Danish Aerospace Company to build prototype of exercise equipment for the Moon and eventually Mars
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
Odense, May 28, 2025
Company Announcement no. 61 – 28.05.2025
Danish Aerospace Company to build prototype of exercise equipment for the Moon and eventually MarsDanish Aerospace Company A/SCVR no.: 12424248
Danish Aerospace Company A/S (DAC), Odense, has today signed a contract with the European Space Agency ESA to develop and build a prototype of a new exercise device that can be used on the Lunar Gateway space station orbiting the Moon and eventually for human missions to Mars.
The six-month contract entails the development of a prototype of exercise technology to meet the standards of Lunar Gateway.
The new prototype will also include a new form of exercise - jumping - to help strengthen the astronauts' bones, muscles, and cardiovascular system while they are in space.
The Gateway Exercise Equipment study contract runs for approximately 6 months and has a total value for DAC of approximately EUR 580,000. (DKK 4.3 million).
The contract does not change the company's previously announced expectations for 2025.
The Lunar Gateway is a new space station that NASA, ESA, Japan and Canada have agreed to develop. NASA's current plans envision launch and beginning initial operations of the Lunar Gateway in about 2028. The Gateway will orbit the Moon, where it will be visited by astronauts for 30 to 90 days at a time.
This represents a big step forward for DAC, and the first time the company is seriously looking at moving further into space with its exercise equipment, after having supplied ESA and NASA with exercise- and medical monitoring equipment for more than three decades for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) programs.
Amentum Clean Energy from England will participate in the project as a subcontractor. Over the next six months, DAC's sophisticated exercise technology will be refined further so the new exercise device can meet the unique requirements of the Lunar Gateway. The new prototype will also include a new form of exercise - jumping - to help strengthen the astronauts' bones, muscles, and cardiovascular system while they are in space.
Amentum Clean Energy's contribution to the prototype study involves development of a vibration damping system that ensures vibrations from the astronauts' exercise do not propagate to the Lunar Gateway space station and disrupt systems and other research on board.
"We are extremely proud that ESA has chosen Danish Aerospace Company to develop a prototype of the exercise equipment for the Lunar Gateway. This shows our extensive experience in this area, but it also offers a lot of exciting new challenges. The exercise equipment must be even more reliable than before, because it is much further away from home. For example, the electronics in the equipment must be able to withstand the much higher background radiation so far from Earth and still function, and the HALO module, where the astronauts will exercise, is much smaller than the modules on the ISS; so the exercise device we develop must be optimized even more. We are very much looking forward to contributing to this fascinating new area", says Thomas A. E. Andersen, CEO, DAC.
The Gateway Exercise Equipment study contract runs for approximately 6 months and has a total value for DAC of approximately EUR 580,000. (DKK 4.3 million).
For further information, please contact:
Danish Aerospace Company A/S:CEO Thomas A.E. AndersenCell: +45 40 29 41 62
Certified Adviser:Baker Tilly Corporate Finance P/S Poul Bundgaards Vej 1, 1.DK-2500 Valby Tel.: +45 33 45 10 00 www.bakertilly.dk
About Danish Aerospace Company A/S:
Danish Aerospace Company (DAC) is a high-tech company operating in the area of advanced medical instrumentation and other engineering fields primarily within space applications.
Our products are based on many years of specialized research and development. These consist of developing, integrating, and applying new as well as established medical technologies to the challenges of functioning and remaining reliable in space. These products and services bring the potential of space research and experience from space operations down to Earth for the benefit of all mankind.
Danish Aerospace Company employs engineers and technicians who deliver full engineering, production and technical services for our customers. We specialize in customer specific design, development, manufacturing, certification, maintenance, testing, and operations.
The company has developed five generations of respiratory equipment for spaceflight, ergometers for astronauts, countermeasures, adapted several commercial medical equipment for spaceflight and has participated in the development of the minus eighty-degree Celsius freezers.
The Company's quality system is certified in obligation to BS EN ISO 9001:2015, BS EN 9100:2018 technical equivalent to AS9100D that is the acknowledged standard in the area.
Note: This is a translation of the corresponding Company Announcement in Danish. In case of discrepancies between the Danish wording and the English translation, the Danish wording prevails.
www.DanishAerospace.com
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