The Institut für Weltraumforschung (IWF - Space Research Institute) is one of the biggest institutes of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften - OeAW) and is located in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. Established in 1970, it has been studying the physics of space plasmas and the atmospheres of planets inside and outside the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

for more than 50 years. With about 100 employees from twenty nations, it is located in the Victor Franz Hess Research Center of OeAW in the south of Graz. At the Lustbühel Observatory it operates a satellite laser ranging station, which is one of the best in the world.

Participation in space missions

IWF is the only institute in Austria that develops and builds space-qualified instruments on a large scale. The data returned by them are scientifically analysed and physically interpreted at the institute. IWF's core engineering expertise is in building magnetometers and on-board computers, as well as in laser ranging to satellites and space debris. In terms of science, IWF concentrates on dynamic processes in space plasma physics and on the upper atmospheres of planets and exoplanets - i.e. planets outside our solar system. Space has been explored with the help of satellites for more than 60 years and still poses many puzzles. Since the beginning of the 1980s, IWF has contributed/is contributing to more than 40 international space missions with over 100 scientific instruments. The institute is currently involved in 23 projects led by the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA or national space agencies in Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea. The missions cover fleets of satellites in near-Earth space (

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

MMS MMS may refer to: Science and technology Network communication protocols * Multimedia Messaging Service for mobile phones * Microsoft Media Server, a content-streaming protocol (mms://) * Manufacturing Message Specification for real time proces ...

THEMIS In Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titans, Titan children of Gaia and Uranus (mythology), Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the godde ...

), the observation of the Sun (

STEREO Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

Solar Orbiter The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing satellite developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). SolO, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of the ...

) and the exploration of planets such as Mercury (

BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...

), Jupiter (''

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

'', JUICE) and extrasolar planets ( CHEOPS). From building the instruments to analyzing their data, these projects last 10-30 years. While IWF has already "harvested" the data from past missions ('' Cassini/Huygens'', ''

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

'') and the scientists are eagerly analyzing the data from the current missions, in the laboratory the sophisticated sensors and instruments for future missions are being developed.

External links

Official website of IWF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institut fur Weltraumforschung (Space Research Institute) Research institutes in Austria Space research