2018, Comunidad de Madrid, Tec2SPACE-CM: S2018/NMT-4291
Webpage: https://tec2space.cab.inta-csic.es/main/index.php
Head of CAB-Projects Group: Paco Najarro de la Parra
Head of CAB-Instrumentation Group: José Antonio Rodríguez Manfredi
Administrative management: Virginia Suárez Marsá
The Tec2Space-CM programme aims to consolidate with the necessary human resources the space astronomy instrumentation development projects in which Institutes and Universities of the Community of Madrid are involved.
Currently, several groups of researchers/engineers are involved in/leading the design and construction of instrumentation for future space missions with frontier technologies that aim to advance the understanding of fundamental problems in astrophysics and planetary exploration.
These instruments cover the observation of the Extreme Universe with cosmic radiation at the highest energies (University of Alcalá), studies of dark energy and dark matter with Euclid (CIEMAT), search for habitable planets with PLATO (CAB, INTA), study of the sun with Solar Orbiter (INTA, University of Alcalá, UPM), analysis of the Martian soil with Raman Laser Spectrometer for the ExoMars mission (CAB, INTA), and study of Martian meteorology with MEDA in NASA’s Mars 2020 mission (CAB), to mention the most relevant.
In parallel, work is being carried out on the development of new enabling technologies for future missions, such as SOLID concept biomarkers (CAB), or infrared interferometry and remote metrology studies (INTA, UPM).
In addition, CAB, IMDEA and IMN collaborate very closely in the development of state-of-the-art superconducting radiation detectors of KIDs type for future missions operating in the mm/submm and far-infrared range and of optimised waveguides for pioneering biomarker detectors for space exploration. These projects require the development of space technologies at the frontier of knowledge, and are only possible thanks to the very close collaboration with high-tech companies in the aerospace sector, mostly located in the Madrid region.
Tec2Space continues the technological activities developed during previous projects such as SpaceTec-CM, ASTRID, ASTROCAM and AstroMadrid.