Astroinformatik and Space Sciences, FHNW School of Computer Science

Astroinformatics and Space Sciences combine data science and space research. Our space projects are primarily funded by:

• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

• European Space Agency (ESA) and the Swiss Space Office

• The European Union’s Research and Innovation Programme

We are involved in major international space projects, combining software engineering, instrument development and scientific research.

We develop software solutions for processing datasets ranging from small to very large scale.

Our most comprehensive project is the development and operation of the complex data infrastructure for ESA’s Euclid space telescope, which is used to investigate dark matter and dark energy.

We develop and build instruments for use in space. Our interdisciplinary team of physicists, engineers and computer scientists supports all stages of the process:

• Desig
• Production
• Verification

The work is carried out in collaboration with the Institute for Product and Production Engineering (IPPE) as well as partners from the Swiss space industry.

The Institute’s largest project is the Swiss X-ray telescope STIX, for which we hold overall project management responsibility. STIX is one of ten instruments on ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission. A substantial part of the development work was carried out at the School of Engineering FHNW.

In addition, in the field ofsolar physics and space weather, we conduct fundamental scientific research with the aim of developing precise and reliable measurement instruments for use in space.

• Development of scalable data infrastructures for large-scale astronomical projects

• Processing and analysis of extremely large astrophysical datasets

• Development and construction of space instruments

• X-ray astronomy (STIX)

• Research on dark matter and dark energy (Euclid)

• Solar physics and space weather

• Interdisciplinary collaboration between Data Science, Physics and Engineering Sciences