In the European Horizon 2020 project GALACTIC, the partners Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH), Optomaterials S.r.l. (Italy) and Altechna (Lithuania) have now succeeded in establishing a solely European supply chain for alexandrite laser crystals, which can be used for space applications.

The LZH, together with partners from industry and research, is developing femtosecond lasers (fs lasers) that emit a wavelength of two micrometers. The innovative high-energy laser systems are particularly interesting for the micromachining of plastics.

Scientists of the LZH have developed a laser to detect water in the polar regions of the Moon. Used in the project partners' measuring instrument, the system has already been successfully tested on regolith samples.