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Huygens, the European Space Agency's (ESA) spacecraft,
landed on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, in the middle of January.
At the same time the ESA's Smart-1 space probe moved into
orbit around the Moon. Finnish technology is cruising in both
in Space.
Huygens, which detached itself from the Cassini probe on
Christmas Day 2004, is the first-ever spacecraft to land on
Titan. Huygens will explore the composition of Titan's gaseous
atmosphere as well as the face materials and wind on Titan.
The journey to Saturn lasted seven years and 1.25 billion
kilometres.
Similarities with Earth
The explorations are expected to provide new information
about the origins of the Earth's atmosphere and the mechanisms
associated with the creation of life. Titan has a nitrogen-rich
atmosphere that contains carbon-based compounds. Its chemical
environment is thought to recall conditions on Earth before
life was created, although Titan is much colder than the Earth.
Cassini-Huygens is a project being shared by the United States'
NASA, the ESA and the Italian space agency ASI. Finnish expertise
can be found in six measuring instruments in the lander.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute designed and made the
PPI, i.e. an instrument that measures the pressure profile
of the moon's atmosphere; Ylinen Electronics Oy, which is
part of the Elektobit Group, made the two radar altimeters
in the lander. The University of Oulu participated in making
the particle spectrometer that is in the parent craft, and
the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) was responsible
for the design, fabrication, assembly and alignment of the
IBS sensor. Several other Finnish companies were also co-partners.
More information about the creation of the Moon
The Finnish instruments in the Smart-1 probe started operating
in earnest in January - after a journey that started in autumn
2003 and has already lasted more than 80 million kilometres.
The probe will orbit the Moon for half a year, testing new
technology and gathering information about the chemical structure
of the Moon's surface. Scientists hope to be able to use the
information in order to explain the history of the Moon's
creation.
The most important technological innovation is the ion engine,
which is light, efficient, operates on xenon gas and uses
little fuel. If the engine proves its functionality, it will
open up new opportunities for long-distance flights to planets,
which are severely hampered by the amount of fuel.
The X-Ray Solar Monitor (XSM), which was designed by the
High Energy Astrophysics research group at the Observatory
of the University of Helsinki and constructed by the Finnish
company Oxford Instruments Analytical Oy, monitors the Sun's
output of X-rays. Spacecraft Potential, Electron and Dust
Experiment (SPEDE) was designed by the Finnish Meteorological
Institute. It measures the emissions of the ion engine and
makes scientific observations of the plasma density and dust
flow around the Earth and Moon.
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Patria in the air and in space
Patria, a Finnish aerospace and defence company, is
involved in the construction of the Airbus 380, the
"flagship of the European aerospace industry and
the biggest aeroplane in the world. Patria is responsible
for the design, testing and production of the jumbo
jet's spoilers.
The company has been involved since 1997 in the project,
which will be worth some EUR 425 million over 20 years.
Altogether the A380 has 16 spoilers.
"The Airbus 380 is a significant project in our
composite product production and an indication of our
ability to take responsibility for such a big venture,"
says Seppo Seppälä, Executive Vice President,
Patria Advanced Solutions.
Patria also designs and produces demanding composite
space structures. Last December the company signed an
agreement with Alcatel Space for the delivery of sun-panel
structures for the Pleiades remote sensing satellite.
"In the Pleiades venture we will be utilizing
the experience we obtained in the project for the development
of sun panels for the ESA's telecommunications satellites.
We are expecting the sun panel structures to become
an important product in our space product family,"
Seppälä says.
www.patria.fi
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Finland in space
It is now exactly ten years since Finland became a
fully paid-up member of the ESA.
"Finnish space activities started in earnest midway
through the 1980s, when Finland in cooperation with
Sweden started the production of scientific instruments
for spacecraft. In the next decade Finnish industry
was able to obtain orders for non-scientific equipment
for satellites and probes," says Pauli Stigell,
a technology expert at the National Technology Agency
of Finland (Tekes).
"Orders started coming for ESA probes in significant
numbers in the second half of the 1990s on the basis
of adequate proof and experience. In recent years we
have also been able to compete on the open market."
Over the years Finnish expertise has flown into Space
in 41 satellites and probes. The technological expertise
is also to be found at earth stations and in remote
sensing. Stigell says that Finnish expertise in space
technology is of a good European standard, although
the country is small compared with the big ESA countries.
During the next ten years Finland will be involved
in the development of nine spacecraft and maybe 39 satellites.
Finland's participation in ESA operations is financed
and coordinated by Tekes.
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www.esa.int
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www.tekes.fi
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