How did a student of Lodz University of Technology manage to get to the mission organized by Analog Astronaut Training Center and Innspace team?
I have been interested in space since I was a child. During the summer holidays I was looking for volunteering opportunities and I came across an offer of the longest analogue space mission. I spent 6 weeks in a lunar habitat, I was an analogue member of the mission.
Thanks to this voluntary job I met the leader of Innspace team, it was her who recruited me to the team after the mission. Since then I have been continuously working on new projects in the space industry. Our latest success is the implementation of the Xors Lunar Base project. The construction of the base is mainly based on 3D printing technology. It was supposed to be a viable concept, not a science fiction fantasy.
The Xors base consists of 4 modules. Covering them with a thick layer of lunar regolith using 3D printing technology was to provide additional protection against radiation.
In the project, algae play a key role in supporting living conditions. A mix of specially selected microorganisms, including bacteria, cyanobacteria and microalgae, performs the function of treating sewage and other water pollutants. Additional oxygen is provided by microalgae formed as wall panels. The team used lamps that emit visible light, but also infrared light and UVA and UVB to better mimic sunlight.
Aleksandra Wilczyńska spent 6 weeks in the habitat, carrying out interesting experiments. She conducted research on plant growth in conditions that stimulate gravity on the Moon and... on breeding cockroaches, which may be used in the future as an alternative source of food. Together with her crew, as part of the competition ,,Home on the Moon'', she created the project of the lunar hospital , "Alldream Lunar Institute".
The Innspace team consists of students and doctoral students of the largest Polish universities: Justyna Pelc, Piotr Torchała, Magdalena Łabowska, Beata Suścicka, Łukasz Sokołowski, Małgorzata Popiel, Hubert Gross, Arkadiusz Kołodziej, Ewa Borowska, Aleksandra Wilczyńska, Michał Garus, Cyrus Sidor and Marcin Zieliński. A total of 18 people representing various fields of study: architecture, robotics, medicine, biotechnology and IT. Their projects are recognised at international competitions.
Hoya Lens Poland is a partner of the Xors project.