Astroinformatics, Space Sciences and Heliophysics

at the FHNW School for Computer Science HSI

The Astro-Helio Group

The Astroinformatics and Heliophysics Group is an interdisciplinary research group at the FHNW Institute for Data Science, FHNW School for Computer Science: computer scientists, engineers, physicists in the domains of solar- and astrophysics and science communicators. We contribute to some of the big international space and astronomy endeavours by the European Space Agency ESA, their American counterpart NASA or through the European research programme and Swiss funding agencies. We are also interested in clever small and low-cost projects that allow studying the universe with limited resources.

People at all levels of their career work for the projects in international teams: students, doctoral students, post-docs, engineers, scientists, public engagement specialists and administrators. Even apprentices in software engineering contribute to our space projects, which is very exciting for them.

André Csillaghy, head of the Institute for Data Science

Säm Krucker, lead heliophysics, principal investigator STIX X-ray telescope

Our flagship project – the X-ray telescope STIX on Solar Orbiter

Our biggest and most complex project is the X-ray telescope STIX which started to the Sun in February 2020 on board ESA’s spacecraft Solar Orbiter. It is lead by astrophysicist Prof. Dr. Säm Krucker at the Institute for Data Science. The instrument was designed at FHNW in close collaboration with Hans-Peter Gröbelbauer from the Institute of Product and Production Engineering (HTU) and making use of the technical facilities on the campus. It was built in co-operation with Swiss and European partners, both industrial and academic.

While most of our space projects are computer science projects, STIX encompasses work at all levels of research and development: instrument design, analysis, manufacturing, assembly and testing of flight hardware as well as development of ground- and flight-software. Once the instrument sends data, they will be exploited, and knowledge extracted, by scientists at the Institute of Data Science and researchers throughout the globe. The STIX project is an example demonstrating the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary team working closely together so each member has a clear idea about what is needed and what the other does.

Organizations we participate in

SKAO Science and Engineering Advisory Committee

André Csillaghy, member of the committee. The SEAC advises the Director-General and the Board of the SKA-Organization on scientific and technical matters related to the construction of the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope.

Swiss SKA Consortium SKACH

I4DS, consortium partner. 2022, Switzerland became an official member of the Square Kilometer Array Organization SKAO. The Swiss SKA consortium SKACH is responsible for managing the Swiss contribution to the SKAO.

Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space UN COPUOS

I4DS is a member. The UN-committee deals with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. Its role as a forum to monitor and discuss developments related to the exploration and use of outer space has evolved alongside with the technical advancements in space exploration, geopolitical changes, and the evolving use of space science and technology for sustainable development.

The Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics SCOSTEP

FHNW is a member of the Swiss national committee. SCOSTEP runs international interdisciplinary scientific programs and promotes solar-terrestrial physics research by providing the necessary scientific framework for international collaboration and dissemination of the derived scientific knowledge in collaboration with other ICSU bodies. SCOSTEP is a permanent observer at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS).

International Space Weather Initiative ISWI

André Csillaghy, National Coordinator. ISWI is a program of international cooperation to advance space weather science by a combination of instrument deployment, analysis and interpretation of space weather data from the deployed instruments in conjunction with space data, and communicate the results to the public and students.

Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy SSAA

I4DS is a member. The Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy (SGAA/SSAA), founded on 9 November 1968, is a professional society, member of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (sc|nat) and part of its platform Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics (MAP).

Swiss Committee on Space Research

André Csillaghy, member of the committee. The Committee on Space Research of the Swiss Academy of Sciences coordinates and stimulates space research in Switzerland.

A short history of space at the Institute for Data Science

The Institute for Data Science has been involved in software development for space applications since 2002. After ETHZ started concentrating their resources on cosmology, some heliophysics activities were transferred to FHNW. This way, knowledge built up at ETHZ over decades was kept in Switzerland. Further developments in the field of heliophysics, which has a long tradition in Switzerland, could be initiated.

The prerequisites at FHNW for space activities were good. A combination of computer science, engineering and physics, space sciences are deeply rooted in the applied sciences, yet driven by the requirements of astrophysics. Space research and development rely on a close cooperation between partners from universities and the industries to ensure the best possible interplay between hardware, software and science.

While the field of data sciences evolved, the Astroinformatics and Heliophysics Group grew. The huge amount of data from space missions called for new approaches in computer science, including the use of machine learning and the development of algorithms for data retrieval and -analysis. The capability to treat large amounts of data in new ways opened up new perspectives in data exploitation and information extraction, resulting in new methodologies for science.

These developments in computer science are more than about a particular space project. In fact, space sciences fuel computer sciences by providing a wealth of freely accessible high-quality data sets from publicly funded space research projects, in particular NASA missions. These data are invaluable resources for developing new methodologies like machine learning, which are finally applicable to other fields such as health or for business enterprises.

Data Science is computer science and statistics
merged to provide data-driven methods integrated with domain knowledge
to answer a broad range of questions and drive decision making.

Berkeley Division of Data Science