Trained at Tromsø University (Norway) and recruited at the Plasma Physics Laboratory (CNRS/Ecole polytechnique/Observatoire de Paris/Université Paris-Sud/Sorbonne Université), Ane AaneslanCNRS scientist, is the general president- diectory of de ThrustMe, a start-up specializing in the propulsion of miniaturized satellites, a society which she founded in 2017 with her colleague Dmytro Rafalskyi.
A new step towards the miniaturization of satellites
Together, they have developed two major innovations to reduce the size of the propulsion units used by satellites to stay on the right orbits.
The first involves the choice and the use of the ergols, a generic term indicating the material which furnishes the energy need for space propulsion. Finding new ways to store, treat and accelerate iodine, they were in particular able to show that this cheap material could, in a solid state, replace xenon, a gas used currently in plasma propulsion.
The second axis of innovation : the design of a single technology which enables one to accelerate both positive ions and electrons, instead of having to have a different electrode for each type of particle. Their objective is to strengthen space industry. Given that the number of satellites launched has increased by a factor of ten, it has now become essential to control them better and so avoid collisions and increase their lifetime.
She will receive the prize at a ceremony which will take place in Paris on December 12th. awarded
The CNRS medal for innovation, awarded since 2011, is awarded to those whose outstanding research has led to important innovation in technology, , economy, medicine and the social sciences.
