Our Roadmap

HEARTS (High Energy Accelerators for Radiation Testing and Shielding) aims at developing and establishing a European infrastructure for research and industrial access to high-energy heavy ion facilities for the fields of radiation effects in electronics, shielding and radiobiology. Only with the establishment of this infrastructure, European non-dependency for access to space would be ensured.

HEARTS will bring together the two main high-energy ion accelerator infrastructures (CERN and GSI) as well as the two main space companies in Europe (Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space) and a top-level academic institution (Università degli Studi di Padova). Together, they will work towards providing high-energy ion facilities whose beams provide an optimal tool to reproduce the effects of galactic cosmic rays. This will trigger research and enable breakthroughs that will allow employing highly advanced electronic devices in space (including edge computing, artificial intelligence and quantum technology) as well as achieving decisive knowledge in shielding properties and radiobiology for astronauts working in deep space missions and planetary surfaces.


Figure 1.: Roadmap of the HEARTS project

Figure 1.: Roadmap of the HEARTS project


Figure 2.: Currently existing and targeted ion beam characteristics

Figure 2.: Currently existing and targeted ion beam characteristics


Figure 3.: Overview of the European ion beam infrastructure capacity after the HEARTS project

Figure 3.: Overview of the European ion beam infrastructure capacity after the HEARTS project


Figure 4.: Partners of the HEARTS project across Europe

Figure 4.: Partners of the HEARTS project across Europe


Reference:
M. A. Fraser et al., “Feasibility of Slow-Extracted High-Energy Ions From the CERN Proton Synchrotron for CHARM”, in Proc. IPAC'22, Bangkok, Thailand, Jun. 2022, pp. 1703-1706. doi:10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2022-WEPOST012

The HEARTS project is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101082402, through the Space Work Programme of the European Commission.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.