ESA Science & Technology - Thermal vacuum chamber and calibration set-up

The cream-coloured, padded structure is a thermal-vacuum chamber at the University of Bern, Switzerland, that accommodated the CHEOPS science instrument during calibration testing. The instrument was cooled to various temperatures around -40 degrees Celsius to simulate the conditions of space and controlled to observe a calibration source through a window at the end of the thermal-vacuum chamber. The optical set-up of the calibration source is housed in the large, black cabinet on the right.