P Lea Sophie Cramer entrepreneur left and Irene Selvanathan from the NEUROSPACE GmbH on 12 May 2022 to Guest at VBKI Germany Berlin. IMAGO / Funke Foto Services
Thursday, April 2
A piece of Berlin technology is on its way to space. As the NASA lunar mission Artemis II captures the world’s media, a small research satellite called “Tacheles”, barely larger than a carry-on suitcase, symbolises a revolutionary step in Berlin’s space technology journey. It launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida today.
The satellite was developed by Berlin start-up Neurospace under the direction of founder Irene Selvanathan. Its purpose is to test important control electronics under extreme conditions, which will be needed for future lunar robots in a special Earth orbit.
During this mission, Tacheles will cross the Van Allen radiation belt several times. The electronics must not only withstand the radiation belt but also work reliably in space. If it’s successful, the Berlin technology could become the standard for international lunar missions in the future. “If the electronics survive this stress test, they are ripe for the moon,” says project manager Cornelius Joos.
The satellite is named after the famous Berlin Kulturhaus on Oranienburger Straße. Based near Kudamm, Neurospace is supported by funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and founded by Irene Selvanathan, who fled from Sri Lanka to Berlin with her family in the 1980s.
“We wanted something Berlin as a name for our satellite, not another Greek name of a God,” the engineer told the Spiegel. “We want to be there with our devices for everyone who wants to do something on the moon.”