• → European Space Agency

      • Space for Europe
      • Space News
      • Space in Images
      • Space in Videos
    • About Us

      • Welcome to ESA
      • DG's News and Views
      • For Member State Delegations
      • Business with ESA
      • ESA Exhibitions
      • ESA Publications
      • Careers at ESA
    • Our Activities

      • Space News
      • Observing the Earth
      • Human Spaceflight
      • Launchers
      • Navigation
      • Space Science
      • Space Engineering
      • Operations
      • Technology
      • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
    • For Public

    • For Media

    • For Educators

    • For Kids

    • ESA

    • Space Engineering

    • What we do
    • Directorate of Technical and Quality Management (TEC)
    • Electrical
    • Electrical engineering
    • Control Systems
    • Data Systems
    • Radio Frequency Payload Systems
    • Electromagnetics and Space Environment
    • Power and Energy Conversion
    • Mechanical
    • Mechanical engineering
    • Thermal Control
    • Structures and Mechanisms
    • Mechatronics and Optics, incl. robotics and life support
    • Propulsion and Aerothermodynamics
    • Systems
    • Systems and software engineering
    • Software Systems
    • Systems Engineering, incl. cost engineering
    • Technology programmes
    • Product Assurance
    • Product Assurance
    • Flight Safety
    • Dependability
    • Quality Management and Assurance
    • Materials and Processes
    • Electronic Components
    • Software Product Assurance
    • Standards
    • Requirements and standards
    • European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS)
    • European Space Components Coordination (ESCC)
    • Services
    • ESA calendar of events
    • Subscribe

    ESA > Our Activities > Space Engineering

    Students invited to spin their theses

    The centrifuge in action
    6 September 2010

    ESA is offering European students the opportunity to conduct hypergravity experiments, with a call for proposals for the 2011 ‘Spin Your Thesis!’ campaign.

    This programme enables university students to carry out experiments in hypergravity using the Large Diameter Centrifuge in the agency’s ESTEC space research and technology centre in the Netherlands.

    Examining samples

    The centrifuge subjects samples to accelerations of 1–20 times Earth’s gravity. Each of the four arms can support two gondolas, with a maximum payload of 80 kg per gondola. In practice, six gondolas are available, plus one in the centre for control experiments.

    The centrifuge is flexible in terms of experiment scenarios, duration and possible equipment. It allows experiments lasting anything from one minute to six months.


    Preparing the experiment

    Spin Your Thesis! calls for each team of students to design a scientific or technology experiment that requires hypergravity for a few hours or days, as part of their syllabus. Teams from ESA Member States and Cooperating States are encouraged to register on the ESA Education Office's project portal and upload their proposals by 10 December 2010.

    A review board will select four teams to develop and perform their experiment during ESA’s Spin Your Thesis! 2011 campaign, in ESTEC in June 2011. This campaign will last two weeks, with two teams using the equipment each week.

    During the Spin Your Thesis! project, the teams will be supported by ESA's Education Office, ESA hypergravity experts and members of the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA). ESA will offer financial support to cover part of the cost of the experiments, travel and accommodation.

    For more information contact the Spin Your Thesis! team: spinyourthesis @ esa.int

    Rate this

    Views

    Share

    • Currently 0 out of 5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Rating: 0/5 (0 votes cast)

    Thank you for rating!

    You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!

    Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!

    44
    Tweet
    • More information
    • Spin Your Thesis!
    • Hypergravity & the LDC
    • Research opportunities
    • 2013 experiments
    • 2012 experiments
    • 2011 experiments
    • 2010 experiments
      • How to apply
        • Eligibility criteria
          • List of documents
          • 2013 schedule
          • Related Links
          • Life and Physical Sciences and Life Support Laboratory
          • ELGRA
          • Register for ESA Education projects

    Connect with us

    • RSS
    • Youtube
    • Twitter
    • Flickr
    • G+
    • Facebook
    • Livestream
    • Subscribe
    • App Store
    • LATEST ARTICLES
    • · ESA astronaut Timothy Peake set fo…
    • · Space drives e-mobility
    • · Proba-V opens its eyes
    • · First new Galileo satellite arrive…
    • · Next destination: space
    • FAQ

    • Jobs at ESA

    • Site Map

    • Contacts

    • Terms and conditions