Austrian Space Forum

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The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) is an expert organization in the field of analogue research and therefore researches how humans can prepare on Earth for astronautical exploration of other planets.[1] Since the AustroMars mission in 2006, OeWF has been involved in analog research, developing its own space suit simulators and also conducting astronautical simulations on Earth. The resulting data is available to researchers from a wide range of disciplines in the Multi-Mission Science Data Archive[2]

The Forum itself is organised as an association and sees itself as a Citizen science organisationhere experts and space enthusiasts members of various disciplines, together with national and international research institutions, industry and companies conduct research. As one of the most important educational institutions in Austria, the ÖWF inspires young people for space, science and technology.

AustroMars[]

In 2006 the Austrian Space Forum conducted its first analogue mission the "AustroMars" mission,[3] a Mars analogue simulation at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. For the first time the crew, the support team and the experiments as well as the major part of the hardware came from Austria.

PolAres[]

Aouda.X during the Mars2013 dress rehearsal

PolAres[4] was an interdisciplinary programme of the Austrian Space Forum (2007 - 2017) in cooperation with international partners to develop strategies for human-robotic interaction procedures and to emphasise planetary protection, in preparation for a future human-robotic Mars surface expedition. Part of the PolAres program was developing an Mars analogue space suit. Since 2009 the Mars analogue space suit Aouda.X is developed and tested in several field tests and simulations.

Rio Tinto Simulation 2011[]

Mars analogue field simulation in Southern Spain in April 2011, together with international experiments including ESA eurobot vehicle.[5]

Dachstein Mars Simulation 2012[]

A Mars Analogue-Field-test between 27 April and 1 May 2012, together with international partners. The test took place in the and giant ice caves in the Dachstein Area in Austria. Aside from testing the newest version of the Forum’s Spacesuit simulator Aouda.X, teams from 10 different nations (from the US, Europe and New Zealand) tried geophysical techniques, instruments and ideas for future manned missions to cave systems on Mars.[6][7]

Mars2013 - Morocco Mars Simulation 2013[]

Between 1 and 28 February 2013, the Austrian Space Forum – in partnership with the in Marrakesh – conducted an integrated Mars analogue field simulation in the northern Sahara near Erfoud, Morocco within the framework of the PolAres research programme. Directed by a Mission Support Center in Innsbruck, Austria, a small field crew conducted experiments preparing for future human Mars missions mainly in the fields of engineering, planetary surface operations, astrobiology, geophysics/geology and life sciences. Two space suit simulators (both Aouda.X and the new Aouda.S) and a number of rovers were used in the field.[8]

The desert base camp at the northern location was named Camp Weyprecht on February 11. There was also a satellite location about 80 km further south that was named Station Payer. These names were in honor of the two leaders of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition of 1872–74, which tied in nicely with the long-term goal of the PolAres research programme to do an analog expedition to the arctic.[9]

AMADEE-15 – Kaunertal Glacier Mission[]

From August 3-15, 2015, a two-week Mars simulation called "AMADEE-15",[10] together with international partners, took place on an ice and boulder glacier in Kaunertal, Austria. Also for this mission, the field crew was supported by a Mission Support Center in Innsbruck, Austria. The experiments conducted covered different disciplines and ranged from geological and astrobiological to robotic and technical experiments. For the first time, this mission also included virtual exploration. The analog astronaut moved around on a simulation platform wearing video goggles and, like the other test astronauts, was in radio contact with mission control. The procedure (V-ERAS) was developed by the Italian Mars Society.

Scientific publications on this Mars simulation:


AMADEE Program[]

The AMADEE[11] is the new flagship program of the OeWF and builds on the PolAres Mars research program. As a framework, it is responsible for developing hardware, workflows, and science for future human-robotic planetary surface missions. A major focus of the Program is to develop life trace detection strategies. Unlike PolAres, the AMADEE Program's simulated planetary surfaces are not limited to Mars, but will introduce the ability to study surface operations on other celestial bodies (e.g. the Moon).

AMADEE-18 Mars Simulation Oman[]

The AMADEE-18 Mars simulation[12] took place in February 2018 in the Dhofar desert in the south of the Sultanate of Oman. This simulated Mars expedition was conducted for the first time as part of the AMADEE program, in conjunction with the Oman National Steering Committee for AMADEE-18. A special issue of Astrobiology Magazine was published in November 2020.[13]

AMADEE-20 Mars Simulation Israel[]

The AMADEE-20 Mars Simulation took place from 04-31 October 2021 in the Negev Desert is Israel.[14] This analog mission took place in cooperation with the Israel Space Agency as well as D-MARS. This mission was originally planned for 2020 was postponed by 1 year due to the COVID-19.

ADLER-1 cubesat[]

Launched on January 13, 2022 22:51 UTC,[15] the cubesat orbits Earth at an altitude of about 500 km to detect space debris with particle sizes "in the micrometer range" for at least 1 year here. The cubesat is only 30x10x10 cm by size and was launched with the LauncherOne rocket by Virgin Orbit from California.[16]

The acronym ADLER is composed of Austria Debris Detection Low Earth (Orbit) Reconnoiter. The probe's main instrument, the Austrian Particle Impact Detector (APID), was developed at the OeWF laboratory in Innsbruck. The entire ADLER-1 project cost a larger six-figure euro amount and was privately funded, by , Austria. The company Spire Global, California contributed its Lemur class small satellite and is responsible for the launch logistics as well as the operation of the small satellite.[17][18][19]

References[]

  1. ^ OeWF on Austria's space platform, accessed 28 January 2022
  2. ^ OeWF Science Data Archive, accessed 28 January 2022
  3. ^ "AustroMars Mission". Austrian Space Forum. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. ^ "PolAres Research Program". Austrian Space Forum. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. ^ "New Space Suit Technology Tested at Rio Tinto". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Dachstein Mars Simulation". Karst Worlds. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Dachstein Mars Simulation Mission Report". Austrian Space Forum. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  8. ^ "Mars2013 mission description". Austrian Space Forum. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Mars2013 mission collaboration" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2013.
  10. ^ Short description AMADEE-15 Mission and final report, accessed 28 January 2022
  11. ^ Short Description of the AMADEE Program, accessed 28 January 2022
  12. ^ AMADEE-18 brief description & final report, accessed 28 January 2022
  13. ^ Special Issue of Astrobiology Magazine, accessed 17 January 2022
  14. ^ AMADEE-20 brief description and final report, accessed 17 January 2022
  15. ^ List_of_spaceflight_launches_in_January–June_2022#cite_note-31
  16. ^ Virgin Orbit's Latest Mission Successfully Soars 'Above the Clouds' Again, accessed 17 January 2022
  17. ^ Virgin Orbit launches mission STP-27VPB "Above the Clouds", accessed 28 January 2022
  18. ^ ADLER-1 mission website, accessed 28 January 2022.
  19. ^ Spire Whitepaper about ADLER-1 accessed 28 January 2022

External links[]

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