Space missions: not without Empa technology

From Earth to orbit, Empa is pioneering new materials that meet the challenges of space. In these extreme conditions, only the most advanced materials can endure. Our expertise lies in the development and analysis of high-performance materials such as bulk metallic glasses, lightweight alloys and ultra-durable coatings for spacecraft and satellites. We also contribute to energy-efficient systems, including the design of components for instruments used in space missions. In parallel, Empa supports earth observation through satellite-based greenhouse gas monitoring and airborne detection of methane leaks – essential tools for environmental stewardship. By collaborating with the European Space Agency - ESA and industry partners, we help shape a more resilient and sustainable future for space exploration.

Here are some examples of our projects:

🛰️Thermoelectric high-entropy oxides for power supply in space equipment

The Thermoxo project with European Space Agency - ESA aims to develop high-entropy thermoelectric oxide ceramics that convert heat into electrical energy and vice versa. Despite their compositional complexity, high-entropy oxides maintain a long-range lattice structure, offering material performance and reducing the reliance on critical elements, thereby promoting sustainability and scalability.

Project involvement: Michael Stuer Rishabh Shukla

🛰️Ion-optical components for scientific instruments

Empa supports institutes in Switzerland and abroad in the realization of scientific instruments for space research. A wide variety of materials, such as metals and ceramics, are joined with high precision by hybrid processes to create increasingly complex assemblies. Often, dozens of joints have to be manufactured that can withstand extreme operating conditions, such as the journeys to Mercury and Jupiter.

Project involvement: Hans Rudolf Elsener

News article: Empa-made components on JUICE to explore Jupiter

🛰️Lead-free technologies for telecom satellite equipment

In a recently completed ESA project, Empa investigated the latest generation of lead-free solders for use in telecommunications satellites. In collaboration with Swiss industry partners, a suitable solder was selected to produce a space-qualified prototype based on laboratory and test samples. In-situ electrical measurements on thermally cycled soldered components can be used to predict damage to the system and optimize the soldering process.

Project involvement: Jolanta J. Hans Rudolf Elsener

🛰️Alloy design and additive manufacturing

We develop and 3D print advanced high-performance alloys for space applications, including high entropy alloys and metal matrix nano-composites for reusable rocket engines, and shape memory alloys for spacecraft actuators. Combining sophisticated experiments with machine learning approaches, we accelerate alloy discovery and part fabrication, enabling stronger, more durable components with improved functionalities for more efficient and reliable space technologies.

Project involvement: Christian Leinenbach Marc Leparoux

🛰️Multi-junction photovoltaics for space applications

The Laboratory of Thin Films and Photovoltaics at Empa developed record-efficiency perovskite-CIGS tandem cells with lightweight and radiation-hard features. In 2024, together with our collaborator at the University of Potsdam , the first perovskite-CICG tandem cell was sent into space onto Ariane 6 mission (ESA) to test their performance under extreme space conditions, marking a step forward for using perovskite tandem solar cells to generate energy in space.

Project involvement: Yaroslav Romanyuk Fan Fu

🛰️Thermophysical properties of liquid metals for industrial process design

Empa coordinates the European Space Agency - ESA project THERMOPROP for studying Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Metals for Industrial Process Design. Experiments are conducted at the ISS in the liquid state under microgravity conditions with the objective of measuring their thermophysical properties such as viscosity and surface tension. These benchmark experiments provide data with an accuracy not available on earth. In an ESA PRODEX project and in collaboration with Swiss industry, especially metallic glasses are investigated and support through fundamental understanding the industrialization of new materials for highly reliable systems in biomedicine and the space sector.

Project involvement: Damien Terebenec Sabrina Thomä Robert Zboray Antonia Neels

🔗Paper in Journal of Materials Research and Technology

🛰️Measuring the ageing of materials in real space conditions

Empa participates in European Space Agency - ESA ’s Euro Material Ageing (EMA) initiative. The SESAME program allows the direct exposure of novel materials to the space environment. The evaluation of the impact of the space environment such as high temperature gradients, cosmic radiation, vacuum conditions, microgravity and their combination, gives the possibility to evaluate the eventual change of atomic structure of materials including the mobility of defects. The projects is supported by the Swiss Space Office (SSO) via PRODEX funding. We investigate Si-nanowire systems (sensing), and a Pd-based bulk metallic glass (flexible and robust mechanisms). The two systems are currently exposed outside the International Space Station (ISS).

Project involvement: Damien Terebenec Antonia Neels

🔗Measuring material ageing in space from the ISS

🛰️The EURECA satellite: Non-destructive analysis on large scale space objects

Post-flight investigations of the EURECA satellite allow to investigating space environment related defects. While early studies focused on surface defects, Empa provides an internal view of the EURECA satellite's support structure and experimental modules (payload) through a combination of X-ray methods. Our analysis spans more than three orders of magnitude for the object size, and five orders of magnitude with respect to resolution, capturing millimeter-scale details of the satellite and atomic-scale information about the material's crystal structure. The project was conducted in collaboration with EPFL and Verkehrshaus der Schweiz .

Project involvement: Antonia Neels Robert Zboray

🔗EURECA - European Retrievable Carrier: CT-Scan of Satellite (YouTube)

🛰️Greenhouse gas monitoring from space

Under the Paris Agreement, countries report greenhouse gas emissions, but independent verification is lacking. Europe is developing a satellite-based greenhouse gas emissions monitoring system with global coverage: Copernicus ECMWF . Empa supports this effort by advancing methods to quantify emissions from space and contributing to key European satellite missions, CO2M and TANGO, to enhance transparency and accuracy in emission reporting.

Project involvement: Gerrit Kuhlmann Dominik Brunner Erik Koene

🔗ESA - Europe’s carbon dioxide monitoring mission elevated to the power of three

🛰️Detecting methane leaks with airborne monitoring

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and reducing its emissions is a cost-effective way to limit global warming. Empa uses the unique AVIRIS-4 imaging spectrometer, owned by the University of Zurich , to detect and quantify CH₄ emissions from coal mines, oil and gas sites and landfills across Europe, providing critical data for policymakers and industry. First successful measurements took place in September 2024.

Project involvement: Gerrit Kuhlmann Dominik Brunner Sandro Meier

🔗ARES: Airborne research of the earth system