EPFL Space Center

Solar Flare X-ray Observations with a Cubesat
2024-02-22 17:15 - 18:15 (Europe/Zurich) | ZOOM
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
13:00-14:15
EPFL Campus, room BC 420
Online: zoom link

A presentation by the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA)
The Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA) is an alliance born in 2024 from 11 large space and aviation institutions across two countries, including a Civil Research Flight Facility with aircraft handling and operations. Connected to the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf, it forms an end-to-end ecosystem for space research and technology operations.

Overview of the Presentation
Oliver Ullrich will introduce the CSA and its institutional foundations.
Marcel Egli will cover the major physiological changes in the human body under microgravity, highlight related research conducted at partner institutions, and introduce the newly established ESA ground-based facility SHARF, dedicated to space farming research. He will also describe the ESA User Support and Operations Centre BIOTESC and its role in enabling scientific activities aboard the International Space Station.
Cora Thiel will present how human cells can sense and adapt to changes in gravity within seconds, pointing to a possible "genomic code of gravity." She will also highlight her research on patient-derived organoids in microgravity, which enabled the first scalable production process for functional human tissues in space — with strong potential for translational and personalized medicine.
Lorenz Herrmann will give an overview of space-related research activities at Empa, closing with an outlook on future collaboration opportunities based on Empa's core competences.

About the Presenters
Prof. Dr. Marcel Egli serves as Head of the Institute of Medical Engineering at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and of the National Center for Biomedical Research in Space at the University of Zurich. He directs ESA's User Support and Operations Centre BIOTESC and leads the ESA ground-based facility SHARF, an analogue platform dedicated to research in space farming and bioregenerative life-support systems. His scientific work focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of mechanosensation under microgravity conditions, employing platforms including parabolic flight campaigns, sounding rockets, and the International Space Station.
Dr. Cora Thiel is Vice Director at the University of Zurich's Institute of Aerospace Medicine and Director of International Relations at the CSA. Her expertise spans cell and molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, and gravitational biology. She serves on several national and international boards, is an elected Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics, and a board member of the Swiss SkyLab Foundation. With 18 years of experience in parabolic flight, suborbital rocket, and ISS missions, she has also served as an ESA Astronaut Candidate, a Mars analogue astronaut, and the first female parabolic flight instructor. She led the UZH-Airbus project "3D Organoids in Space."
Dr. Lorenz Herrmann has been Head of the Department of Advanced Materials and Surfaces at Empa and a member of Empa's directorate since 2022. He studied physics at the University of Regensburg and the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, completing a binational PhD in solid state physics in 2010. After joining ABB Corporate Research, he worked as scientist, group leader, and department head on technology development projects. His personal research field is material development and characterization for electrical engineering applications.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Oliver Ullrich is Full Professor of Aerospace Medicine and Director of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the University of Zurich, as well as Chairman of the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein. A physician and biochemist specialized in anatomy, cell biology, immunology, and aerospace medicine, he also holds a post-graduate diploma in Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University. He is Ambassador of the Greater Zurich Area, an active supporter of entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships, and the initiator of the Swiss Parabolic Flight program. He has received numerous national and international research and teaching awards, including the International Academy of Astronautics Award for the Life Sciences.
