Membership of Slovenia in the European Space Agency creates new opportunities for UL

Slovenian scientists and researchers, including those working at the University of Ljubljana, are already actively involved in a wide range of space-related projects. University of Ljubljana has so far carried out around 40 projects for the European Space Agency, involving researchers from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering.

Among other things, we have developed spectroscopic techniques for the ESA's mission system Gaia, which studies specific types of stars to accurately map more than a billion stars in our galaxy. We have worked on mesoscale wind profiles and data assimilation for numerical weather prediction, and on the analysis and verification of cyclonic system precipitation using satellite measurements of precipitation. We studied cavitation in thermosensitive fluids and performed experiments and simulations of cavitation and cavitation erosion in cryogenic fluids. We have been developing the production of personalised medicines and food supplements for prolonged stays in zero-gravity space. Furthermore, we have developed a predictive model of the effectiveness of countermeasures on the cardiovascular system and fluid displacement under simulated microgravity conditions, as well as equipment for non-invasive determination of jugular venous pressure and risk of thrombosis. We predicted the lifetime of sandwich structured composites for reusable space vehicles and developed self-organising swarms of millirobots to autonomously modify unknown granular terrain.

Satellite imagery has been used in a wide range of fields, from agriculture and forestry, to observing natural disasters such as floods and droughts, to monitoring infrastructure and the natural environment. For example, across Slovenia, we monitor meadows, mowing and their condition. This is of paramount importance for many animal and plant species, for preserving biodiversity and thus for determining the health of our environment. We use satellite imagery to map non-native invasive species, such as goldenrod and Japanese knotweed, and to determine how well we can limit their spread. Satellite imagery is also used to determine the timing of tree greening, so we can monitor inter-annual variations in weather and the response of forests to climate change. We use radar satellite imagery to monitor the movement of every object in Slovenia every few days. This allows us to observe the stability as well as the response of infrastructure to phenomena such as landslides, earthquakes and the like.

Slovenia's full membership in the ESA will enable wider networking and project development, not only within universities and research institutes, but will also strengthen the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy in the global space sector. In the eight years of associate membership, 30 Slovene partners have signed 114 contracts with ESA for a total value of €42.1 million, which is expected to rise to €50 million by the end of 2024.

Tanja Permozer, Head of the Slovenian Space Office, told Slovene Press Agency that there is no shortage of ideas and projects for the development of new fields in Slovenia, but there is a problem of a lack of specialised professional staff. To this end, the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) was set up this year to work in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Together with partners from the Czech Republic, Germany and France, UL became a member of the ESA's Earth Observation Academy, an educational centre for Earth observation from space, in 2025. Over the next three years, we will organise more than ten summer schools, five hackathons and several online courses for ESA.