The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias is designing and developing, as ordered by the Spanish company Thales Alenia Space , the adaptive optics which will be a parto f the ground station for the GARBO project, the first Spanish geostationary system for distributing quantum keys by satellite. This is a decisive step in the field of secure quantum communication on a large scale, and will strengthn the position of Spain, and of Europe at the Forefront of this technology. Within the framework of the project the IAC will lead the development of the adaptive optics systems, and will participate

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), through IACTEC-Space, is participating this week in Space Tech Expo Europe, the largest space industry trade fair on the continent, held in Bremen from November 18 to 20. The team is located in the Spain Space pavilion, alongside the Canary Islands Aerospace Strategy (EAC), to showcase the technological developments of the CELESTE laboratories and strengthen international collaborations in the space sector. The I nstituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is participating once again in Space Tech Expo Europe, the leading event for the space

Astronomers have used telescopes around the world, includingthe Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, to study the asteroid 1998 KY26, revealing it to be almost three times smaller and spinning much faster than previously thought. The asteroid is the 2031 target for Japan’s Hayabusa2 extended mission. The new observations offer key information for the mission’s operations at the asteroid. “We found that the reality of the object is completely different from what it was previously described as,” says astronomer Toni Santana-Ros, a