Uznański-Wiśniewski for PAP: I am ready to join the European Astronaut Corps

"I am ready to join the European Astronaut Corps if such a decision is made," astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski told PAP. He added that he would like his experience gained during the IGNIS mission and 17 years of work on space technologies to be utilized in Poland as well.

The Polish astronaut, who flew to Poland for the first time since returning from the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, told PAP that his possible entry into the European Astronaut Corps depends on the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the Ministry of Finance and Economy (which, after the government reshuffle, was replaced by the Ministry of Development and Technology, MRiT) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Ministry of Sport and Tourism (MRiT) previously announced that it is considering Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski's participation in ESA's core astronaut corps. Currently, the Pole is an ESA reserve astronaut. He participated in the IGNIS technology and science mission as a project astronaut, and his contract expires at the end of 2025.

The Ministry of Development also announced that Poland has declared a financial contribution to ESA of approximately €400 million for 2023–2025 and "strives to maintain this level of funding." Uznański-Wiśniewski's appointment to the Corps depends, among other things, on the amount of Poland's contribution to ESA.

"I'm certainly ready to join the European Astronaut Corps if such a decision is made. If I had the opportunity and we were actually preparing for another space mission, it would be a great honor for me to represent Poland," declared Uznański-Wiśniewski.

He noted that for this to happen, there's a lot of work to be done on both sides—Poland and ESA. "We have the opportunity to collaborate in Europe. Poland is a country that is increasingly building technology, but we're still at the beginning of the journey, and after all, our history of this development is quite short," he said.

He added that the Polish mission to the International Space Station was the first step toward "long-term development" and that our country could become a leader in some fields. "I am convinced that the driver of innovation is exploration, and it always has been. It is through exploration that we ask ourselves difficult questions and solve difficult problems. This allows us to fly further; to see what the Earth looks like from our orbit around the Earth. This allowed us to see what the Earth looks like from the Moon – and we know we are returning to the Moon. We are also a country participating in this project and in the Artemis missions," he said.

Artemis is an American spaceflight program run by NASA, private space companies, and international partners such as ESA. Its goal is to send humans back to the Moon, scheduled for mid-2027.

"At the basic corps in Europe, astronauts train for long-term missions to the space station. Recent years have primarily involved six-month missions, during which the astronauts perform a multitude of experiments and technological demonstrations from their home countries, but also from across Europe. As an engineer and scientist, I feel comfortable performing experiments as an operator, and as a scientist, I am able to understand the theoretical foundations that are important for these experiments," the source told PAP.

He assessed that being selected for the European Astronaut Corps would also provide Poland with a long-term partnership on equal terms in the astronaut corps – similar to that enjoyed by other partner countries participating, for example, in the International Space Station programme.

He stated that joining the Corps is one possible scenario for his career. "It would be an incredibly big challenge for me, but also a professional development opportunity, to stay in the basic astronaut corps," he admitted.

Uznański-Wiśniewski admitted that he hadn't yet considered what he would do if his appointment to the European Astronaut Corps didn't come immediately after his contract ended. "I wouldn't want to make a decision now, after returning from a space mission. I think we have a huge amount of work to do to consolidate the knowledge we've acquired," he emphasized.

He reminded us that he is an expert in space technology, a field he has been involved in since completing his doctoral thesis. "I am very eager to share my knowledge. I think I will always be involved in science, engineering, and technology; it comes very naturally to me. I hope that my knowledge will be utilized and that I will also be able to help the Polish side in the areas I know well, in technological matters," he emphasized.

He added: "I'm open to roles, whether advisory or scientific, or promoting and sharing my knowledge. I think I'm in an incredibly unique position, having space experience and simultaneously 17 years of experience building space equipment and new technologies for science and industry," he said.

He estimated that other people who gained experience thanks to the IGNIS mission could head crisis management operations centers and satellite constellations that Poland is building, or work on future missions.

He described the debriefings (called debriefings) of the Ax-4 mission, of which there may be dozens in total. "I've already started some with the European Space Agency, and I'll continue them next week. I'll meet with every partner who worked on the Polish mission from the European Space Agency, NASA, Axiom Space, SpaceX, and the Hungarian and Indian agencies. All this to discuss what can be improved, how to build subsequent programs to capture this unique knowledge today, at this moment, and implement it for the next mission, perhaps for another country, and perhaps for us as well," he explained.

He explained that the knowledge gained from Ax-4 will be used in work on the next mission, to make its organization even more efficient and "more cost-effective." The experience could also be used in developing astronaut training.

The astronaut admitted he wasn't sure how he would cope with the enormous popularity he gained from his spaceflight. "These are the first few days after returning; it's hard for me to say what the future will look like. But I'm happy that there's interest in space. I have dozens, thousands of pieces of information, invitations from schools, information from children, students, and pupils who are interested in space, how to become an astronaut, how to build space equipment. I hope we can maintain this interest as long as possible," he admitted.

When asked what he would say to conspiracy theorists who claim the Earth is flat and he hasn't been to space at all, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski replied: "I've been to space, I've been to the International Space Station. I don't know if I can convince anyone who doesn't want to be convinced. The discussion around today's science and technology is incredibly important, but sometimes [science] is so complex that it's difficult for us to understand from beginning to end how it works. However, I will do everything in my power to educate and promote science for what it is: objective, the kind we can observe and measure."

Science in Poland, Anna Bugajska (PAP)

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