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All publications for the rubric Science

Loading the PLATO container: On August 22, 2025, the container with the PLATO satellite was loaded onto a cargo ship in Mannheim to transport it via the Rhine to ESTEC in the Netherlands. (Credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

On the way to the clean room: PLATO is unloaded from the container onto a trolley and brought into the clean room. The satellite is covered with a protective film. (Credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

PLATO on a trolley with protective film: Here, the instrument with its service module can be seen from the side. The cameras are directed to the left. (Credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

Satellite in the tent: The satellite is inserted into a tent-like enclosure that provides the cleanroom conditions required for the sensitive optical instrument. (Credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

Rotating the satellite: The satellite is rotated from its horizontal to an upright position. (Credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

The 26 cameras point upwards: PLATO in an upright position at ESTEC. You can see the cameras, all wrapped in black film. (Credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

13.10.2025
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Science

PLATO space telescope journeys to test centre by sea and road

In June 2025, the PLATO space telescope's scientific instrument was integrated with its service module in the clean room of prime contractor OHB in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. PLATO – short for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars – will scan the heavens for Earth-like exoplanets orbiting Sun…

11.10.2025
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Science

AIXTRON joins major 300 mm GaN Power Electronics Program with its Hyperion 300 mm GaN tool Herzogenrath, October 7th, 2025 – As one of the first partners, AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA) joins a 300 mm GaN Power Electronics Program with its Hyperion GaN MOCVD S

AIXTRON joins major 300 mm GaN Power Electronic Program with its Hyperion 300 mm GaN tool

As one of the first partners, AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA) joins a 300 mm GaN Power Electronics Program with its Hyperion GaN MOCVD System. The Hyperion system will be used to supply 300 mm epitaxial wafers to the program and its partners for the development of low- and high-voltage power electronics appl…

Ion implantation is of central importance for the doping of semiconductors, i.e., the process of introducing foreign atoms into the semiconductor. (Copyright: FBH | Matthias Baumbach)

19.09.2025
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Science

An interview with Dr. Andreas Thies from the FMD Institute Leibniz FBH

Ion implantation: A process that has revolutionized semiconductor manufacturing

The development of ion implantation in the 1960s was one of the fundamental prerequisites for the production of highly integrated circuits as we know them today. The process is used to introduce foreign atoms into a semiconductor and thus, for example, change its conductivity (doping). At the Ferdin…

Employees of Fraunhofer IZI at the Leipzig site in the cleanroom during the production of a CAR T cell preparation for the clinical study in Würzburg. © Fraunhofer IZI / Fraunhofer IZI employees work in the cleanroom at the Leipzig location to produce a CAR T cell preparation for the clinical study in Würzburg. © Fraunhofer IZI

The patient's immune cells and the genetic material for the ROR-1 receptor are combined in a cuvette. The genetic information enters the cell's genome through the application of electrical impulses. © Fraunhofer IZI

08.09.2025
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Science

Cellular immunotherapy

Advances in Cancer Treatment: CAR T Cells Fight Solid Tumors

A new generation of CAR T cell therapy is bringing hope in the fight against cancer, targeting not only blood cancers but also solid tumors such as ovarian and breast cancer. Fraunhofer researchers teamed up with the University Hospital of Würzburg to streamline the complicated process of manufactur…

Location PROVIREX in Hamburg (Copyright: PROVIREX; Image rights: PROVIREX Genome Editing Therapy)

12.07.2025
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Science

PROVIREX enables the future production of CAR-T cells

First cleanroom for CAR-T cell production in Hamburg - also for people with HIV when indicated

The CAR-T cell therapy has been expanding treatment options in Germany since 2018 for people with certain hematologic-oncological diseases. Cells for the personalized therapy are currently mostly produced in U.S. laboratories. This requires complex logistics and is associated with high costs. The bi…

PLATO Mission: Starting from the year 2026, the space telescope PLATO will search for Earth-sized exoplanets in orbit around neighboring stars. (Credit: OHB Systems AG) / The PLATO space telescope will search for Earth-sized planets: PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is a European mission that will search for Earth-sized exoplanets in orbit around neighboring stars from 2026 onwards. For these observations, each of the 26 PLATO telescopes will be equipped with a set of CCD sensors (artist’s impression). (Credit: OHB-System-AG)

In the clean room – PLATO in OHB's integration facility: The 'optical bench' with its 26 cameras is lifted onto the service module of the spacecraft. The service module contains all the components necessary for spaceflight, control, operation of the space telescope, and the transmission of scientific data to Earth. (Credit: ESA – M. Pédoussaut)

Flight model of the readout electronics for one of PLATO's 'fast' cameras: One of two flight models of the readout electronics for the 'fast' PLATO cameras, which were developed and built at the DLR Institute of Space Systems in Berlin-Adlershof and are now being sent to Belgium for further integration. The four camera sensors are connected at the top, while the connections for data transmission and electrical power are located at the bottom. (Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0))

Milestone in mission preparation: Engineers at OHB in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, inspect 24 of the 26 PLATO cameras on the spacecraft's

04.07.2025
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Science

Search for exoplanets

ESA's PLATO space telescope integrated

– ESA's PLATO space telescope is scheduled to launch at the end of 2026 and begin its search for Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars in 2027.
– The telescope's optical bench, with its 26 cameras, has now been integrated into the spacecraft's service module – only the solar panels remain to be…

The QUICKÂ³ flight pattern in the integration laboratory at the Department of Aerospace Engineering with the development team of the Technical University of Berlin.

The small satellite QUICK³ serves as a technology demonstrator for components of a future quantum satellite system.

Successful launch of the rocket from the Vandenberg Space Center (California, USA)

26.06.2025
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Science

Smallest satellite with TU Berlin system technology tests quantum communication in space

On Monday, June 23, 2025, the microsatellite QUICK³ from the Vandenberg Space Center (California, USA; GMT-7) was successfully launched into Earth's orbit. The mission aims to test new technologies for secure quantum communication and conduct a quantum physics experiment under space conditions. The…

Opening of the European Test and Reliability Center (ETRC) in Chemnitz: Prof. Dr. Harald Kuhn, Institute Director of Fraunhofer ENAS (center, at the buzzer), gives the starting signal for the new center together with leading representatives from industry, politics, and research. Also present (from left to right): Laith Altimime, President of SEMI Europe; Clemens Otte, Head of the Microelectronics Association at ZVEI; Rose Hu, Senior Director Application Engineering, Advantest Europe GmbH; Prof. Dr.-Ing. Albert Heuberger, Director of Fraunhofer IIS and Spokesman of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD); Dr. Tim Gutheit, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Automotive, Infineon Technologies AG; Heike Vocke, Managing Director of iSAX and member of the Board of Trustees of Fraunhofer ENAS; Dr. Manfred Horstmann, General Manager and Senior Vice President, GlobalFoundries; Volker Herbig, Vice President, X-FAB Group. © Fraunhofer ENAS/André Wirsig

Together strong for the new European Test and Reliability Center (ETRC) (from left to right): Prof. Dr. Harald Kuhn, Institute Director of Fraunhofer ENAS, and Prof. Dr. Daniel Kriesten, Head of the ETRC. © Fraunhofer ENAS/André Wirsig

26.06.2025
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Science

Chemnitz becomes a European hub for semiconductor testing and reliability research with the new "European Test and Reliability Center"

Fraunhofer ENAS celebrates the opening of the “European Test and Reliability Center” (ETRC). With support from the European Union (EU), the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the Free State of Saxony, the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS is establishi…

Artistic depiction of the LISA observatory. © OHB / Artificial impression of the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) observatory. © OHB

Prof. Carole Mundell, ESA Director of Science, and Chiara Pedersoli, Chairwoman of the Executive Board of OHB System AG, at the Paris Airshow during the kick-off event for the LISA mission. © ESA – M. Polo / Carole Mundell, ESA’s Director of Science, and Chiara Pedersoli, CEO of OHB System AG, at the Paris Airshow during the kick-off event for the LISA mission. © ESA – M. Polo

24.06.2025
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Science

Successful kick-off event at Paris Airshow for ESAs flagship science mission LISA

A new era of astrophysics: OHB to construct a pioneering spacecraft constellation to capture gravitational waves

All eyes on LISA – the first space-based observatory dedicated to explore the universe by studying gravitational waves. Eagerly awaited by scientists around the world and expected to reveal some of the last mysteries of our universe. The excitement was palpable on 17th June, 2025, when the European…

The vector scanners from Fraunhofer IPMS are now space-ready.

MEMS vector scanning module with damped suspension for operation in space. © Fraunhofer IPMS

23.06.2025
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Science

Optical systems of Fraunhofer IPMS

MEMS vector scanning module with enhanced vibration and shock resistance for space applications

Galvanoscanners have so far provided reliable services in optical communication in space or in Earth observation via LIDAR. However, in the future, these systems could be replaced by smaller and more compact systems with MEMS scanners. In the MiniLIDAR project funded by the Federal Ministry for Econ…

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