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Mr. Stähler, ETH will soon offer a new study course called “Space Systems”. What does it mean?
Steeler: This will primarily be an engineering degree. We want to train people to be able to develop both entire spacecraft and individual systems on spaceships, rockets and satellites. In other words, a wide variety of instruments and systems needed in space travel.
Can you give more specific examples?
Of course, there are countless tools necessary for the operation of a spaceship: power source, communications, propulsion. But it’s important to understand the primary mission of most space projects: collecting data. The development of these data collection tools, the data collection itself, and the evaluation of data collected in space are the second focus of the course. The third is to make sure you understand why you’re building something in the first place.
Sounds philosophical…
No, that’s specifically what I mean: If you want to send a probe to Mars and build it, then of course a highly specialized scientist can explain to an engineer what he needs. But if the engineer in charge doesn’t know exactly what he wants to do with that data, what he wants to collect it for, it’s hard for even the best engineer in the world to see if there’s a simpler, cheaper solution. Something that scientists can also use would be satisfactory. It would be much more efficient if engineers specialized in space travel had basic knowledge about applications. But we have other priorities too!
Which?
Switzerland already has an excellent culture of innovation and support for many small start-ups. Some are already developing highly specialized individual vehicles for space travel. To do this, they need to do fundraising, marketing, develop a business strategy; Therefore, work is also part of the course. In general, the course will primarily be an engineering degree underpinned by science, some economics and a greater focus on sustainability in space.
Why is the targeted “Space Systems” expert needed?
There is currently a shortage of skilled workers and the industry is growing rapidly worldwide. It currently generates annual sales of $400 to $500 billion worldwide. Therefore, there is an incredible demand for graduates from the space industry. Graduates are also urgently needed in other sectors: combating climate change, optimizing agriculture, our communication networks, etc. Space research is essential for
Also in Switzerland? We are not actually a space country…
However! The space-related industry in Switzerland is much, much bigger than you think. And it’s growing. We do not produce rockets here, but there are countless companies and start-ups that produce separate parts and tools for space travel and work with large space agencies and large companies such as ESA and NASA. For example, the so-called large fairings on top of European and American rockets all come from the Swiss company Beyond Gravity, which makes SpaceX itself.
Is the master’s degree also partly financed by industry?
The startup funding naturally comes from the ETH budget. However, there is great interest from the industry in collaborations. This may lead our students to do theses in the industry and to support the start-ups run by our students and graduates. Or that scientific projects are jointly financed.
What kind of scientific projects might these be in particular?
Nowadays there are private companies offering “delivery” to the moon; Just last week, the “Odysseus” probe of the US company Intuitive Machines successfully landed on the moon. Of course, such a collaboration in which a private company would help our students place a scientific mission into space or the moon would be a dream!
Can you tell us who has already expressed interest in collaborations?
Unfortunately, this is still a secret – but these are both major international space agencies and large companies, but also smaller companies. The application areas are huge; There are countless companies that simply produce a small, specialized device or specialized sensor (perhaps part of a telescope) used to collect data in space. Basically we can say this: Anyone who understands and can develop complex systems is also in demand in other industries such as mechanical engineering or the automotive industry. This is why the field is so large and why there is such a huge demand for graduates.
How will the lesson be structured?
In the beginning, we will attend basic classes. On the one hand, how to look for signs of life on other planets, what the atmosphere needs for life to be possible, astrobiology, etc. planetology including topics. The other is world observation. This is the main reason why we place satellites in space.
Have thousands already been placed?
Large satellites yes; but they also need maintenance and optimization work. However, the trend is to observe the Earth globally on a very small scale. There are currently small satellites only the size of a shoebox or two. They have a smaller resolution, maybe only three by three meter ground resolution.
What do you use these for?
If you put many of them in a row, you can see exactly which area in Switzerland is particularly dry in the summer and which plants respond to this and how. You can already tell the difference from morning to afternoon, down to the meter. But these systems can also collect countless other data, such as water flow rates, the course of the war in Ukraine, how forests develop, how ice grows and melts on mountain lakes, or traffic flow in cities. Optimizing such process observations is vital so that, for example, climate change can be closely monitored and both global and local targeted measures can be taken. Experts in this field are also highly sought after by various companies and authorities locally.
Key word climate change: Development of spaceships and satellites also requires resources…
Yes, that’s why sustainability is also an important topic in our course. There is no point in launching satellites into space to observe climate change and at the same time promote it yourself. Therefore, clean cost-benefit calculations and circular economy awareness are needed.
Back to the lesson: What comes after the basic lessons?
Students will spend a lot of time together, more than in other engineering courses, so they will learn to work together in different teams. To do this, they can delve deeper into topics such as robotics, planetary exploration or communication systems, for example. In the third semester, they meet again to develop a system together or to understand how such large projects can be tackled through case studies on, for example, SpaceX or the Space Shuttle.
Who is your ideal student?
The most important thing is passion for space. Additionally, an already developed understanding of basic mathematics and physics is a prerequisite.
So, is it only mathematics and physics students who have completed their undergraduate education?
No, not at all! The course is much more open than you might think: Graduates of engineering or natural science courses from all Swiss universities are also welcome. By the way, we also want technical high school graduates to apply. Sometimes they may even have a technical advantage over university graduates. We’re excited to see what these candidates bring with them. In addition, there is an admissions process with requirements that undergraduate graduates can study specific mathematics or physics content. ETH offers special lectures and courses for this purpose. We want to find out for ourselves in this first round. We want to know what various Swiss universities and degree programs teach their graduates and how we can use this to create a team where everyone can contribute their strengths.
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
