Head of the Copernicus Science Centre: not everyone knows why money is spent on space research

It is not obvious to the general public why space research is being conducted and why large sums of money are being spent on the flight of a Polish astronaut, said Robert Firmhofer, director of the Copernicus Science Centre. That is why he places great hopes in the popularization activities of Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski.

Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and the Ax-4 crew are soon to be launched to the International Space Station as part of the Polish technological and scientific mission IGNIS.

PAP asked the director of the Copernicus Science Centre where - in his opinion - the comments on the Internet that call the costs of space missions whims and describe Poland's financial contribution to the European Space Agency (thanks to which the mission is carried out) as unnecessary come from.

"In my opinion, people simply want to know why such a huge amount of money is spent on the flight of a Polish astronaut. And for the general public, it is really not obvious what space research is for," said the director of the Copernicus Science Centre.

He added that Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski himself knows this too, hence his strong involvement in popularization and educational activities.

"Sławosz talks a lot about it during his meetings and I am convinced that after his return he will achieve popularization success. Research shows that space opens the minds and hearts of young people and can be a great way to interest students in natural sciences and engineering. From our perspective - the community of popularizers and educators - this field of activity is even more important than the research part with 13 Polish experiments carried out on the International Space Station," he assessed.

Robert Firmhofer also said that astronauts regularly visit the NASA Space Center in Houston, where he has been several times.

"They are incredibly admired there, they are even treated by visitors as heroes - people who have broken incredible barriers. That is why their testimony is so important. As ambassadors of science and technology, they are the best at explaining why space expeditions are conducted, what we have thanks to them and how it affects our everyday lives. It is not about the future when we colonize Mars and lead a utopian life there, but about very specific things, including all satellite technologies, research on our health, research on new materials. Although this effort and costs often seem irrational at the beginning, in the end we all benefit from the effects - here, on Earth," he concluded.

As part of the Ax-4 mission – which, according to the latest announcements, may take place on June 22 – a four-person crew is to fly to the International Space Station: Peggy Whitson (USA), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA), Shubhanshu Shukla (India) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). Dr Uznański-Wiśniewski will be the second Pole in space after Mirosław Hermaszewski, and the first on the ISS. (PAP)

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