Confederation funds two space projects with 6 million francs

(CONNECT) The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research(EAER) will provide a total of CHF 6 million for two space projects. According to a statement from the EAER, the Confederation intends to strengthen the international positioning of Swiss universities and industrial players in the field of space research. The funds come from the national funding program MARVIS (Multidisciplinary Advanced Research Ventures in Space) and is an instrument of the federal government to support national research and development activities in the space sector.

In the first project, a walking robot called MoonWalker is to be developed for lunar exploration. The project is being carried out by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and the OST - Ostschweizer Fachhochschule in collaboration with the Zurich robotics company ANYbotics and the drive specialist Maxon International from Sachseln OW. The MoonWalker should also be able to reach places that are difficult to access, such as craters and caves.

"This project puts the Swiss project partners in a good starting position for possible exploration missions by the European Space Agency ESA," says the EAER, "and Switzerland is investing in the future-oriented research field of robotics." Federal funding of around 3.1 million francs is available for this in the period from 2026 to 2029.

Almost CHF 3 million is being invested in the second TESSA (Technologies to Enhance Space Situational Awareness) project by the University of Bern and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Together with the company s2a systems from Val Terbi JU, they want to develop an adaptive optics system for the Zimmerwald observatory that recognizes objects in near-Earth orbit with even greater accuracy than before. Among other things, these new techniques for determining position and location are intended to identify space debris more efficiently and make the use of space safer. ce/mm