The University of Science and Technology (AGH) in Krakow has concluded a cooperation agreement with Orbital Space, a company operating in the United Arab Emirates. Among other things, the agreement enables AGH students to develop and test the ‘Lunaris’ device, used to study the interaction of selected materials and coatings with lunar dust – the regolith.

According to AGH, the agreement is the aftermath of the success of the AGH Lunar Technologies science club, which won the competition called ‘Experiment on the Moon: Lunar Payload Mission’ organised in May 2023 by Orbital Space, beating more than 400 projects from around the world. 

The grand prize is the opportunity to send the designed device to the Moon in 2025 and its flight will be provided by Orbital Space. This will be the first mission of its kind to feature a payload constructed by a Polish team and one of the first collaborations between Poland and the United Arab Emirates in the space sector.