On the last day of the year, we traditionally look back and review the year in pictures. Who would have thought that also this year the COVID-19 pandemic would still put many obstacles in the way. Nevertheless, we were able to conduct the AMADEE-20 Mars simulation in Israel in October 2021. And our first satellite was also completed, tested, and integrated into the rocket fairing in record time.

1 An integration laboratory was added to our spacesuit lab in Innsbruck. In it, the Austrian particle detector (APID) was built 4 times for the ADLER-1 cubesat (but only one of them will fly with ADLER-1). With this instrument we can detect the smallest space debris particles (< 1 mm). (c) OeWF/Claudia Stix

2 Nationalrat (national councilor) Hermann Weratschnig, spokesperson for space for the Green Parliamentary Club, visited our space laboratory in Innsbruck together with Landesrat (regional councilor) Michael Mingler and City Councilor of Schwaz Viktoria Gruber. The politicians gained a comprehensive insight into our research facility and expressed support for the ESA_LAB@AT in cooperation with the OeWF. (c) Lena Vogler

3 Due to the postponement of the AMADEE-20 Mars simulation in Israel, 2 dress rehearsals took place in Innsbruck this year. Thereby all teams trained together the different procedures. It was not always possible for the teams to be there in person, so the dress rehearsals were conducted in hybrid form (on-site and virtual). (c) OeWF/Florian Voggeneder

4 For the first time, a joint LunAres and OeWF analog simulation took place at the LunAres Station in Poland. Commander of the 2-week lunar simulation was OeWF analog astronaut Simone Paternostro. Selected AMADEE-20 experiments were also performed such as the Retina experiment. (on the picture Retina is performed on LunAres participant Cillian Murphy) (c) OeWF/Susanne Baumann

5 Shortly before the AMADEE-20 simulation, Anette Leja the science councilor of the Tyrolean regional government, visited us at our Mission Support Center. In addition to a live connection to the Israel Space Agency, Ms. Leja got an exclusive insight into the planning of our 13th Mars analog simulation in the Negev Desert, Israel (c) LandTirol/Pötzl

6 During the bridgehead phase of the AMADEE-20 simulation in Israel, a premiere took place: For the first time, an all-female extravehicular activity (EVA) was performed with the Aouda spacesuit simulators. Our female analog astronauts Carmen Köhler and Anika Mehlis wore the suits on this occasion. The two are also our only female analog astronauts within the OeWF (c) OeWF/Florian Voggeneder

7 25 experiments, including 2 flight experiments were part of the AMADEE-20 simulation in Israel. One of them – Aeroscan – can be seen taking off in this video. The autonomously flying drone is used to help map unknown terrains

8 To support the six analog astronauts during the isolation phase, the so-called On-site Support Team (OSS) was also stationed in Israel. However, the OSS team was not allowed to interact directly with the field crew and therefore stayed in the background (c) OeWF/Florian Voggeneder

9 End of isolation and end of AMADEE-20 simulation. On October 31, 2021, after a three-week isolation phase, the field crew was allowed to leave the Mars habitat in the Negev Desert for the first time without a space suit simulator. They were greeted by about 200 guests. (c) OeWF/Florian Voggeneder

10 Burning for science. For the ESA project Bacterma, we conducted flammability tests at the University of Innsbruck with a range of textiles treated with different anti-microbes. With this project, we are exploring (novel) techniques to help reduce microbial growth on the surface of textiles. Or, to put it in simple words, we are looking at how to keep astronauts’ underwear clean.

11 Ready for launch. Our ADLER-1 satellite – a 3U Cubesat – was integrated into Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket in just 36 hours (by FAA authorization). Together with 3 other Cubesats the launch is scheduled for January 2022.

12 Meeting Israels President. At the end of the AMADEE-20 mission Israels president Jitzchak Herzog invited the OeWF, Israel Space Agency and D-MARS teams to his residence. This was a truly remarkable event, and we are very thankful for this unique opportunity and magnificent hospitality in Israel. from left: analog astronaut Liad Josef, Mr. President Jitzchak Herzog, OeWF director Gernot Groemer, analog astronaut Alon Tenzer. (c) OeWF/Florian Voggeneder

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