During the Open Days of the Space Pole in Uccle (September 2026), atmospheric researchers from the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) displayed the following posters on a wide range of topics within the field of aeronomy.
Royal Belgian Institute for Space AeronomyPhysics and chemistry of the atmosphere of the Earth and other planets, and of outer space.
On 5 October 2026, NORVIS recorded its first auroral spectra at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO) in Svalbard, Norway. This first observation marks an important milestone in the development of NORVIS, a European network of auroral spectrographs initiated and coordinated by the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), in collaboration with several scientific and amateur partners.
Every year on 16 September, World Ozone Day commemorates the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, ultimately signed by every country in the world. This protocol is crucial to control the production and use of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other substances that replaced CFCs.
On 1st September 2026, Tango, the last of ESA’s four Cluster satellites, burned up in Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean. Just one day earlier, Samba had met the same fate. Their spectacular re-entries brought the final chapter of Cluster to an end, 26 years after the four spacecraft were launched to explore Earth’s magnetic environment. But even during their destruction, the Cluster satellites were still contributing to science.
What goes on behind the doors of the Space Pole institutes in Uccle? On 26 and 27 September, you’ll finally be able to find out. To mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the other scientific institutions on the site – including the meteorological and space aeronomy departments – will also be opening their doors to the public on this special occasion.
July 17th, 2026, marked the last day of the PASTA-3 experiment, the final experiment handled inside the Fluid Science Laboratory onboard the International Space Station. ESA Astronaut Sophie Adenot took the opportunity to address the teams on the ground, highlighting the FSL legacy during its 18 years inside the Columbus module.