OeWF Blog
Latest post about OeWF activities & expeditions

RIO TINTO EXPEDITION – Day 6: Media Day
The sound of heavy rain wakes me. While it is still dark, getting back to sleep is out of the question: at half five my alarm will go off anyway. The weather forecast predicts a dry morning, with heavy thunderstorms […]
The ASF…. What’s that all about?
Engagement, enthusiasm and passion… All this characterizes the spirit of the Austrian Space Forum and the spirit of each individual member. But actually what exactly is the Austrian Space Forum? The Austrian Space Forum is an Austrian network for aerospace […]
RIO TINTO EXPEDITION – Day 5: Log of a mud-wrestling
Originally, Tuesday, 19th April was planned as “Agency Day”, so external people have the opportunity to take part in the activities on site and getting different experiments done. But the weather threw a spanner in our plans. 08:20 – The […]
Face new challenges together
Long before the first human will set a foot on another planet; a reconnaissance robot – so called Rover – will have already been there in advance. Even a manned space mission will still be accompanied by a Rover to […]
Rio TINTO EXPEDITION – Day 4: A man and his suit
Ulrich Luger is the central point. He is used to it. On this sunny morning a bunch of people is standing around- and handing stuff to him: special underwear, headgear, a few uncomfortable looking parts for his arms and legs […]
20th of April: Public Day!
Enjoy the Mars in a very small distance! Concentrated scientists, who are surrounded by computers… A space- suit in a landscape full of red sand and hills… And a rover, equipped with cameras, which is observing this situation… Let us […]
Distance makes all the difference!
Back then during the moon missions, the MCC on Earth could respond via radio communication in almost real time to every unpredictable event. We all know the scene from Apollo 13 (“Houston, we have a problem”). Even rescue missions into […]
ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA) in Rio Tinto and the role of the Science Operation Team
The science experiments are one of the most important tasks of Rio Tinto Mission, which are controlled by the Science Operation Team (SciOps). The SciOps includes the Remote Science Support Team (RSS) and the Personal Investigators (PI) and lots of […]
Course West- South- West: Day 3- Touchdown!
Spain – the final frontier. The view changes within minutes between alpine sceneries, green pastures and plantations of olive trees and oaks. We are still travelling towards the South West on well maintained motorways. At one point, rain clouds start […]