Experiment led by the University of Coimbra will travel to Space in the first ESA reusable vehicle

The TGF Monitor experiment, a CdTe pixelated gamma-ray detector with polarimetric capabilities that will open new technological and scientific horizons, has just been selected to be launched in the “Space Rider”, the first reusable space vehicle of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The team is coordinated by Rui Curado Silva, faculty member of the Department of Physics of the University of Coimbra, with the participation of the Portuguese Laboratory for experimental Particle and Astroparticle Physics (LIP), the University of Beira Interior and of the companies Active Space Technologies (Coimbra) and Advacam (Prague, Czech Republic).

According to Rui Curado Silva, if the TGF Monitor Experiment succeeds, it will contribute to “establish CdTE detectors as a technology that may be used from Astrophysics to aviation security, and perform new science measurements, in particular those related to Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs).” Curado Silva explains that TGFs are “emitted by cumulonimbus clouds (clouds with large vertical development associated to thunderstorm systems) and are a concern for the health and safety of aircraft crews and passengers.

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