A Czech company that will soon leave a footprint on the Moon and has repeatedly collaborated on US NASA missions? ADVACAM, a Prague-based company that was founded in 2013 as a spin-off of the Institute of Technical and Experimental Physics at the Czech Technical University. The company is developing technology originally developed for the detection of subatomic particles inside the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. In Prague’s Holešovice, it designs and manufactures innovative cameras that provide precise information about every single incoming particle.
They determine its type, energy and direction. ADVACAM’s patented detectors are among the most advanced imaging technology in the world.

If we were to highlight one of ADVACAM’s space achievements, it would undoubtedly be the fact that 14 of its miniaturized radiation cameras are currently in service aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Deployed in several modules, they monitor so-called space weather. This contributes greatly to the safety of the crew and also to the protection of critical electronics. NASA is counting on these unique cameras in its planned Artemis programme to return Americans to the Moon.
For example, several Czech chips were installed on board the Orion spacecraft, which in 2022 orbited the Moon as part of an unmanned test mission. Next year, ADVACAM detectors should be the first Czech instrument to land on the Moon as part of the NOVA-C lunar lander.

In very recent news, ADVACAM has come up with a completely new way to use its detectors in space. It plans to not only monitor space weather but even predict it, making it unique worldwide. MiniPIX SPACE miniaturized cameras weighing only a few dozen grams will provide early warning of increased solar activity, which affects astronauts’ health and also affects the functioning of sensitive electronics on satellites and spacecraft.