SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation

16-06-2024 - 21-06-2024

SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation
Sector/theme: Space, Advanced instrumentation, Astronomy
Date and location: 16-21 June 2024, Yokohama, Japan
Netherlands pavilion partners: ASTRON, Cosine, Demcon Focal, DUI, JPE, NOVA, SRON, TNO, TU Delft, VDL ETG
 
The biennial SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation conference is the largest in its sector and focused on astronomical instrumentation on the ground as well as in space. More than 2,300 experts, scientists, policymakers and industry representatives from all over the world have participated in this conference. Every other year, the conference takes place in Europe and North America, and in 2024 for the first time in Asia. As part of this conference, the three-day exhibition is an excellent opportunity for Dutch industry and research institutes affiliated with astronomy and space instrumentation to present themselves and connect with potential partners, customers and policymakers.
 
The Netherlands pavilion puts the entire and diverse scope of Dutch expertise on the global map. The pavilion was the ‘eye-catcher’ of the fair and had great appeal to all visitors. It was clear that the Dutch community stood here as one and that we have a good cooperation between companies and research institutes. Interested parties could be effortlessly linked to the right partner in the pavilion. This led to new contacts and collaborations, which in regularly involved several partners in the pavilion. Existing contacts were also strengthened. The future of astronomical instrumentation focuses on ever larger instruments, where international cooperation is essential. All instruments used to make the greatest astronomical discoveries in recent decades were developed by international consortia. Although the Netherlands is a small country, it managed to secure a key role in many of these collaborations.  
 
The partners' focus has included the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), the intended successor to the James Webb Space Telescope. The Dutch partners in the pavilion want to make an important contribution, and there has been considerable contact with NASA and JAXA, the space agencies of the US and Japan, on several occasions. Several dignitaries, including the director of JAXA, visited the pavilion on several occasions, with the networking reception playing an important role. Among others, representatives of ESO, ALMA, CTAO, SKA, NASA and ESA were present here. The space agencies have recently published their 10-year strategy and at this stage, making contacts is crucial for realizing a significant Dutch contribution to the next generation of (large-scale) instrumentation infrastructure. In particular, some Dutch partners in the pavilion are working with a Japanese company, Colorlink, on unique technology development, coronographs of liquid crystals, to gain a key role in instrumentation development for HWO. Particularly in Japan, establishing personal contacts is crucial and this trade fair participation made a significant contribution to that. Specifically, participation in the fair led to the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding with Colorlink, for which the director will come to the Netherlands in October 2024.
 
Several partners in the Dutch pavilion are pulling together in the development of technology for deformable mirrors. This was presented extensively during both the fair and the conference and led to many new contacts and international parties interested in acquiring this technology. 
 
Following the fair, many of the pavilion partners made working visits to JAXA, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NOAJ), the radio astronomical observatory at Nobeyama, the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector and KAGRA (Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector). The latter visit in particular, and the contacts made there, is important for the development of the Einstein Telescope in the Netherlands. These working visits with a Dutch delegation of more than 30 persons, was arranged with the help of innovation attaché at the embassy. 
 
In summary, we can state with conviction that participation in this strategic fair contributed to an improved position of the sector in the relevant target markets. All partners in the pavilion are very satisfied, as evidenced by their responses, and look forward to the next edition in two years' time in Denmark.