The University of Science and Technology (AGH) in Krakow is building a laboratory to simulate space missions. It will serve to develop and train future personnel for the space engineering sector. In the habitat, which is the first of its kind at a Polish university, students will test solutions in conditions similar to those of lunar and Martian missions.

The simulator will be used to test new materials for space bases, solutions from the fields of navigation, telecommunications, and biomedical engineering. The habitat will also be the testing ground for any research the students’ design. The studies will cover social relationships and issues, group dynamics, the ways in which individuals make decisions, the division of roles and tasks.

The AGH Habitat will be directed towards the study of primarily hardware used in missions, including, for example, on-board components using artificial intelligence, but also, for example, solutions used for water purification or waste disposal. 

Under safe laboratory conditions, reactions to stressful situations, stimulation with new sound and visual stimuli, ways of adapting to new, unfamiliar conditions or being cut off from daylight will be analysed. 

The opportunity to test new materials and spacesuits and equipment used in real missions will also be extremely valuable. An additional element tested in the habitat will be the participants’ ability to cope with limits on energy, water, and other resources.

The laboratory will be located in the newly built premises of the Space Technology Centre There will also be a Mission Control Centre, where there will be constant monitoring of the work and activities undertaken by the analogue astronauts. A separate control team will check and monitor the biological rhythm of the participants and parameters related to their physical and mental condition.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński