ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will make detailed observations of Jupiter and three of its largest icy moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. The mission will investigate these moons as planetary bodies and potential environments capable of supporting life, while also providing new insights into Jupiter’s complex atmosphere, magnetosphere and surrounding system.
Hybrid lubrication is the application of a viscous fluid lubricant, typically a low-vapour-pressure oil, on top of a thin-film solid lubricant coating, most commonly sputtered molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂).
An important aspect in mechanism design is the selection of the appropriate lubricant for given operating conditions. In the case of fluid lubricants, it is important to understand the lubrication regime a given application will be operating in.
CABARET, ESTL’s own bearing analysis software, having its roots in rocket engine turbopump development (hence its name – Code for Analysis of BeArings in Rocket Engine Turbopumps), has a 35-year history of serving the specific analysis requirements of the European space industry, with the funding and support of the European Space Agency (ESA[M).
For many decades, spacecraft mechanisms have relied heavily on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricants, PTFE-thickened greases and fluorinated solvents have become the industry’s trusted “heritage” materials, enabling reliable operation across extreme temperatures and hostile space environments. However, this long-established position is beginning to change.
At the European Space Tribology Laboratory (ESTL), we recently assessed two widely used self-lubricating materials, PGM-HT and its newer replacement TECASINT 8591, under representative vacuum conditions using our Vacuum Mini Traction Machine (VMTM).
ESR Technology is proud to recognise the exceptional career of Dave Forster, Assembly Manager in our Space team. This month, Dave marks his 44th year at the company, a testament to his knowledge in the field of space engineering.
ESTL is excited to announce that ESR Technology has recently become the home of a new mass-spectrometer, the RADIAN ASAP!
ESTL has recently concluded an activity into exploring Surface Functionalisation Technologies for their application to Space Mechanisms.
Hybrid lubrication is the application of a viscous fluid lubricant, typically a low-vapour-pressure oil, on top of a thin-film solid lubricant coating, most commonly sputtered molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂).
An important aspect in mechanism design is the selection of the appropriate lubricant for given operating conditions. In the case of fluid lubricants, it is important to understand the lubrication regime a given application will be operating in.
CABARET, ESTL’s own bearing analysis software, having its roots in rocket engine turbopump development (hence its name – Code for Analysis of BeArings in Rocket Engine Turbopumps), has a 35-year history of serving the specific analysis requirements of the European space industry, with the funding and support of the European Space Agency (ESA[M).
For many decades, spacecraft mechanisms have relied heavily on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricants, PTFE-thickened greases and fluorinated solvents have become the industry’s trusted “heritage” materials, enabling reliable operation across extreme temperatures and hostile space environments. However, this long-established position is beginning to change.
At the European Space Tribology Laboratory (ESTL), we recently assessed two widely used self-lubricating materials, PGM-HT and its newer replacement TECASINT 8591, under representative vacuum conditions using our Vacuum Mini Traction Machine (VMTM).
This year, ESTL have an increasing presence in ESA’s Final Presentation Days, held at ESTEC. With a total of seven presentations over three days, three at the Gears Workshop on 25th March, and four over the two Final Presentation Days, on 26-27th March.
This year, ESTL have an increasing presence in ESA’s Final Presentation Days, held at ESTEC. With a total of seven presentations over three days, three at the Gears Workshop on 25th March, and four over the two Final Presentation Days, on 26-27th March.
On 25 March 2026 at ESTEC, ESTL will contribute three sessions to ESA’s Gears Workshop, sharing practical lessons from recent programmes, the scope of our current support for gear system development, and how we plan to expand that support with industry input.
ESTL is pleased to announce that our team will be presenting at this year’s ESA Gears Workshop and Mechanisms Final Presentations Days 2026.
This September, members of ESTL and ESR Space attended the European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium (ESMATS) 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Our teams presented four papers during the conference, now available in full here:
We’re excited to announce that ESTL and ESR Space will both be presenting at the upcoming European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium (ESMATS) 2025.
