Successful launch of MICROSCOPE

After three postponements for meterological reasons, the Soyouz VS14 rocket has been successfully launched from Kourou on 25th April 2016, with several satellites onboard, among them Microscope which has the objective to test the Einstein’s Equivalence Principle with the highest ever precision.

In France, in this mission funded by the French space agency CNES, ONERA is responsible of the development of the accelerometric instrument and of the Scientific Mission Center. The laboratory GEOAZUR (Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS) contributes to the mission plan and prepares the scientific processing in collaboration with ONERA. Other European institutions have also contributed to this mission : ESA, DLR, PTB, ZARM.

=> More information on Microscope

Contirbute to the Quantum Manifesto befor April 30th, 2016

Cold atoms are at the heart of the new quantum technologies (atomic clocks, quantum simulators, quantum sensors, first prototypes of quantum computers, etc.), which, in the near future, shall have a deep impact both on fundamental as well as on applied research.

Therefore, we find appropriate to invite you to read the “Quantum Manifesto” (*) (http://qurope.eu/system/files/u567/Quantum%20Manifesto.pdf)
calling the European Union to a sizable investment (a “flagship” initiative) into quantum technologies
To have the desired impact, this “Manifesto” needs the endorsement of the broadest possible number of members in our community, and therefore we invite you to subscribe it (before April 30th)
http://qurope.eu/manifesto
 
(*) The Quantum Manifesto writing team: Aymard de Touzalin (European Commission), Charles Marcus (Niels Bohr Institute), Freeke Heijman (NL EU presidency), Ignacio Cirac (Max Planck Institute), Richard Murray (Innovate UK), Tommaso Calarco (University of Ulm)