Death of Hans Balsiger

Hans Balsiger, former director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Bern, died in 2020 after a long illness at the age of 83. He has made a significant contribution to strengthening the global reputation of Swiss space research in Bern.

It was in recognition of his important contributions to European space research that the EFA welcomed him as an incumbent in 2009 (section 1).

He was a world-renowned specialist in chemical and isotopic analyses by mass spectrometry. His doctoral thesis with Professor Johannes Geiss focused on terrestrial and meteoritic materials, the age of which he determined using mass spectrometry in the laboratory.

After his active participation in the Apollo program and several ESA missions (GEOS, WIND, POLAR, SOHO and CLUSTER, GIOTTO to Halley’s Comet) his career culminated in the Rosetta mission, launched in 2004 for an appointment with comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014: a total success, where Europe showed itself at its best.

For this Hans Balsiger had to convince ESA to devote 35 kg to the rosina carry, the name of the instrument with three mass spectrometers operating on different principles, to increase the chances of success. He later passed the torch to his right-hand man, Kathrin Altwegg, to lead the development and operation of Rosina, while remaining extremely active on the project until its last days.

Thanks to its extreme finesse (mass resolution 3000), Rosina was able to identify several dozen different gaseous species, with their isotopic varieties, escaping from the solid core warming up as it approached the sun. These include glycine, an amino acid, and phosphorus, two key components of our DNA, showing that the comet is composed largely of organic matter. When we know that our Earth was bombarded by many comets in its early days, we can question the possible role of these comets on the appearance of life on Earth.

Hans Balsiger was also from 1996 to 1999 the Chairman of the ESA Scientific Programme Committee, which ultimately takes esa’s scientific decisions.

Hans Balsiger was also a great sportsman, adept at team games: football, water polo… Undoubtedly a trait that led him to invite all his potential competitors to join him to develop proposals for mass spectrometry at ESA, with great success.

Jean-Loup Bertaux, member of the Academy paid tribute to him during the Session of September 24, 2021 (video below in french).

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