From November 27 to 29, the 2025 International Space Science and Scientific Payload Competition (ISSSP2025) brought together leading teams from around the world. A graduate student team led by Prof. CAO Nailiang, LI Xiang and ZHANG Chi from the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (AIOFM), the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (HFIPS, CAS) competed for the first time and distinguished themselves among 140 teams from more than 10 countries.
Their project, the Venus Biosignature Gas Isotope Spectrometer, won the Silver Award and the Best Community Award. No Gold Award was presented this year.
ISSSP is a global aerospace competition designed to identify and foster outstanding talent and innovative projects in space science and payload technology. The 2025 event was highly competitive, with only four teams ultimately receiving Silver Awards.
The award-winning instrument aims to detect potential biosignature gases on Venus and features an innovative design that integrates both flyby remote sensing and in-situ detection approaches. Its scientific merit, creativity and practical value earned strong recognition from the judging panel.
HFIPS's team won the Silver Award in ISSSP2025 (Image by LI Xiang)
HFIPS's team won the Best Community Award in ISSSP2025 (Image by LI Xiang)
The graduate student team from AIOFM, HFIPS, CAS. (Image by LI Xiang)