The AGH Space Systems science club, consisting of students from the AGH University of Science and Technology (AGH) in Kraków, has won the main prize in the national competition for young scientists StRuNa, which is organised by the “Student Assistance Fund” Foundation under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Science.

The Krakow students were awarded for the SHREAMP 2.0 project (Space Habitat Research – Effectiveness of Anestetic Monitoring Payload), which examines the possibility of safely transporting shrimps to Earth orbit and other planets. 

Neocaridina davidi shrimps could act as nitrogen producers in an aquaponic system, i.e. a future food production system, including fish and plants. As transport by rocket can cause the animals considerable stress, the possibility of using sedatives during the flight was tested. Such an action is expected to make the shrimps more comfortable and take care of their condition after landing. The students developed an innovative monitoring system that collects video footage to analyse the behaviour of the shrimps during the flight.