A crucial benefit of metrological experiments in space is the extended measurement time, which can only be fully utilized when using specially prepared ultra-cold atomic samples, Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), having the minimum temperatures allowed by quantum mechanics. By utilizing a new method using Grating Magneto-Optical Traps (G-MOTs) which is fast, simple and compact, the generated BEC will be in an ideal format for space and terrestrial applications.

Thermal imagers can provide temperature measurement over a large area with high resolution, but they require further development to deliver lower uncertainty quantitative temperature measurement across all important components. One of the ways to improve thermal imager performance and ease of use is it to have the device operate in thermal vacuum.

The use of a traditional flat image sensor requires optical elements to project the image onto a flat plane.  Introducing an appropriately curved sensor removes the need for these optical elements. Thus, by eliminating one constraint on the design of the lens it becomes possible to design systems with reduced size and weight and improved performance.

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According to the United Nation Environment Program (2005), “Marine Litter” is defined as any item that has been made or used by people and deliberately or accidently discarded either directly into the sea or coast or transported from land into the marine environment.

The novel technology of Modelocked Semiconductor Lasers (MLSCL) is a promising candidate to be used in optical metrology systems for various space applications, e.g. in the context of optical interferometry or frequency and distance metrology as well as optical communications and data processing. Recent laboratory demonstrations of MLSCLs are capable of producing VIS / NIR ultrashort light pulses in the few picoseconds time regime at very high repetition rates in the MHz domain.

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