From 30 March to 2 April, 16 students from universities across Sweden travelled to Kiruna for our first ever Aurora Space Camp! The participants toured the LKAB mine and visited the new launch complex at Esrange Space Center. The schedule also included a presentation of the JUICE mission to Jupiter by IRF researchers and a meeting with the student projects of Giron Space Organisation. Read a summary of the camp from one of the participants below!
Monday: into the mine
The camp started a bit after noon on 30 March, when LKAB picked us up for a guided tour of the mine. We went down to their visitor centre, where they showed us how the process works as well as the logistics of the whole operation. Everyone seemed amazed. Afterwards LKAB dropped us off at our accommodation, and one of the participants arranged a big shared dinner for the whole group. The sky was cloudy all evening, so no aurora hunting that night.
Tuesday: Esrange Space Center
Tuesday started with a lecture at the Kiruna Space Campus by Umberto Rollero, who told us about his research on the magnetosphere of Venus. After a shared lunch we drove out to Esrange. The road was long and out into the wilderness, and after the better part of an hour we reached the gate. After some more fika, we were given a fascinating tour by our wonderful tour gides, who happily answered all our questions.
We arrived at the perfect time. At the new Launch Complex 3, their newest rocket was standing out on the pad in all its beauty. For someone who has always wanted to visit Esrange, this was a wonderful experience.
On the way back we made a quick stop at the famous Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi. After another shared dinner we set out to look for the aurora. The chances looked fairly good and the sky was clear for the moment, so we walked to a darker spot. Unfortunately the aurora never came, the clouds filled the sky and we headed back.
Wednesday: Juice and student projects in Giron Space Organisation
We spent Wednesday at the Kiruna Space Campus with IRF and Giron Space Organisation (GSO). First up was a presentation of the JUICE mission by Gabriella Stenberg Wieser, one of the IRF researchers who built one of the sensors on the spacecraft. It was so much fun to listen to someone who loves her research and happily explains every little detail. She also showed us a model of the spacecraft and pointed out all its parts.
After fika, René Laufer from Luleå University of Technology gave us an overview of IRF and the space campus. After lunch, the president of GSO took us on a tour of the campus, showing us their instruments and where the student projects are based. Then the large ongoing student projects presented their work, and we got to visit their rooms to ask questions and chat. It was really inspiring to see the ambitious projects students take on in their later years.
Back at the accommodation we got ready for a classic Swedish student sittning, the closing dinner of the camp. We got everyone seated at one long table, sang songs, ate Swedish tacos and finished with dessert and some great performances.
After dinner nearly everyone set out to climb the nearby ski mountain Luossavaara, hoping to see the aurora from the top. It was very windy and only about half of us made it all the way up. After a long, windy and challenging climb, we were greeted by a great aurora that made everything worth it. On the way down we slid down the ski slope on our pants and jackets under the northern lights, which was awesome.
Back at the accommodation we watched the Artemis II launch live before going to bed. The next day it was time to pack up and head home.
A big thank you to LKAB for the mine tour and the transport, to SSC for welcoming us at Esrange Space Center, and to IRF, Luleå University of Technology and Giron Space Organisation for a full day of lectures, tours and student projects on the Kiruna Space Campus. And thank you to everyone who came along and made the first Aurora Space Camp what it was!
Aurora Space Camp 2026 was done in collaboration between Space Students Sweden and Sveriges Rymdstudenter
The students yearn for the mines
At Esrange Space Center the visitors were treated to a presentation by Måns Rasmussen, a founding member of the KTH rocketry association AESIR who now works at ISAR Aerospace, performing engine tests at the base.
Giron Space Organization, a member of Space Students Sweden, gathers and supports all of the space projects at LTU’s Space Campus. Which includes many REXUS/BEXUS projects, a hybrid rocket development, the APTAS CubeSat, and more!
IRF Kiruna has developed and manages multiple particle physics experiments onboard the JUICE mission to the icy moons of jupiter
On the last night, the camp finally earned its name and treated the participants to truly amazing sights!