The "Luxembourg space agency" made a joint statement with the "Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology" (LIST) on Tuesday to announce the construction of a European innovation centre in the Grand Duchy.
Also present were the Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot (LSAP) and the Minister for Higher Education and Research Claude Meisch (DP). The project is supposed to help develop the national expertise in the domain of space resources.
The centre is set to cost around 20 million euros and will be built within the span of 3 years. 30 employees will help develop an ecosystem to benefit the research of space in the country.
Video report in Luxembourgish:
The European Space Agency (ESA) will support the project with €8 million and a "thermal vacuum chamber", which can replicate the conditions experienced in space. ESA will moreover become a full investor of the centre, as agreed in 2019. Minister Fayot, who is in charge of the Luxembourgish agency will also contribute €8 million, LIST €2.9 million.
The "European Space Ressources Innovation Center" will focus on the support of space research, related economic activities, and the creation of a grid of cooperation and sharing of insights.
Out of confidentiality reasons, the head of LIST Dr Thomas Kallstenius could not relate too much information on the researching of materials that could potentially find usage on Earth.
