regolith experiment for the ZARM Drop Towers
Team SILOE from ISAE SUPAERO in France, consisting of PhD and master’s students, aims to study the properties of the material found on the surface of planets and asteroids. The results of their experiment, which will be executed in the last quarter of 2024 at the Drop Towers facility, could help reduce the risks of space missions involving for instance landing and roving on the Moon and collecting surface samples.
Cognitive performance and soft robotics to be studied on Parabolic Flights
Two experiment teams will take part in an Air ZeroG parabolic flight campaign in Q4 2024. NeurO2flight investigates the effects of hypoxia and microgravity on the human brain and cognitive performance. The team hopes to determine whether crewmembers can maintain optimal performance in hypoxic conditions, relevant for next-generation spacecraft and space habitats. It is a collaboration between the German Sport University Cologne, University of Innsbruck (Austria), Jožef Stefan Institute (Slovenia), Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Loerrach (Germany), and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Germany).
Team MACKI, from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology (Poland), focuses on soft robotics technology. They aim to develop and test a soft robotic gripper made of elastomeric filaments. Successful results could improve robots' ability to grasp objects in microgravity, a crucial element for servicing and de-orbiting space missions.
Growing plants in lunar conditions at the Large Diameter Centrifuge
Team SelenarFungi, comprising students from the Spanish National University UNED, IPSA (France), the University of Iceland and the Lancaster University, will be using the Large Diameter Centrifuge and Random Positioning Machines (RPM) at ESA ESTEC in The Netherlands. They plan to cultivate lettuce with mycorrhizal fungi in a regolith simulant on an RPM for two weeks . Their goal is to evaluate the potential benefits of using mycorrhiza – the biological association of a green plant and a fungus - to enhance plant growth using lunar surface resources.
Testing a novel satellite Attitude and Orbit Control System at the Orbital Robotics Lab
Team COCO from the University of Southampton (UK) is invited to run a campaign at the ESTEC Orbital Robotics Lab later this year. Their experiment aims at testing a novel Attitude and Orbit Control System, the systemused to maintain a spacecraft’s orientation and orbit in space. Their system utilizes thrust-vectoring technology to control the spacecraft motion across 3 degrees of freedom. The objective is to reduce the number of required thrusters from 8 or more to just 2, thus addressing the mass and volume limitations common in small satellites.
A particle detector and a magnetic field sensor for Space Rider missions
ESA’s Space Rider is an uncrewed robotic laboratory that will launch atop Vega-C. It will host experiments in its cargo bay for multi-month missions, after which it returns to Earth.
SPaRKLE, a team of PhD and master’s students from the University of Trento, Italy, is selected to enter into the feasibility study phase with their proposal to design a compact detector for charged particles, gamma-rays, and X-rays. The payload aims to study various phenomena in space, such as charged particle fluxes, space weather transients, and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). It furthermore aims to demonstrate the miniaturization of a spectrometer for space applications.
Team OSCAR-PINQ from Hasselt University, Belgium, is researching state-of-the-art technology to precisely measure Earth's magnetic field. Their project involves a quantum magnetic field sensor based on diamond, and will also enter the feasibility study phase. The project represents the latest evolution of an experiment previously flown on a stratospheric balloon and later on the ISS. This promising technology is expected to have future applications in the aerospace (e.g. space weather monitoring), automotive (e.g. navigation systems) and medical (e.g. cancer research) sectors.
In addition to these new projects, two more teams are further advancing the design of their experiments to be flown to the International Space Station, namely team SCAMPI, who will study the long-term effects of microgravity on an ecosphere containing shrimps and algae, and team VITA, whose goal is to produce pharmaceutical proteins in orbit.
Following the official kick-off that took place at the end of February 2024, the teams will be supported by ESA Academy and experts from the different platforms to fine-tune their scientific and engineering requirements, and to design, develop, and test their experiments in preparation of the campaigns.
If these teams spiked your interest in hands-on space-related projects and you would like to develop your own student experiment, you can check for current opportunities within the ESA Academy here.
