SRON_Spectrum_2016

More collaboration with China
In the past year several more important
steps have been taken towards a structural
collaboration with the Chinese
space sector. SRON is involved in this
together with TNO, NSO, the Dutch
government, and other Dutch space organizations
and institutes. A possible CO 2
mission to be realized with Chinese fund -
ing is of particular interest.
CChina is already an important player in the
international aerospace industry but the Chinese
government wants to strengthen that
position even further still. China is therefore
seeking active collaboration with experienced
international partners. The long-term goal is
for the Netherlands and China to collaborate
on the design and development of new space
instruments and the use of these by science
and society. In 2014, TNO and the Beijing
Institute of Space Machinery and Electronics
(BISME) established a joint China lab. In May
2015 this led to the signing of a collaboration
agreement (INSET) by a cluster of Dutch space
companies and institutes that focus on the
Chinese market and are therefore seeking a
closer collaboration.
The parties involved are TNO (official secretary),
SRON, NLR, ISIS BV, VDL ETG, Nedinsco,
ATG Europe, Hyperion Technologies, and
Science & Technology. Delft University of
Tech nology is involved in the cluster as a
collaborating partner.
At the end of May 2015, follow-up plans
were discussed for a concrete collaboration
between TNO, SRON, and BISME, and a
Chinese CO 2 satellite mission with Dutch
S H O R T N E W S
A cluster of Dutch space companies and institutes
that focus on the Chinese market – and are seeking
closer ties – signed a collaboration agreement (INSET)
on 22 May 2015.
input is high on the agenda. The mission will
specifically focus on making an inventory of
sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ),
which is an important factor in gaining a
better understanding of climate change.
The future CO 2 instrument must distinguish
itself through a broad field of view.
5
SRON Spectrum
Vidi grant for solving the primeval matter puzzle
SRON researcher Elisa Costantini has received
a Vidi grant from NWO. Costantini
and her team will use that money to
study primeval matter in the interstellar
medium to throw more light on phenom -
ena like the birth of stars and the formation
of planets.
XX-rays contain a wealth of information about
this primeval matter. However this information
has not yet been systematically disclosed with
the help of the latest tools. Costantini and her
team will now use high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy
to systematically study the diffuse
primeval matter in our Milky Way and other
nearby galaxies. They will mainly focus on
sources such as X-ray binaries. These X-rays
are partly absorbed by the primeval matter
and partly reflected by it. By analyzing these
X-rays Costantini and her team can obtain
information about the composition of the
matter, for example. Costantini will make
use of observations from the large space
tele scopes Chandra (NASA) and XMM-
Newton, and the Japanese space telescope
ASTRO-H (now: Hitomi), which was launched
in Febru ary 2016.
With the grant, which is worth a maximum of
800,000 euros, Costantini can set up her own
new line of research. Costantini: “For a long
time I’ve been waiting for a chance to solve
Artist’ s impression of an X-ray binary (NASA/GSFC).
the primeval matter puzzle. Furthermore, this
research could in turn be the key to solving
other problems in astrophysics that can best
be studied using X-rays. Therefore I cannot
wait to start. We are going to explore an
exciting new domain.”