Konstantin Sukharnikov Scientific instrumentation

A hobby. An independent overview compiled from public sources by a science and space enthusiast. I am not involved in these missions or facilities; my own work is detector electronics at European XFEL. My projects →

Science & Space

I am a science and space enthusiast, and this section is my hobby: interplanetary missions and the big machines of physics on Earth, what is flying, what is being built and what comes next. Every entry links to its source.

Next up

Full calendar →
  1. Voyager 1 — First spacecraft ever one light-day from Earth (~25.9 billion km)
    Space · Kuiper belt & beyond
  2. BepiColombo — Orbit insertion at Mercury
    Space · Mercury
  3. Hera — ESA to release the first detailed images of Dimorphos
    Space · Asteroids & comets
  4. Europa Clipper — Earth gravity assist (~3,200 km) and magnetometer calibration
    Space · Jupiter
  5. BepiColombo — Separation of the MPO and Mio orbiters
    Space · Mercury
  6. Solar Orbiter — Venus flyby, raising the orbital inclination to 24°
    Space · Sun
  7. ESS — First beam on target, first neutrons
    Neutrons

Where they fly

All 18 missions →

18 missions tracked across the solar system, from the Sun outwards; 17 of them still working.

  1. Sun2 active
  2. Mercury1 active
  3. Venus

    No mission tracked

  4. Moon

    No mission tracked

  5. Mars3 active
  6. Asteroids & comets6 active
  7. Jupiter3 active
  8. Saturn

    No mission tracked

  9. Kuiper belt & beyond2 active

Big science on Earth

All 31 facilities →

X-ray lasers, gravitational-wave and neutrino detectors, telescopes, neutron sources and colliders, by stage.

Planned 1

Being built 7

Running 18

Upgrade or shutdown 4

Ended 1

Recent results

All results →
  1. 2 Nov 2026Particle physicsALPS II at DESY in Hamburg, a "light shining through a wall" experiment: first science results of its search for light axion-like particles — PRL, 10.1103/61sw-k3bc
  2. 30 Oct 2026DetectorsAn iLGAD sensor from PSI detects soft X-rays down to the nitrogen K-edge — preprint arXiv:2610.42064
  3. 29 Oct 2026Space scienceJuno: Jupiter protects itself from the solar wind with a system of plasma waves and several shock regions (paper in Nature Communications, 31 July) — ScienceDaily; mission page: Juno
  4. 8 Oct 2026X-ray lasersThree-dimensional imaging of single membrane-protein complexes in vacuum with an X-ray laser — preprint arXiv:2610.11729
  5. 6 Oct 2026NeutrinosNobel Prize in Physics for Francis Halzen, for IceCube and the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos — Nobel Prize; facility page: IceCube

Coming up

Full calendar →
  1. LVK — Start of the six-month IR1 observing runLVK plan: late October to mid-November; start not yet confirmed
    Gravitational waves
  2. PIXEL2026 — Proceedings submissions (JINST), deadline 12 DecemberPreliminary
    Detector conferences
  3. IEEE NSS/MIC/RTSD 2026 — Granada, SpainConference dates confirmed
    Detector conferences
  4. Voyager 1 — First spacecraft ever one light-day from Earth (~25.9 billion km)Calculated
    Space · Kuiper belt & beyond
  5. BepiColombo — Orbit insertion at MercuryESA plan
    Space · Mercury
  6. Hera — ESA to release the first detailed images of DimorphosESA plan
    Space · Asteroids & comets
  7. Einstein Telescope — Site bids duePlan (“end of 2026”)
    Gravitational waves