The HEARTS project provides two European radiation testing facilities for space applications, one at CERN and the other at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. (Image: HEARTS)
This Valentine's Day, CERN shines a light on its HEARTS testing facility, loved by those who recently tested their components for the harsh conditions of space.
Late last year, the Large Hadron Collider ended a record-breaking year by colliding lead ions. The HEARTS@CERN facility took advantage of this period to test radiation effects with lead ions. Over the course of two weeks in November and December 2025, 16 companies and research institutes spent more than 200 irradiation hours at CERN testing electronic components and devices for use in space and for high-energy physics applications.
The HEARTS (High-Energy Accelerators for Radiation Testing and Shielding) project, funded by the European Union, is establishing two new European radiation testing facilities for space applications, one at CERN and the other at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. Unique in Europe, these two facilities offer very-high-energy heavy-ion electronics testing, so that teams can see how their electronics hold up against particularly strong and penetrative radiation that they could be exposed to in space.
Among the components tested were solid-state drive (SSD) memory storage devices for a Belgian start-up focusing on computers for satellites, as well as printed circuit board (PCB) components for an Italian company building a satellite to investigate the Apophis asteroid during its close approach to Earth in 2029.
The recent tests were the second industrial user pilot campaign at CERN, following the 2024 run that welcomed ten companies and research institutes. Six of the sixteen users participating in the 2025 run paid for access, while the rest either received beamtime hours through their association with the project or applied through the RADNEXT project, which offers transnational access to radiation facilities in Europe.
The HEARTS@CERN facility will host another user run in the summer of 2026 before a short break in 2027 as CERN's accelerator complex shuts down for maintenance. Calls for industry and scientific users for the 2026 campaign will be announced on the project website.
