Austrian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute

The Space Research Institute (Institut für Weltraumforschung, IWF) focuses on the physics of our solar system and the diversity of exoplanets. With about 100 staff members from 20 nations it is one of the largest institutes of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, OeAW). The institute is located in the Victor Franz Hess Research Center of the OeAW in the south of Graz. At the Lustbühel Observatory it operates a satellite laser ranging station, which is one of the best in the world.

The IWF is the only institute in Austria that develops and builds space-qualified instruments on a large scale. The data returned by them are scientifically analysed and physically interpreted at the institute. IWF's core engineering expertise is in building magnetometers and on-board computers, as well as in laser ranging to satellites and space debris. In terms of science, the IWF concentrates on dynamic processes in space plasma physics and on the upper atmospheres of planets and exoplanets - i.e. planets outside our solar system.