CV

(status 1.10.2024)

Work Experience

1.1.2018 – Present

  • DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OF SPACE RESEARCH AND OBSERVATION TECHNOLOGIES UNIT
    • FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Helsinki, Finland
    • Space Research and Observation Technologies Unit
  • Main responsibilities: project management, project engineering and space instrument design

01.01.2009 – 31.12.2017

  • RESEARCH SCIENTIST
    • FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Helsinki, Finland
    • Radar and Space Technology Research Group, Earth Observation Research Division.
  • Main responsibilities: space instrument design, project engineering and project management

01.01.2008 – 31.12.2008

  • PROJECT ENGINEER
    • FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Helsinki, Finland
    • Radar and Space Technology Research Group, Earth Observation Research Division.
  • Main responsibilities: space instrument design and project engineering

01.09.2005 – 31.12.2007

  • PROJECT ENGINEER
    • FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Helsinki, Finland
    • Space Technology Research, Space Research Division
  • Main responsibilities: project engineering and space instrument design

17.05.2005 – 31.08.2005

  • RESEARCH INTERN
    • FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Helsinki, Finland
    • Space Technology Research, Space Research Division
  • Main responsibilities: project engineering and proposal preparations

01.05.2002 – 31.08.2004

  • DESIGN ENGINEER
    • FOSTER WHEELER ENERGY LTD, Varkaus, Finland
    • CAD design of circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) boilers. Asian and Eastern Europe projects.

01.05.2001 – 04.2002 

  • TECHNICAL INTERN
    • FOSTER WHEELER ENERGY LTD, Varkaus, Finland

    • Puolustusvoimat – Försvarsmakten – Finnish Defence Forces, Mikkeli, Finland

Volunteer Work

BOARD MEMBER 2021 – 2023, PRO-AMATEUR RESEARCH GROUP LEADER, FORMER DEPUTY MEMBER OF THE BOARD URSA ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION

  • Board Member 2021 – 2023, Pro-amateur research group leader, former Deputy Member of the Board

CO-CHAIR OF THE EPSC COMMITTEE EUROPLANET 2020 RI

  • Co-Chair of the Europlanet Science Congress Committee

EPSC 2022 SOC AND VOC MEMBER EUROPLANET SOCIETY

  • Europlanet Science Congress 2022 Scientific Organizing Committee and Virtual Organizing Committee

EPSC 2022: ODAA PROGRAMME GROUP COORDINATOR EUROPLANET SOCIETY

  • One of the programme group coordinators of the ODAA (Outreach, Diversity, Amateur Astronomy) session of the Europlanet Science Congress 2022 in Granada, Spain.

EPSC-DPS 2025 LOC MEMBER EUROPLANET SOCIETY

  • Europlanet Science Congress 2025, Helsinki, Finlandia Hall, local organizing committee member

EPSC 2020 AND EPSC 2021 VOC MEMBER EUROPLANET 2020 RI

  • Europlanet Science Congress 2020 and 2021 Virtual Organizing Committee Member

WEBSITE CONTENT MANAGER, PRO-AMATEUR RESEARCHER, FORMER OBSERVATION GROUP LEADER

  • WARKAUDEN KASSIOPEIA RY. – TAURUS HILL OBSERVATORY
  • Website content manager, pro-amateur researcher, former observation group leader

CHAIR OF THE BOARD (2022-2023), BOARD MEMBER (2021-2022)

  • AS-OY TERHOKUJA 1
  • Chair of the Board (2022-2023), Board Member (2021-2022)

FINCOSPAR 2021/22 LOC MEMBER

  • FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE
  • FinCOSPAR 2021/22 LOC member

FORMER LAYOUT DESIGNER OF THE “AVARUUSLUOTAIN (SPACEPROBE)” -MAGAZINE, FORMER MEMBER OF THE BOARD

  • SUOMEN AVARUUSTUTKIMUSSEURA RY SÄLLSKAPET FÖR ASTRONAUTISK FORSKNING I FINLAND
  • Former layout designer of the “Avaruusluotain (Spaceprobe)” -magazine, former Member of the board

Education and Training

01.08.2004 – 11.2021

  • MASTER OF SCIENCE (MSC) (ENGINEER, TECHN.), SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    • Aalto University, Aalto, Finland
    • Space Science and Technology / Avaruustiede- ja tekniikka / Rymdfysik och -teknik. Major: space technology, minor: radio technology. Engineer’s degree (MSc).
    • Thesis: Defining the Mars lander electrical systems for optimizing the scientific operation performance

01.09.1999 – 31.12.2003

  • BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (B. ENG.), AUTOMATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    • Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Varkaus, Finland
    • Automation and information technology / Automaatio ja tietotekniikka / Automation och informationsteknik.
    • Major: Automation, minor: information technology. Engineer’s degree (B. Eng).
    • Thesis: Development of a CFD boiler variable loads monitoring system

Other Education

  • ESIMIESTYÖ ILMATIETEEN LAITOKSELLA / SUPERVISION WORK AT THE FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE
    • Finnish Meteorological Institute
  • HYBRIDITYÖ VALTIOLLA / HYBRID WORK IN THE STATE 
    • Finnish Meteorological Institute

Projects

01.10.2024 – CURRENT

Acting as a mechanical designer of the COSSTA-PL. As part of the NASA Dragonfly Entry Aerosciences Measurements (DrEAM) suite, the Dragonfly entry capsule includes a subsystem called COmbined Sensor System for Titan Atmosphere (COSSTA), developed by the Supersonic and Hypersonic Technologies Department of the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology in cooperation with NASA. COSSTA-PL is a pressure sensor developed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), dedicated to measuring the static pressure on the entry capsule backshell.

01.04.2024 – CURRENT

Acting as FMI project manager and WP1 lead. The objective of this activity is to design a prototype deployable satellite navigation antenna in Ka band. A review into possible use cases for such an antenna on a small sat platform, to be used for navigation functions in combination with mega constellations shall be performed. A trade-off between different design solutions shall be performed, such as deployable helical or reflectors, and the most promising selected for further development. A final breadboard of the antenna will be manufactured and tested to demonstrate the reception of navigation signals with adequate code and carrier stability

01.10.2022 – CURRENT

EU SST – EU Space Surveillance and Tracking

The safety and security of European economies, societies and citizens rely on space-based applications such as communication, navigation and observation. However, due to the growing complexity of the orbital environment, space-based assets are increasingly at risk from collision with other operational spacecraft or debris. At the same time, objects may re-enter and cause damage on the ground. To mitigate these risks, we need to be able to survey and track such objects, and to provide this information to a variety of stakeholders.

Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) is part of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) component of the EU Space Programme, adopted by the European Union in 2021 with the Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

30.08.2022 – CURRENT

ESA DragLiner

Acting as a project manager of the ESA DragLiner project. The objective of this ESA project is to design, analyse and test a tether-based deorbiting system for low Earth orbit satcom. The de-orbiting system should be highly autonomous and minimise the use of spacecraft resources.

The DragLiner project will be focused on finding an optimal solution for the Coulomb-drag based on Deorbit System Tether material and Tether configuration, and on preliminary design of such a system and demonstration of its most critical elements through Breadboard model testing.

01.09.2019 – 30.11.2023

ESA MiniPINS – Miniature Planetary In-situ Sensors

Acting as project manager. This project develop and prototype miniaturised Surface Sensor Packages (SSP) for Mars and the Moon and will also develop and prototype delivery systems for both SSPs. Specifically, this aims at miniaturising the scientific sensors and subsystems, as well as identifying and utilizing commonalities of the SSPs, allowing to optimise the design, cutting costs and reducing the development time.

Both Mars and the Moon SSPs will be miniaturised, light and robust, and still capable of surviving high G loads and extreme thermal environments. SSPs are capable of working on the surface of Mars or the Moon and to produce high quality science data with state of art instrumentation. This work will also include tests and demonstrations of key technologies of both the SSPs and the deployment sys-tems for Moon and Mars. The output of this work will enable ESA to prepare and plan for technology development programs required to implement such ambitious planetary missions.

01.01.2017 – CURRENT

NASA 2020 Perseverance – Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)

MEDA is a suite of environmental sensors designed to record dust optical properties and six atmospheric parameters: wind speed/direction, pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, ground temperature, and radiation in discrete bands of the UV, visible, and IR ranges of the spectrum.

The radiation sensor is part of an assembly with two arrays of photodiodes that also capture low elevation angle scattered light and a sky-pointing camera; these data are combined to characterize the properties of atmospheric aerosols.

Systematic measurement is the main driver for MEDA operations. Over the entire mission’s lifetime, with a configured cadence and frequency in accordance to resource availability, MEDA records data from all sensors. Implementation of this strategy is based on a high degree of autonomy in MEDA operations. MEDA wakes itself up each hour and after recording and storing data, goes to sleep independently of rover operations. It records data whether the rover is awake or not, and both day and night.

01.04.2006 – CURRENT

NASA MSL/Curiosity – Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS)

The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station will measure and provide daily and seasonal reports on atmospheric pressure, humidity, ultraviolet radiation at the Martian surface, wind speed and direction, air temperature, and ground temperature around the rover.

01.04.2005 – CURRENT

Mars MetNet Mission

The MetNet mission to Mars is based on a new type of semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scope of the MetNet Mission is eventually to deploy several tens of MNLs on the Martian surface. The MNL will carry a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars.

The basic ideas of MetNet were cast by the FMI-team already in late 1980s. The concept was nurtured over a decade, and eventually the MetNet development work started in the year 2000.

The first step in the MetNet Mission is to have a Mars MetNet Precursor Mission (MMPM) with a few MNLs deployed to Mars.

01.07.2007 – CURRENT

ESA Exomars 2022 – Surface Platform

The mission of the ExoMars programme will deliver a European rover and a Russian surface platform to the surface of Mars. A Proton rocket will be used to launch the mission, which will arrive to Mars after a nine-month journey. The ExoMars rover will travel across the Martian surface to search for signs of life. It will collect samples with a drill and analyse them with nextgeneration instruments. ExoMars will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth.

01.01.2016 – 31.01.2018

PNOWWA – Probabilistic Nowcasting of Winter Weather for Airports

Acting as project manager. The PNOWWA project will produce methods for the probabilistic short-term forecasting of winter weather and enable the assessment of the uncertainty in the ground part of 4D trajectories. 4D trajectory management is a necessary concept to meet future growth in air traffic; probabilistic forecasts will be used in ATM applications to support operational planning in surface management and ATM decision making, thereby increasing airport capacity, shortening delays and promoting safety.

01.01.2019 – 02.2020

AVAUS – New Space: security dimensions and business potential

Space activity has for a long time had a substantial strategic significance for the operation of the society, national safety, and administrative decision making. Societal functions utilize data produced and transmitted by satellites, the amount and geographical coverage of which has radically increased in recent years. In the past large-scale space activity required substantial financial investment and was only practiced by a few superpowers. Now technological development has created affordable space technology that provides an efficient means to respond to the needs and wishes of the society and industry. Completely new applications and services based on efficient combination of observations made in space and on ground are now possible. This phenomenon is called New Space and the related business opportunities are called New Space Economy.

It is important to note that the emergence of new space technology and possible applications is not replacing systems implemented with traditional space technology. Clearly, new space technology is creating disruptive solutions and opportunities for utilizing space, but it also complements traditional space infrastructural systems like large scale satellite observational programs.

This project investigates the new space environment from the point of view of national utilization: how could we best harness the emerging technology relevant for national safety as well as business potential to serve the Finnish society?

Technological and scientific ability created using national basic funding will have important leverage on business and the Finnish safety. Know-how and innovations entice growth financing, enabling rapid growth of business. Utilization of space for the service of national safety requires high quality know-how, and will benefit from successful business.

01.01.2012 – 31.08.2019

Europlanet RI – NA1: Innovation Through Science Networking

Innovation in the area of planetary science is driven by the demanding environments in which spacecraft and their instruments must work, by the large datasets and challenging observations that must be made to understand planetary systems, and by the sheer curiosity of humans as a species to understand their own world in relation to the others we have found and are finding. This WP provides the key scientific backbone of EPN2020 and focuses on the human resources of the project itself and beyond – on researchers and engineers working in the field of planetary exploration in the ERA, contributing to overall capacity building in Europe. Our ambition is to integrate and network the providers of planetary science infrastructures with the users and with the wider European Planetary Science community and European Industrial partners. The activities will contribute to broaden international S&T cooperation as well. There will be 25 WS-type activities over the 4 years of the project.

01.06.2017 – 06.2019

Helsinki metropolitan Air Quality Testbed (HAQT)

Poor air quality is the most severe environmental hazard to people globally. To improve the accuracy of urban air quality predictions, better models and air quality measurement networks are needed. The Helsinki metropolitan Air Quality Testbed (HAQT) project demonstrates an end-to-end approach to meet this demand by adding cost efficient air quality instruments to the current reference network in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and by using that data as input to ENFUSER model to significantly improve air quality forecasts in the Helsinki metropolitan area and surroundings, and finally by implementing a few demo services for data dissemination.

01.01.2015 – 31.12.2018

CITYZER – Services for effective decision making and environmental resilience

The CITYZER project develops new digital services and products to support decision making processes related to weather and air quality in cities. This includes, e.g., early warnings and forecasts (0-24 h), which allow for avoiding weather-related accidents, mitigate human distress and costs from weather-related damage and bad air quality, and generally improve the resilience and safety of the society.

01.01.2018 – Present

PECASUS – Global Space Weather Centre for ICAO

The PECASUS consortium is one of the three global centers providing space weather advisories according to ICAO regulations. These advisories are sent to airliners using the existing aeronautical fixed network for international aviation.

According to ICAO regulations space weather advisories shall be issued only when very strong space weather events occur. As we are currently living the years of solar minimum, there has not yet been any need to send real advisories since Nov 7 2019, when the centers started their official operations. However, several test advisories have been sent during recent months in order to test the dissemination channels in the ICAO framework.

Besides PECASUS the two other services providing advisories are the Space Weather Prediction Center of NOAA (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/) and the ACFJ (http://www.bom.gov.au/aviation/space-weatheradvisories/) consortium formed by Australia, Canada, France and Japan.

The three centers are doing space weather monitoring in two week shifts with one of the centers serving as the On Duty Center (ODC) and the others as Primary and Secondary backup-centers.

01.09.2010 – 04.2016

ESA Exomars 2018 – Schiaparelli EDM

Schiaparelli – an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module is a technology demonstration vehicle carried by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). Schiaparelli and TGO were launched on 14 March 2016 on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Schiaparelli will demonstrate the capability of ESA and European industry to perform a controlled landing on the surface of Mars. The preparation for this mission enhances Europe’s expertise and enables the testing of key technologies which could be used in subsequent missions to Mars.

01.01.2010 – 31.01.2015

MMEA – Measurement, Monitoring and Environmental Assessment

The Measurement, Monitoring and Environmental Efficiency Assessment (MMEA) research program aims at groundbreaking developments in environmental monitoring technologies, tools and services. This site demonstrates the availability, power and importance of environmental data.

01.01.2012 – 31.01.2015

RITD – Re-entry: inflatable technology development in Russian collaboration

Objects re-entering the atmosphere of the Earth from space require systems to decelerate the object during its descent phase as well as protection against temperatures of several hundreds of degrees of centigrade caused by the atmospheric friction. RITD team study the feasibility of using with the Earth re-entry a system developed for entering the Martian atmosphere. The focus of this work will be in analyzing and measuring the dynamical stability in transonic phase of a brand new re-entry and descent system for low mass payloads. We are to investigate an entry, descent and landing system developed for Mars. This system is based on brand new technology involving inflatable structures saving a considerable amount of mass compared to traditional rigid structures.

The project behind is Mars MetNet Mission, which is a planetary exploration mission to Mars, aimed to deploy on its surface a meteorological station based on a new type of semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). This work will investigate the feasibility to use the MetNet entry and descent system at Earth allowing for scaling modifications for the key systems assuming deorbitation from a LEO orbit. Specifically, this work will analyze by simulations and by wind tunnel testing the stability of the entry and descent system during the supersonic and transonic phases of the descent in the atmosphere of the Earth. This work will foster collaboration between Russian and European organizations, and will provide brandnew knowledge on the re-entry systems. This project will effectively reduce duplication of research efforts and will open new avenues for joint space technology research and development.


Publications (selected)

2023

2021

2020

2017

2014

2013

2003


Networks and Memberships

09.2022 – CURRENT

  • Europlanet Society Northern European HUB Chair

01.01.1999 – CURRENT

  • Ursa Astronomical Association
    • Board Member 2021 – 2023, Pro-amateur research group leader, former Deputy Member of the Board.

09.2019 – 09.2022

  • Europlanet Society Northern European HUB Policy and Industry Officer 

01.09.2018 – CURRENT

  • Europlanet Society
    • Member, EPSC Committee Co-Chair (2019 – 2020)

01.01.2009 – CURRENT

  • European Geosciences Union
    • Member

01.11.2001 – CURRENT

  • Warkauden Kassiopeia ry.
    • Member

Honours and Awards

07.2018

  • Stella Arcti
    • Ursa Astronomical Association