The IBER-17 proposal Workshop has taken place at GSI Darmstadt on Sep 26th, 2017. A group of 28 experts of GSI, ESA and other research institutes discussed the usage of beam time at GSI, various project ideas and their feasibility.

Last summer the ESA called on scientists to submit ideas for experiments that would help to improve the risk assessment of cosmic radiation doses or enable protective countermeasures that would make safe manned space travel possible. Out in space, the crews of spacecraft can be subjected to a variety of doses and types of radiation that can impair their health.
The results of such studies will not only serve future space travel but also provide information for a better life on earth. For example, data from the experiments can provide insights about the radiation risks on earth and help improve radiation therapies for treating cancer.

In the past year a committee of experts, the so-called “Topical Team for ESA” under the coordination of Prof. Marco Durante (TIFPA) and Dr. Jennifer Ngo-Anh (ESA), initiated the new programme. The IBER (2017) program has then been confirmed by the ESA and GSI management on July 3rd, 2017. The call was released from ESA on 10th of August. As a result of the call, ESA received 21 applications (letters of intent) from research groups all over Europe. The applicants have been invited to an information workshop at GSI.

At the workshop, the participants discussed the various project ideas and their feasibility. The researchers are now prepared to submit detailed proposals, which a committee of experts will decide on by the end of the year. Scientists from GSI and the ESA Topical Team will assist the committee in evaluating the proposals. After the committee has made its evaluations, GSI will set aside a total of 160 hours of beam time at the SIS-18 accelerator in 2018 and 2019 for the selected proposals.

Presentation