We study cosmic rays, space weather, and airglow — with instruments we design and build ourselves, measurements from 2634 m, and data returned from across the Solar System.
We track solar modulation, Forbush decreases and ground-level enhancements in the uninterrupted neutron monitor record from Lomnický štít, and model how charged particles propagate through the heliosphere and magnetosphere.
Through the KM3NeT deep-sea telescope we search for the cosmic accelerators behind astrophysical neutrinos — messengers that arrive undeflected by magnetic fields and unabsorbed by matter.
We study how coronal mass ejections, the solar wind and geomagnetic storms couple to spacecraft, aviation and ground infrastructure — and apply machine learning to forecast their impact.
By measuring airglow emission we probe the dynamics, waves and composition of the region where Earth's atmosphere meets space — and characterise the background that limits observations from orbit.
More than 25 missions since 1970 carry hardware or software designed in Košice. Four current highlights, and the full record below.
A Slovak technology consortium building a modular 150 kg+ satellite platform with interchangeable payloads — developing core subsystems, cleanroom facilities, and a functional ground segment to establish a sovereign Slovak satellite capability.
Our role: consortium member · OBC development and cleanroom facilities
Visit the project site →A stratospheric balloon pathfinder for the POEMMA concept, observing ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos from above the clouds through fluorescence and radio signatures. Launch is planned for spring 2028 from Wanaka, New Zealand.
Our role: EMON instruments delivery
Read the paper →The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer arrives in 2031 to survey Ganymede, Europa and Callisto and Jupiter's magnetosphere as a coupled system. For the JDC plasma analyser we designed and delivered the Anti-Coincidence Module, which flags penetrating radiation-belt electrons.
Our role: ACM anti-coincidence module design, testing and delivery
Read the full mission story →Europe's first mission to Mercury reaches orbit in November 2026 to study the planet's exosphere, magnetosphere and its coupling to the Sun. For SERENA's PICAM ion mass spectrometer we designed, verified and built the ultra-light structure carrying its electronics and sensor.
Our role: PICAM electronics-box structure — design, FEA, delivery
Read the full mission story →A wide-field telescope concept observing extensive air showers from orbit to probe cosmic rays at the highest energies, up to 10²⁰ eV — and the origin of airglow research in our department.
PEEL (Precipitating Energetic Electrons at high Latitude), a three-sensor detector for electrons above 30 keV built in Košice, flew on the HotPay-2 sounding rocket from Andøya on 31 January 2008, reaching about 380 km.
MEP-2, a programmable spectrometer for electrons (30–350 keV) and ions (30 keV–3.2 MeV) built in Košice for the Plasma-F experiment, operated aboard Spektr-R from July 2011 until contact was lost in January 2019.
The NUADU energetic neutral atom imager, built in Košice, mapped the ring current and inner magnetosphere from the TC-2 polar spacecraft.
We delivered the ESS communication processor for ESA's comet chaser, which escorted 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and deployed the Philae lander.
Electronics for the SONG-EM gamma-ray and neutron instrument observing solar flares.
Radiation dosimetry with polymer nuclear emulsions during the Štefánik mission of Slovak cosmonaut Ivan Bella aboard Mir, February 1999.
The SPRUT instrument operated aboard the MIR orbital station.
The MEP-1 programmable energetic-particle spectrometer, completed and calibrated in 1997 for the Compass microsatellite; it was never launched.
The data-processing unit of the EPD energetic-particle detector for the Central European CESAR microsatellite; the project was suspended before launch.
SLED-2, a low-energy particle detector built with European partners for Mars-96, which was lost after launch on 16 November 1996 — an early step in the department's integration with Western European laboratories.
The SPE-1M spectrometer flown on the MIR orbital station.
A DOK-series semiconductor particle detector for the Interball magnetospheric mission.
DOK-S /4 particle detector flown on the Magion subsatellite of Interball.
DOK-2X detector for the Interball tail probe.
DOK-S /3 detector flown alongside the Interball tail probe.
Electronics for the SONG-E solar gamma-ray and neutron instrument.
DOK-S /2 particle detector for the Apex active plasma experiment.
The SPE-1 spectrometer for the Active magnetospheric mission.
DOK-S /1 semiconductor detector flown on the Active mission and its Magion-2 subsatellite.
DOK-1, the first of the DOK series of semiconductor detectors, studying the Earth's bow shock.
The URE-1 instrument flown on a Vertikal sounding rocket.
DOK-T particle detector aboard Prognoz-8, observing the solar wind and magnetosphere.
The first instrument designed and built entirely within our department — a gamma-ray and neutron detector launched on 24 September 1977.
The PG-1B instrument, part of the department's earliest spaceflight participation.
A nuclear emulsion experiment recording cosmic ray tracks in orbit.
The PG-1A particle instrument, continuing the PG series of early experiments.
PG-1, the department's first flight experiment, measuring charged particles in near-Earth space.
The laboratory, its instruments and what four decades of measurement have shown are set out on the Lomnický štít page; site specifications and partner access are on the facility page.
High in the Tatra mountains, our laboratory has recorded the secondary particles produced when cosmic rays strike the atmosphere without interruption for decades. Thin air and a stable mountain platform make it one of Europe’s most valuable observing sites.
Continuous neutron monitor data feeding the global network — used to study solar modulation, Forbush decreases and ground-level enhancements.
What the measurements are for →The neutron monitor, supporting detectors and environmental sensors, maintained and upgraded in-house by our engineering team.
The instruments →From the first space physics laboratory built on the peak in 1957 to today’s continuously operating station — a record spanning generations of researchers.
A short history →The first dedicated space cleanroom in Slovakia — ISO 7, with ESD protection and controlled temperature and humidity, for developing, testing and integrating spaceborne hardware to ECSS standards.
Facility details →As part of the SAV OPEN LABS project we are building a dedicated open-access space where universities, partner institutions, and companies can use our facilities in Košice and on Lomnický štít.
Request access →Models of cosmic ray propagation through the heliosphere and magnetosphere, used to compute particle spectra, cut-off rigidities and radiation exposure for mission planning.
Model documentation →A neural network for automated segmentation of coronal structures in solar images — turning large observation archives into usable catalogues.
Open portal →A service for accessing and analysing space-weather relevant datasets, developed in cooperation with ESA.
Open portal →Dosimetry data and tools for assessing radiation exposure in space and at aviation altitudes.
Open portal →