History of Bernese Space Missions

For over 50 years, the University of Bern has contributed to space missions from ESA, NASA, Roscosmos and JAXA, and is part of other international space activities, belonging to the world elite in this sector.

Here you will find an overview of past missions with Bernese involvement.

2009 – 2013 | Earth | ESA Mission

© ESA

GOCE — Bernese GPS Software GNSS

The structure of the Earth's surface and the inhomogeneous mass distribution within the Earth determine the Earth's gravitational field. This provides the basis for studying changes in sea level and ocean currents, which is crucial for global climate models. The ESA mission GOCE (Gravity Field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer), the first major mission of the Living Planet Program, has produced the most accurate picture of the Earth's gravitational field to date. To achieve this, GOCE orbited the Earth for more than four years in the lowest orbit ever flown by a research satellite. The University of Bern was responsible for the precise orbit determination of the mission, which was carried out using the Bernese GPS Software, also developed at the University of Bern's Astronomical Institute.

Timeline

GOCE was launched on a Rockot launcher at Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia, on March 17, 2009. It spent more than four years in orbit and the mission came to a natural end on November 11, 2013.

Bernese Contribution

Bern was responsible for the precise determination of the mission's orbit, using the "Bernese GPS Software" which was developed by the Astronomical Institute (AIUB).

Further Information

2005 – 2014 | Venus | ESA Mission

© ESA

Venus Express — Neutral Particle Detector (NPD)

Alongside Mars and Mercury, Venus is a rocky planet and one of Earth's sister planets. An important goal of ESA's Venus Express mission was to study the atmosphere of Venus in order to draw conclusions about the future development of Earth's climate. On board the mission, which was launched in 2005, was ASPERA-4, which was co-developed by the University of Bern. Among other things, this versatile instrument was used to analyze space plasma and energetic atoms and to investigate the influence of solar wind on the atmosphere of Venus.

Timeline

Venus Express was launched on a Soyuz-Fregat launcher on November 9, 2005. It arrived at Venus on April 11, 2006. The mission ended in December 2014 after 9 years.

Bernese Contribution

The Space Research and Planetary Science Divison (WP) participated in the Neutral Particle Detector (NPD) of the ASPERA-4 instrument investigating the solar wind interaction with the Venus atmosphere.

Further Information

2004 – 2016 | Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko | ESA Mission

© ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM

Rosetta — ROSINA Mass Spectrometer

The ROSINA mass spectrometer was a key experiment in the Rosetta mission, the most daring mission to date by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Rosetta probe studied comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, known as Chury for short, in detail for more than two years and even landed a module on the surface of a comet for the first time ever. ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) was developed, built, tested, and operated on the comet via telecommands under the leadership of the University of Bern. It was able to detect many components of Chury's atmosphere—most of them for the first time ever on a comet.

Timeline

Rosetta was launched on March 2, 2004 and arrived at the comet on August 6, 2014 after over 10 years of travel, including 3 years of deep space hibernation. Rosetta's Philae lander was delivered on November 12, 2014. The active phase of the mission ended on September 30, 2016. Since then, however, more than 2 million data sets from the ROSINA instrument are continuously being evaluated in Bern and made available to researchers worldwide.

Bernese Contribution

The University of Bern's Space Research and Planetary Sciences Division (WP) developed the mass spectrometer ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Specrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) and operated the instrument via telecommands throughout the 2 year investigation period. WP is still actively evaluating the data and making it available to researchers. The division is also involved in the geomorphological interpretation of the data collected by OSIRIS, Rosetta's main imaging system.

1990 – 2009 | Sun | ESA and NASA Mission

© ESA, Image: D. Hardy

Ulysses — Mass Spectrometer SWICS

The Earth and most other planets orbit the Sun on or near the so-called ecliptic, an imaginary plane. Some spacecraft have studied the Sun from this perspective, but not the area around its north and south poles. Exploring these polar regions was the goal of the Ulysses mission, a joint project between ESA and NASA. On October 6, 1990, Ulysses was launched into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery. The probe then flew to Jupiter, where it used its gravitational field to perform a fly-by maneuver. This enabled Ulysses to leave the ecliptic and enter orbit around the Sun's poles. On board Ulysses was the Bernese mass spectrometer SWICS for analyzing the solar wind.

Timeline

Ulysses was launched into space on October 6, 1990 on a NASA Space Shuttle from Kennedy Space Center. It passed over the sun's South pole in 1994, 2000 and 2006, and over the North pole in 1995, 2001 and 2007. The mission was expected to end in July 2008 due to the power supply, but was able to continue until June 30, 2009, when ESA and NASA decided to end the mission.

Bernese Contribution

The mission's mass spectrometer SWICS (Solar Wind Ion Composition Instrument) was developed at the University of Bern's Physics Institute. SWICS was used to uniquely determine the elemental and ionic-charge composition, temperatures and mean speeds of all major solar-wind ions.

Further Information

1985 – 1992 | Comet Halley | ESA Mission

© ESA

Giotto — Mass Spectrometers IMS and NMS

Comets are remnants of the primordial soup that remained frozen as large chunks of ice and dust in the most remote areas of our solar system. Researching comets allows us to draw conclusions about the formation of our planetary system 4.5 billion years ago and to gain knowledge about the molecular cloud from which our solar system originated. Giotto made its first encounter with a comet in 1986. This was ESA's first deep space mission. The probe raced past Halley at a speed of 24,730 km/h at a distance of 600 km. This was enough for the Bernese mass spectrometers to examine the evaporated atmosphere of the "cosmic iceberg" and prove that Halley consists mainly of water ice and contains simple organic molecules.

Timeline

Giotto was launched on July 2, 1985 on an Ariane 1 rocket. It encountered Halley's Comet on March 14, 1986 and recorded data for 24 hours. It's trajectory was adjusted to return it to Earth and was then placed into hibernation. Giotta was reawakened in February 1990 near Earth and began its second journey to the comet Grigg-Skjellerup. It encountered the comet on July 10, 1992 where it recorded more data, completing its mission. Giotto was officially shut down on July 23, 1992.

Bernese Contribution

The Space Research division contributed two mass spectrometers to the 10 instruments included in the Giotto mission: the Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) measured the composition of the particles around the comet, and the Ion Mass Spectrometer (IMS) measured the amount of ions from the sun and the comet. The NMS instrument was unfortunately lost due to an impact during the encounter with Halley.

Further Information

1977 – 1979 | Magnetosphere | ESA Mission

© ESA

GEOS 1 and GEOS 2 — Mass Spectrometer S-303

The first European satellites, GEOS 1 and GEOS 2, carried the first Swiss mass spectrometers into orbit several tens of thousands of kilometers above Earth in 1977 and 1978. A malfunction prevented GEOS 1 from reaching geostationary orbit. However, some of the experiments were still able to be carried out. GEOS 2 was successfully positioned at 37° east above the equator. The mass spectrometer S-303 was developed at the University of Bern. This small marvel of space technology weighed just under 5 kg and was capable of flight – in stark contrast to the mass spectrometers used on Earth at the time, which weighed several tons. S-303 revealed important information about the outer shell of our Earth, the so-called magnetosphere, which protects the Earth from the destructive particles of the solar wind at an altitude of around 1,000 km.

Timeline

The first GEOstationary Scientific Satellite (GEOS 1) was launched on April 20, 1977 on a Delta rocket at Cape Canaveral. Although it did not reach geostationary orbit, a part of its planned experiments could be conducted. GEOS 1 ended its mission formally on June 23, 1978 to prepare for GEOS 2, with an official mission end on April 1, 1980. GEOS 2 was launched on July 14, 1978, also on a Delta rocket at Cape Canaveral. GEOS 2 reached its 24-month goal and ended its mission on October 2, 1985.

Bernese Contribution

The Space Research and Planetary Science Division (WP) developed S-303, an ion mass spectrometer (combined electrostatic and magnetostatic analyser) to measure the composition (1-140amu) and energy spectra (up to 16 ke V) of magnetospheric ion. The instrument, one of seven scientific instruments, was developed at the University of Bern in collaboration with the Max-Planck Institute for Physics in Garching, Germany, and built by Contraves.

Further Information

1969 – 1972 | Moon | NASA Mission

© NASA/APOLLO 11

Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 — Solar Wind Composition Experiment (SWC)

When Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the second man to step out of the lunar module on July 21, 1969, the first thing he did was unfurl the Bernese solar wind sail and plant it on the moon's surface, even before the American flag. This Solar Wind Composition Experiment (SWC) from the University of Bern collected solar wind particles that were stuck in a special aluminium foil. This foil was brought back to Earth to be analyzed in the laboratories of the University of Bern. The SWC was part of Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16.

Timeline

Apollo 11 was launched on July 16, 1969. On July 20, the lunar module Eagle and with it astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon's surface. Apollo 11 returned to Earth on July 24, eight days after launch. Apollo 12 launched on November 14, 1969. The lunar module Intrepid arrived on the moon on November 19. Apollo 12 returned to Earth on November 24, again eight days after launch. Apollo 14 was launched on January 31, 1971. Antares, the lunar module, landed on the moon's surface on February 5. Nine days after launch, Apollo 14 returned to Earth on February 9. Apollo 15 was launched on July 26, 1971 and its lunar module Falcon touched down on the moon on July 30. The mission finished on August 7 with the return to Earth twelve days after launch. Apollo 16 was launched on April 16, 1972. The lunar module Orion arrived on the moon on April 20. Apollo 16 returned to Earth after eleven days on April 27. All five missions were launched on Saturn V rockets from Cape Kennedy.

Bernese Contribution

The Solar Wind Composition Experiment (SWC) was part of five Apollo missions. The experiment was planned and evaluated by Prof. Dr. Johannes Geiss at the Physical Institute of the University of Bern and marked the first major highlight in the history of Bernese space research. The small, handy frame with a roll-out aluminium foil was particularly impressive for its simplicity. It was also the only non-American experiment on board Apollo 11. Aldrin deployed the SWC on the lunar surface in direct sunlight as soon as he exited the lunar module. The experiment was recovered after 1h17min exposure. The foil provided invaluable information about the chemical composition of the sun. As a result, further solar wind sails accompanied the next Apollo missions. Additionally to the evaluation of the SWC, the Physics Institute also examined lunar rock samples, which were stored in the University of Bern's vaults.