As part of the international educational project SPACE_READY – Digital Course for University Analog Astronauts Space Trainings, implemented with the support of the Erasmus+ KA220-HED programme, students of Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University continue to participate in a series of analogue space missions.

The third analogue mission involved second-year students of the Faculty of Physics and Technology, majoring in Materials Science, Maksym Derhun and Dmytro Semotiuk. The mission took place at the Analog Astronaut Training Center (AATC) habitat in Poland, near Kraków. This is a specialised infrastructure for conducting analogue space missions, where participants work in conditions close to scenarios involving crew members staying in an isolated environment.

During the mission, students learn to follow a clearly defined schedule, carry out research tasks, comply with safety procedures, work in an international team and communicate with Mission Control.

The missions also involve students from the project’s partner universities: AGH University of Krakow, Poland; Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France; Poliarte Politecnico delle Arti, Italy; and Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, Ukraine. This format creates a shared European educational environment in which students from different countries undergo training for analogue missions together and carry out practical research tasks.

The scientific programme of the Ukrainian participants has a strong focus on materials science. Maksym Derhun and Dmytro Semotiuk prepared a series of experiments on monitoring humidity in the habitat using a flexible sensor material based on biopolymer/graphene oxide films. The research proposed by the students combines materials science, sensor technologies and environmental monitoring.

For Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, students’ participation in SPACE_READY opens up opportunities for the practical training of young researchers in an international environment, strengthens the University’s cooperation with European partners and contributes to the development of modern STEM education.

SPACE_READY is a logical continuation of the European integration of Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University and the development of cooperation in the field of space education, particularly in the context of previous UNIVERSEH initiatives. The success of this project confirms the capacity of CNU’s academic community to be an active participant in international high-technology programmes.