Over the past few decades, our exploration of space has greatly added to our understanding of the universe as well as our own planet and the people on it. This research has mainly been driven by government-backed international cooperation and, more recently, private-sector aerospace companies. This year, the canton of Zurich aims to strengthen its innovative power in the field of space travel. “With its excellent research, its interdisciplinary expertise and international cooperations, the University of Zurich is predestined to make a significant contribution towards this goal,” says Zurich government councilor Silvia Steiner. The Space Hub has been pooling UZH’s aviation and aerospace activities since 2018 and has recently moved into Hangar 4 at Innovation Park Zurich.
Multiperspectival approach to space
Research at the UZH Space Hub mainly focuses on remote sensing and Earth observation, astrophysics, space life sciences and autonomous drone navigation. But its researchers ponder far more than just technical or natural science questions; they also take into account ethical, philosophical and theological aspects, even exploring the topic of space through the field of film studies. “This variety of themes shows that space and Earth encompass multiple aspects of human existence, which are investigated by researchers with a background in the natural sciences as well as by arts and humanities scholars. As the largest comprehensive university in Switzerland, we aim to include as many of these dimensions as possible in our exploration of space and Earth, and to combine them in a beneficial way through interdisciplinary work,” emphasizes UZH President Michael Schaepman.
Looking down, looking up
Remote sensing is one of the areas where this happens, with UZH researchers using state-of-the-art sensors on aircraft, drones and satellites to collect detailed data on the environment and atmospheric processes. This enables researchers to quantify biodiversity or monitor changes in the composition of plant populations, for example. These insights help shed light on the human impact on regional and global ecosystems and can be used to develop conservation and adaptation strategies for the environment and climate. By gaining direct access to the Dübendorf airfield, the required sensors and data can be improved and processed on the spot before they go on to be used in satellites or other research projects.
UZH astrophysicists, meanwhile, focus on looking outward to space. They deal with the big questions of our universe: how are planets, stars and galaxies formed, and how do they evolve? Aided by the latest high-performance computing technologies, astrophysicists use observation data and simulations to investigate the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy and how they influence the expansion of the cosmos. They are involved in major international ESA and NASA missions such as EUCLID, LISA, ARRAKIHS and JUNO, and in this way contribute to international networking and our understanding of cosmological phenomena.
Space as a lab
In the space life sciences, researchers at the UZH Space Hub examine the fundamental effects of gravity. Using parabolic flights or the International Space Station (ISS), they study how cellular and molecular processes unfold under normal and microgravity conditions, and how this affects our body functions and genetic stability. They have developed a process that uses weightlessness as a highly effective tool to produce three-dimensional tissue. Down here on Earth, unless complex auxiliary structures are used, this can only be done in two dimensions. Prometheus Life Technologies, a UZH spin-off, uses this method to grow so-called organoids from adult human stem cells, which could one day be used in precision medicine and organ transplantation, for example.
Research, technology and innovation incubator
The UZH Space Hub’s infrastructure is also open to other fledgling businesses, which can rent spaces for flight labs, workshops and offices, and carry out tests in state-of-the-art laboratories. Lab testing is a particularly appealing prospect, since setting up an own lab often exceeds a start-up’s financial means. “The UZH Space Hub aims to be a place where knowledge can be shared, synergies can be exploited and new things can be studied, discovered and developed,” says Oliver Ullrich, Director of the UZH Space Hub. He is confident that with the ISS going out of operation in 2030, the near-Earth orbit will be used much more intensively as part of a New Space Economy – not only for research purposes but also as a production site.
UZH research is the cornerstone
Ullrich believes that integrating the Space Hub into Innovation Park Zurich, with its existing focus on aviation and aerospace, its access to the Dübendorf airfield in close proximity to the Zurich higher education and business hub with its many other renowned companies and organizations, including ETH Zurich, offers a unique setting for developing a space ecosystem that will attract further actors in the aerospace industry, from research institutions and start-ups to SMEs and established global space and aviation companies. “With its outstanding research, UZH is laying a solid foundation and, thanks to its strong network, also serves as a link between research and development, technology and business,” says Ullrich. “We are part of a value chain by generating knowledge, passing it on and ultimately enabling society to benefit from it through innovation.”
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