NEWS Shortly, Umeå University may be the first university to land on the Moon. On 17 November, Umeå Lunar Venture space enthusiasts will present their progress in developing measuring equipment that will go in a rocket to the Moon. You’ll also come close to a space shuttle that will travel on the lunar surface, and meet the German engineers behind it.
The Moon has always fascinated and bewildered mankind, and shortly, more of its secrets will be revealed. Umeå Lunar Venture is a group of students and researchers at Umeå University who are at present developing measuring tools to send to our closest neighbouring celestial body – the Moon.
“It’s so exciting and certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, both for us and for Sweden. The project shows that also a small country can contribute with unique knowledge in space science,” says Sebastian Sjöquist, project manager at Umeå Lunar Venture.
The instrument that Umeå Lunar Venture is now developing will measure the electric field of the lunar surface – for the first time in human history.
“Gaining more knowledge of that electric field – and how it affects the circulation of moon dust and electronic equipment – is interesting and hugely important, particularly for future space travel further afield,” continues Sebastian Sjöquist.
The scientific experiment will be the very first on the Moon for Sweden, and Umeå University will in other words be the very first Swedish university to land on the celestial body. Anders Fällström, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University, is incredibly proud of the project:
“This really is a dream project. Umeå University is known for making good discoveries and transboundary research, but being first to reach space and land on another celestial body does feel rather surreal. It’s particularly exciting that our promising students are highly involved in developing the instrument,” he says.
In their wish to spread knowledge about space and their lunar project, Umeå Lunar Venture will hold an Innovation Fair on Thursday 17 November (see full programme below). Visitors will also get to see a real-life space shuttle that will drive on the lunar surface, meet the German engineers The Part-Time Scientist (PTS) behind it, and also engineering physics and informatics students. Most of the event is held in Swedish, but questions can be asked in English.
At 10:00–12:00 in the MIT Building entrance at Umeå University. The event carries on for students and staff at Umeå University between 13:30–15:00 and the evening programme between 18:00–21:00 at Umevatoriet is also open to the public.
Everyone is welcome and the event is free of charge.
umealunarventure@umu.se
Read more about the project Umeå Lunar Venture
(In Swedish. Blog and introductory film available in English, though)
Place: The MIT Building entrance at Umeå University.
09.00 – 10.00 Registration
10:00 – 10:10 Welcome speech
Anders Fällström, Deputy Vice-Chancellor. (In Swedish)
10:10 – 10:15 Introduction Umeå Lunar Venture
Clayton Forssén, student at the Master of Science Programme in Engineering Physics focusing on space. (In Swedish)
10:15 – 11:00 Umeå Lunar Venture – exploring the Moon
What started as a hobby project has in less than two years grown to one of the largest space projects in Sweden. But how is it even technically possible? And how does the Moon function?
Sebastian Sjöquist, project manager; Maria Hamrin, project scientist; Tomas Härdin, electronics engineer. (In Swedish)
11:00 – 11:10 How can students in Engineering Physics and local companies collaborate?
Martin Servin, course coordinator of collaboration projects aimed at the trade and industry. (In Swedish)
11:10 – 11:55 The first private Moon mission in history (In English)
The Part-Time-Scientists (PTS) are a group of engineers, scientists and space enthusiasts formed in 2009. Their main objective: Winning the Google Lunar Xprize, which is a race to the Moon. Winner is the team that is able to send a rover to the lunar surface, drive 500 meters and send video and pictures back to Earth. This will be the first private Moon mission in history. The talk will give you an overview of our development, our story and the future of our project... and we have a real Moonrover!
Michael Mussler, Press Contact, PTScience. (In English)
11:55 – 12:00 Final words
12:00 – 13:30 Lunch and socialising
Place: The MIT Building entrance at Umeå University.
13:30 – 13:35 Welcome speech
Sebastian Sjöquist, project manager at Umeå Lunar Venture, greets everyone welcome to the afternoon events. (In Swedish)
13:30 – 14:00 The 3D lab and how it’s used
Krister Wiklund, Department of Physics, tells us more about the 3D lab and how it is used to provide students with good problem-solving tools. (In Swedish)
14:00 – 14:15 About my time in the Umeå Lunar Venture summer project and what it has given me.
Clayton Forssén, student at the Master of Science Programme in Engineering Physics focusing on space. (In Swedish)
14:15 – 14:45 Lunar physics
Patrik Norqvist, Department of Physics. (In Swedish)
14:45 – 14:50 Final words
Maria Hamrin, Department of Physics, and Sebastian Sjöquist, project manager at Umeå Lunar Venture. (In Swedish)
14:50 – 15:30 Coffee and socialising
Place: Umevatoriet, Umestan
18:00 – 18:05 Welcome speech
18:05 – 18:50 Umeå Lunar Venture – exploring the Moon
What started as a hobby project has in less than two years grown to one of the largest space projects in Sweden. But how is it even technically possible? And how does the Moon function?
Sebastian Sjöquist, project manager; Maria Hamrin, project scientist; Tomas Härdin, electronics engineer. (In Swedish)
19:00 – 19:45 Lunar physics
Patrik Norqvist, Department of Physics. (In Swedish)
20:00–20:45 The first private Moon mission in history (In English)
The Part-Time-Scientists (PTS) are a group of engineers, scientists and space enthusiasts formed in 2009. Their main objective: Winning the Google Lunar Xprize, which is a race to the Moon. Winner is the team that is able to send a rover to the lunar surface, drive 500 meters and send video and pictures back to Earth. This will be the first private Moon mission in history. The talk will give you an overview of our development, our story and the future of our project... and we have a real Moonrover!
Michael Mussler, Press Contact, PTScience. (In English)
Umeå Lunar Venture is a collaboration between Umeå University and Space Science Sweden who will help put the first Swedish lunar experiment on the Moon. A large part of the project is implemented by students at Umeå University.
Editor: Anna Lawrence