about-us – ASTRO

ABOUT US

Project ASTRO (Aristotle Student Telescope for Radio astronomy Observations) was created in July 2022 by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki’s (AUTh) space technology and research student team, BEAM.

CREATION

& FOUNDERS

OF ASTRO

The founders of project ASTRO are two students of the School of Physics, Evi Koursoumpa, and Giorgos Michailidis, under the authority of the associate professor of the Department of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Dr. Pantelis Papadopoulos, and the contribution of student Giannis Liodis as Project Scientist.

GOALS

AND VISION

The project’s main goal is the design and development of a Radio Telescope, capable of detecting a plethora of radio sources, like atomic hydrogen (21 cm), celestial bodies of our solar system, galaxies, masers, and chemical molecules, like ammonia and hydroxyl in space.

However, the project’s general goal is to support and contribute to the rise of Radio-astronomy and, simultaneously, of Astronomy in Greece. It is estimated that the duration of ASTRO will be 5 years with three main phases: Design, Construction, Operation-Measurements.

MOTIVES

& IMPACT

The idea to create ASTRO sources from the fact that there are little to no Radio-astronomy related initiatives in Greece, except for PICTOR, which is located in Athens.

The desire of the students to practice using a radio telescope inspired the creation of ASTRO, as well as, the collection of data that could be used in scientific research. ASTRO was created to promote Radio-astronomy in Greece, allowing a wider audience to get informed about it as well as get accustomed to it.

TEAMS

ASTRO’s workforce consists of 40 members, who work in 6 different teams, which are the following:

SCIENCE TEAM

Searching for radio sources, both in the solar system and beyond, where we can “see” with the ASTRO Radio Telescope.

MECHANICAL TEAM

Design and construction of the support mechanism and the parabolic surface of the Radio Telescope.

ELECTRICAL TEAM

Selection and design of the appropriate feed and receiver for the Radio Telescope antenna system.

SOFTWARE TEAM

Development of code for the communication of the Radio Telescope with the control center and data analysis.

ROBOTICS TEAM

The Robotics Team is responsible for the design, development and control of the radio telescope’s automated systems.

MARKETING TEAM

Creation of promotional material for the project, management of its public profile in the general public and on BEAM’s social media, communication with potential sponsors to obtain financial support for the project and management of its fund through ELKE.

MENTORS

& PARTNERS

The supervising professor of project ASTRO, Dr. Pantelis Papadopoulos, has worked, in the past, with one of the most important Radio Telescopes in the world, the James Clerk Maxwell Radio Telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

Georgios Kyriakou
Post Doc. Research Fellow at Sapienza Università di Roma

Apostolos Spanakis-Misirlis
Creator of PICTOR Radio Telescope and Virgo software

Vasilios Spanakis-Misirlis
Creator of PICTOR Radio Telescope

In contact with Mechanical Engineers from NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)

ASTRO

SOCIAL MEDIA

To stay up to date with the activities and progress of project ASTRO, you can follow BEAM’s pages on the following social media platforms: