Implemented OSIP ideas — November 2020
ESA's Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) seeks novel ideas for new space research activities. Campaigns and Channels invite solutions to specific problems or ideas on more general topics, with those run by Discovery & Preparation, including the Open Discovery Ideas Channel, specifically looking for ideas that could be implemented as system studies, early technology developments, or PhD or postdoc research co-funded by ESA and a university.
Open Discovery Ideas Channel
In November 2020, the following ideas were implemented through the Open Discovery Ideas Channel.
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Exploring black hole surroundings with XMM-Newton, leading the way towards Athena observations
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Read about this public idea in OSIP.
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NICHOID in space: advanced in vitro models for 'on orbit' investigations
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
Recent evidence suggests that cancer cell cultures for cancer research can be grown in microgravity, where they form 3D structures and can exhibit features that closer match real-life growth of cancer cells. This co-funded research will use a miniature 3D scaffold to see whether cell culture experiments can indeed be performed in more realistic 3D environments in orbit.
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Long-range, long-life, RF ID using a diamond-based radio voltaic power supply
University of Bristol
New battery technologies are required to deliver reliable and very low-power energy for very long duration deployments in space. This early technology development project aims to develop a diamond-based power supply that converts radiation into electrical power. The ultimate technological goal is to develop a device that can maintain an output of ten microwatts for two hundred years.
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COnducting, Inert, and Non-hazardous thermo-optical White COATings (COIN-COAT)
CeraNovis
Thermo-optical coatings are specially-developed coatings used to control and protect the sensitive surfaces of satellites and spacecraft. They are mostly either black and conducting or white and non-conducting. The aim of this early technology development project is to develop a white thermo-optical coating with electrically conducting properties.
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Triboelectric energy harvesting for mars exploration (HORACE)
Fundación Tekniker
Read about this public idea in OSIP.
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Magnetic powder as propellant in electrostatic thrusters
FOTEC
This research study aims to develop a propulsion system using magnetic powder. The advantages of such a propulsion concept that uses electromagnetism to power a spacecraft include that a lot of propellant could be stored in a small space, and that it could be possible to use propellant materials available in space, for example the rocky/dusty layer on the surface of asteroids.
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Widelane grazing angle carrier phase altimetry with GNSS reflected signals: exploring beyond the PRETTY mission
IEEC
Read about this public idea in OSIP.
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Biocidal Advanced Coating Technology for Reducing Microbial Activity (BACTeRMA)
Austrian Space Forum
Spaceflight textiles, especially when subject to biological contamination (for example, spacesuit underwear), may pose both an engineering risk and a medical risk to long duration flights. For astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), as well as those that explore planetary surfaces in the future, it is important to reduce the number of microorganisms on textiles. This early technology development project will investigate small bacteria-killing molecules that may be useful for spaceflight textiles, including spacesuits.
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Radiation assessment on GaN-based bridge designs for future space missions
University of Maribor
In recent years, the development of gallium nitride semiconductor technology has led to a huge improvement in the performance and reliability of electrical power systems and communication platforms for space applications. This early technology development activity will research the effects of radiation on gallium nitride technology, including developing a prototype radiation testing device.
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Novel estimation of shallow water bathymetry using ICESat-2 laser altimetry, signal processing and machine learning and Sentinel-2 optical data in a highly automated approach
DHI GRAS
This early technology development project aims to use the laser altimeter on NASA's ICESat-2 satellite to generate automatic, consistent, and reliable data to calibrate information on water depth based on data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite. Combining the data from ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2 with advanced machine learning will allow for efficient novel mapping of the world's dynamic coastal zones.
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GNSS-astronomy: characterisation of EUV stellar superflares detection and first multi-GNSS test bed
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
This early technology development activity will develop a system to test a new field of astronomy: GNSS astronomy. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) has recently been used to detect and source stellar superflares. The technology has the potential to contribute to other major astronomical questions, such as determining the habitable zones of stars recently discovered to host exoplanets.
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Adaptive regulation with linear parameter-varying control of high-performance hybrid active-passive high frequency isolation systems
Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM)
Detailed Earth observation requires satellites to point at Earth's surface very accurately. This means that we need to be careful with sources of vibration on board these satellites. This co-funded PhD project aims to actively isolate specific instruments from sources of vibration, with the novelty being to isolate a sensitive instrument from multiple unknown vibration sources simultaneously.
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Towards the development of a digital twin for a CFRP composite sub-element used in space applications
National Physical Laboratory (in conjunction with Coventry University)
Read about this public idea in OSIP.
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Model-Based System Engineering
The following idea was implemented through the OSIP Model-Based System Engineering Campaign.
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System engineering models meet knowledge graphs
University of Strathclyde
Tables and graphs are useful for organising data with different level of depths and complexity, and knowledge graphs are the natural way to model such data when semantics is added to it. Knowledge graphs put data in context via linking and semantic metadata and this way provide a framework for data integration, unification, analytics and sharing. This study will explore how knowledge graphs can be useful for systems engineering.
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