Recent trends in miniaturisation of space hardware combined with the provision of affordable and standardised spacecraft components and structures is opening up space to new players and is rapidly increasing the traffic into orbit.

Several studies have addressed the building of a lunar base either under ESA or other space agencies and entities. These studies have looked at conceptual designs, often of one specific element of the base, while most of the requirements are not adequately or not at all taken into consideration.

The scope of this study was to investigate the possibility of designing a wireless power transfer system from the lander to the rover, based on laser technology, to:

• Avoid the use of nuclear power systems, such as the plutonium Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) accommodated onboard the NASA/JPL MSL Curiosity Rover, due to the constraints imposed by the use of radioactive materials

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In summary, this activity used simulated and analysed parameters for each component to define the requirements for each application. For the flight model, the most important parameters are power consumption, cost and mass of the components. The power consumption and mass of components are acquired from the datasheets. Since space qualification is needed for these components the cost estimation is a difficult task. For example, even for the passive component the price difference between non-qualified, qualifiable and qualified devices is rather high.

The aim of this study was to assess how space travel modifies local sleep episodes in wakefulness during a visuo-motor task and weather this is related to performance. To this end, specific EEG (electroencephalogram) data previously recorded on board the ISS during the Neurospat experiment (AO-2004, 118) were used.

This study aimed to develop a framework for studying the effects of spacetime curvature on the propagation of quantum states of light, and to compare them with the propagation of classical light. When distributing entangled photon pairs through a gravitational potential, the effect of spacetime curvature on the properties of quantum states can become significant. This could be relevant for plans to use satellites for global quantum key distribution.

The DTN-EO study was initiated in order to research the performance of DTN in future missions, particularly Earth observation and constellation-type missions. In the original proposal, ESA stipulated three scenarios which were to be tested: Earth observation, constellation, and exploration missions. These scenarios built upon each other, starting with an Earth observation-centric mission such as the Sentinel missions, before moving to a large constellation. Ultimately, the DTN network from the first two scenarios was expanded to represent a deep-space exploration mission.

Magnetometers are fundamental instruments used in planetary and space science. They are able to measure magnetic fields originating in a planet’s interior, past fields encapsulated in rocks in the crust, as well as magnetic fields generated by the motion of charged particles in the plasma environments of ionospheres, magnetospheres and interplanetary space.

For current and future ESA projects there is a strong need to use new materials to increase launchers and spacecraft performance. For most of the new materials properties and performance data under hydrogen at high pressure and/or low temperatures are missing. The very limited available data do not cover the real operational conditions. To get access to the missing data the capabilities of the existing material characterization laboratory at ET were extended.