Space science for students during Ignis

ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski during an educational recording on the International Space Station. 
The shot is part of the Newton's Cradle activity. Sławosz conducted a video demonstration of Newtonian physics. The cradle was made to precise specifications by vocational students studying metalworking in Poland. It helps to show how vocational skills have value to the aerospace industry. The cradle is designed to work in microgravity. During the demonstration, Sławosz collided the balls together in various ways to show Newton's laws.

Sławosz became a bridge between orbit and Earth, recording educational videos and participating in live calls with students, teachers and leaders across Poland. Students in Warsaw, Wrocław, Rzeszów, and Łódź had the unique chance to speak directly with an astronaut in space and ask questions about human spaceflight.

The educational programme for all age groups included lessons from space, competitions, microgravity experiments and two radio amateur contacts.

During the Ignis mission, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski conducted 13 experiments proposed by Polish companies and institutions and developed in collaboration with ESA, along with three additional ESA-led experiments. These covered a broad range of areas including human research, materials science, biology, biotechnology and technology demonstrations.  

The Ax-4 mission marks the second commercial human spaceflight for an ESA project astronaut. Ignis was sponsored by the Polish government and supported by ESA, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT) and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA).