Space and Planetary Environment Laboratory

Planetary & Space Environment Simulations:

The Open University has state-of-the art facilities for simulating a range of extreme space environments such as, the surface of ancient and present Mars, the low-vacuum environment of airless bodies like the Moon and Mercury, and the boundary between sub-surface ocean and vacuum on the icy moons. There are chambers specially designed for astrobiological, UV exposure, bake-out, low-vacuum, variable atmospheric composition and humidity, and dirty sediment transport experiments. Chambers also range in size from small low-vacuum chambers to chambers large enough to climb inside and conduct meso-scale sedimentary simulations.

We welcome all enquiries for conducting experiments in our laboratories. Please contact HVI SPE Labs for more information.

• “George” - Large Dirty Mars Chamber: A specialized chamber designed for recreating the Martian environment, complete with simulated dust and atmospheric conditions.
• “Edmund” - Clean Cylindrical Chamber: A clean, cylindrical chamber tailored for controlled space environment simulations.
• “Baldrick” - Large Clean Circular Chamber: Designed for a variety of space simulation experiments, ensuring a clean environment for sensitive research.
• “Queenie” - Large Clean Bell-Jar Chamber: Ideal for experiments requiring a large, clean vacuum environment, allowing for versatile research setups.
• “Bob” - Small Desktop Chamber: A compact chamber perfect for smaller-scale experiments or preliminary testing in a controlled space environment.