Outer space: Switzerland takes the lead cleaning up the mess
A Swiss start-up has been selected to lead a major European Space Agency (ESA) space clean-up mission with a total budget topping €100 million (CHF110 million).
This content was published on
1 minute
Engineers at ClearSpace, a spin-off of Space Center (eSpace) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), have found a way of capturing and eliminating debris accumulated over six decades of low-orbit activities.
The start-up and its consortium were chosen to develop and fly the first-ever mission to capture and remove a disused ESA asset floating in space.
Work begins early next year with the goal of de-activating a Vespa adapter, a physical structure used to connect the spacecraft to the launch vehicle, in 2025.
Ever since the world’s first satellite was launched in 1957, all kinds of debris have accumulated in space, creating a risk to spaceflight.
In addition to the 2,000 working satellites orbiting our planet, there are over 3,000 abandoned ones, according to ClearSpace.
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss “janitor satellite” to clean up space
This content was published on
Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, (EPFL), hope the SFr10-million ($11-million) CleanSpace One prototype satellite will be in the skies by 2016 in a bid to help resolve the worsening space junk problem. “It’s time to do something to reduce the amount of debris floating around in space,” Swiss astronaut and EPFL professor…
This content was published on
Cleaning up space is the mission of a new Swiss start-up, ClearSpace, which will capitalise on technology developed by engineers at the EPFL.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.