Prague moon colony and Škoda lunar rover on show at Czech Space Week
Among the many highlights of the ongoing Czech Space Week is a model of “New Prague”, an imaginary space colony on the Moon accompanied by a lunar rover designed by architect Tomáš Rousek. The event brings the latest in space technology to scientists, business leaders and the wider public.
The 3D printed model of “New Prague” adds on to a series of international research projects known as the Global Moon Village concept. The imaginary colony features residential modules containing laboratories, greenhouses, landing ramps and a solar farm, all of which are the results of conceptual research into how a future space colony may operate.
Next to it stands LUNIAQ – a lunar rover for four astronauts that was inspired by the designs of Škoda cars, but its technology is based on real NASA space vehicle concepts.
Both the vehicle and village can be found in the Virtuplex hall in Prague and were designed by Czech architect Tomáš Rousek, who has been focusing on designing structures for use in space for several years now. Visitors to the hall can also put on VR goggles and get a feel for what it is like to walk on the moon.
The exhibit is part of a much wider Czech Space Week programme that has been running since Monday. In it, the public has the opportunity to learn more about the universe and the latest developments in space related research through presentations held by leading experts in the field. The event is set to close next Saturday with a special Space Film Concert, performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
Aside from educational events, this year’s Czech Space Week also drew some of the heavyweights of the European space programme. Among them was the Head of the Innovation and Ventures Office of the European Space Agency Frank Salzgeber.
Speaking about the work of the agency’s Business Incubation Centre in Prague, which is helping aspiring Czech startups hoping to break into the space business, Mr Salzgeber mentioned InsightART, a company which uses cosmic detector technology as an art verification tool.
“It might not bring 5,000 jobs, but I think it is something where you will lead the world in a certain area and people will look to the city of Prague for that.”
Czech Space Week also saw networking among scientists. A special conference looking into how the EU’s Copernicus environmental monitoring system could be used to help fulfil the union’s Green Deal commitments was held at Charles University.
Czech Space Week is organised by CzechInvest and the Ministry of Transport in cooperation with several organisations, including the European Space Education Resource Office and the Czech Academy of Sciences.
