Space mission development: Science & Technology | 2021-2022

The ALTIUS mission is currently in its implementation phase in which our teams are developing the “level 2” processors: the algorithms which retrieve the O3 information from raw observation data.

The EnVision satellite will study Venus from below the surface to the high atmosphere. BIRA-IASB is leading the development of the VenSpec-H spectrometer on board.

The first CubeSat mission of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy ended its mission in 2022 and taught us valuable lessons about new technology.

Use of the in-house developed Space Environment Information System (SPENVIS) to assess the impact of the space radiation environment on the VenSpec-H instrument.

In 2021 ESA launched a call for new scientific space missions – crucially important, because the scientific harvest of these missions will feed a new generation of researchers. BIRA-IASB is involved in 2 missions out of the 5 remaining candidates.

3DEES is an electron spectrometer. The design, manufacturing and surface treatment of the instrument structure, and the structural qualification of this very compact instrument were in the hands of the BIRA-IASB’s Engineering division.