by thousands of animals
worldwide thereafter.
Towards the end of 2018, the
tracker’s receiver was installed
on the International Space
Station. This must have been a
big moment for the team.
Since 13 February, two key
components of the Icarus
mission have been orbiting in
space. Following the onboard
computer, which was carried
to the ISS in October 2017,
another Soyuz Progress
rocket has transported the
antennas of the joint
German-Russian Icarus
project to the ISS where it
was mounted on 15 August
2018 on the outside of the
Russian module of the ISS.
This was another crucial
moment. The whole team was
at the ground station in
Moscow and very nervous
about everything going well
during the spacewalk of
Russian cosmonauts Oleg
Artemyev and Sergei
Prokopiev. Now we are
waiting for the first data
transmission from the ISS.
When this happens, we will be
the happiest people on Earth.What do you hope to have
achieved with this initiative in
five years’ time?
Icarus will enable scientists
to track thousands of
animals on their journeys
around the globe – around
the clock and for months and
even years on end. Around
150 research projects are
already queuing up to use
the technology.
Scientists want to find
answers to pressing questions
like why migratory bird
numbers are dwindling
dramatically worldwide. The
same is true of massively
exploited fish stocks and
many marine mammals.
We also need to know more
about how animals spreadpathogens. How does bird flu
find its way to Europe? In
which animals does the
Ebola virus occur? To
answer these questions, we
want to use the system to
track the flight paths of
waterfowl in Asia and fruit
bats in Africa. Both are
thought to be possible
carriers of the pathogens.
And finally, in 10 years’ time,
we will know which species
are able to predict natural
disasters. Initial scientific
data on earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions suggest
that some animals sense such
events hours in advance. If
we can demonstrate these
abilities beyond doubt, it
could save the lives of
hundreds of thousands of
people. And, in 10 years,
Icarus will probably be
stationed not only on the ISS
but also on a number of
satellites. The satellites
would also cover regions thatIcarus is unable to currently
su r vey.The initial purpose of the
technology is for conservation, but
there are a number of other fields
that can be studied at the same
time. What are some of these?
Scientists want to use Icarus
to find out more about the life
of animals on Earth: the
migratory routes they take
and their living conditions.
These findings will aid
behavioural research, species
protection and research into
the paths taken in the spread
of infectious diseases. The
information should even help
to predict ecological changes
and natural disasters. 7[email protected]Uschi Müller is the Project
Coordinator for Icarus at the Max
Planck Institute of Ornithology.
For more information, go to
icarus.mpg.de/en.MARC WARD, SHUTTERSTOCKThe Icarus Project will help
scientists answer questions
about bird migration patterns.