UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory house and grounds in the Surrey countryside.
David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, visited UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory on Tuesday 13 August. The minister inspected a number of instruments which are being built at the laboratory for future scientific spacecraft, including Euclid, ExoMars and Solar Orbiter, as well as hearing about MSSL's role at the heart of the UK and European space programme. Mr Willetts' visit marked the beginning of the testing and characterisation phase for the camera detectors that will fly on Euclid. This is being carried out at MSSL and the Minister celebrated this significant the start of this work by taking a self-portrait. Euclid is a future ESA space telescope which will study the dark cosmos, the 95% of the content of the Universe which is invisible. Euclid's detectors, which will form the heart of a huge and technologically advanced camera for space, are being built by UK company e2v, which has a long-standing and close relationship with MSSL. After launch in 2020, Euclid will have the largest detector array ever put into orbit, second only to the Gaia mission - also a project of MSSL, due for launch this November.
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