SDU intensify focus on space in SDU Galaxy

With rocket speed, space travel has touched down in a new golden age. Nearly 2,000 satellites fly over our heads, the NASA robot Perseverance has safely landed on Mars, ESA is hiring new astronauts - and who knows, maybe the first tourists will soon land on the moon. The fascination with space and the possibilities have never been greater. Therefore, SDU has united forces within space research and development in SDU Galaxy, so that students get the best conditions to achieve the space competencies that the business community will call out for in the near future.

- The exploration of space, our own galaxy and the Earth with observations from space are of enormous importance for understanding our own origins and securing our own future. We have created SDU Galaxy because there are some fantastic perspectives in combining research in space and space-related technology at the Faculty of Engineering, with the problems we want to solve within, for example, astrophysics and cosmology at the Faculty of Science, says Associate Professor Mads Toudal Frandsen from Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics Phenomenology, Faculty of Science.

Nicolai Iversen, research assistant at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute, the Faculty of Engineering, is one of the main leaders behind the creation of the SDU Galaxy. He is 25 years old, and because he himself missed having a network of space enthusiasts, and as his fascination for space led him into his education as a mechanical engineer, he has given this project his all.

- I have always been fascinated by space and the challenges that arise when technologies leave the Earth's atmosphere. For me, the biggest motivating factor is the practical element and the idea that the technology will actually be in a rocket in space. At SDU Galaxy, we make an effort to add this element to the students' projects, says Nicolai Iversen and points to an example:

Both Nicolai Iversen and Mads Toudal Frandsen have high expectations that, through an overall focus on space research and development, they can help make a difference to some of the important agendas that society faces.

 - There is a lot of the universe that we do not understand, but with new technology, we can punch holes in its secrets. At the same time, we can utilise the interplay between technology and basic research to gain a better understanding of the climate and ecosystems here on earth, says Mads Toudal Frandsen.