This autumn, Miroslav Palán, a doctoral student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, became a system engineer for space technologies. And it doesn’t really matter that only for a week and only for a trial. Together with thirty young experts from Europe and Africa, he participated in the ESA Academy – Space Systems Engineering Training Course at the ESEC-Galaxia Training Centre in Belgium.

Miroslav Palán is doing his PhD in tribology, which is the science of lubrication, friction and wear. At first glance, a field that, in the eyes of a layman, is not very close to space research – or vice versa? "Friction is quite crucial in space. If something gets stuck on your satellite, it's hard to send someone to fix it. By reducing friction, we ensure reliability and also extend the life of space devices and save energy," explains Palán, which is why he and his colleagues from the Institute of Machine and Industrial Design are also quite active in the field of space.

Despite the romantic aura that space has for many people, it is actually a very inhospitable environment. And for the engineers, it is a great challenge. "There is a vacuum in space and, among other things, extreme temperatures – from very high to extremely low. All this affects the mechanism of movement. Near Earth, satellites also struggle with atomic oxygen, which leads to the disruption of material. Compared to Earth, where we are protected by the atmosphere, the conditions are really very different. However, it is not always only for the worse, for example, the lack of air humidity means that it is not as corrosive an environment as we know it on Earth, which is on the contrary positive," explains Palán.

He has always been interested in space, but at first, he did not look for a future career in it. "Like any small child, I was fascinated by space and planets. To this day, I still like to go to the observatory to see a program or lecture. But I originally studied the Basics of Mechanical Engineering and continued my master's degree at the Institute of Machine and Industrial Design, I wanted to be a designer. However, during my studies, I found out that I enjoyed science and education and that I would like to stay at the Faculty and do research," Palán describes his path to doctoral studies. "Then I was looking for a topic to apply for. And it was space that appealed to me the most. This brings me back to my childhood dream. To be honest, of course, I wanted to be an astronaut, but we have to be a bit realistic," he says with a laugh.

Nevertheless, a part of his work will travel into space: he is helping his colleagues from the department with the development of a cubesat, which is to be launched into orbit in the coming years as part of the BRNOsat mission. "I have to say that I never expected to be doing something like this. I really thought I would be stuck in an office or a laboratory – and now I'm working on a real cubesat," says Palán, who is currently in charge of preparing vibration tests for the small satellite.

ESA as inspiration and motivation

Thanks to his colleagues from the Institute, Miroslav Palán was advised not to hesitate and take advantage of the training offered to young professionals from all over Europe by the European Space Agency (ESA). "I took this opportunity by storm and submitted an application within a week," he recalls. He succeeded and was able to go to Belgium for the "Space Systems Engineering Training Course", i.e. a week-long training of systems engineers in the field of space from Europe and Africa.

"A system engineer is a kind of 'manager' of the technical side of a project. He makes sure that the entire system works and everything runs smoothly from design to final testing and operation. The general overview of technology, which I had thanks to the Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering, as well as the basic managerial skills, which I acquired in one of the subjects during my studies in Structural Engineering, were very useful to me during the training," says Palán. "But I learned the most about what is sent into space and how, what pre-flight contracts and other “paperwork” there exist, how much what is supposed to weigh and so on," he adds.

The four-day program culminated in a special board game organized by one of the ESA lecturers, which simulates the 52 weeks until the launch of a rocket. "In it, you play the role of a systems engineer who is tasked with arranging the departure of the rocket on time. And, of course, the game features also such cards of chance as "component failure" or "transport problems", he recalls with a smile that, despite all the pitfalls, his team successfully sent an imaginary rocket into space on time.

Participation in ESA training was both an inspiration for him and a great motivation, and an invaluable source of contacts with colleagues in the field. "I recommend everyone who is interested in the topic to give it a try. ESA covers the expenses of the entire program, so it didn't cost me anything except my time. They do trainings regularly, launching two programs every month on different topics," Palán appeals, adding that this is far from just an opportunity for doctoral students, but that most of the participants were master's students.

Are you interested in the story about ESA Academy? Then check out the offer of other courses here!

And what question of "life, the universe and in general" would he like to know the answer to if he could? "I wonder if there is more advanced life somewhere in the universe than the life we know here. I don't say life in general, because I'm a supporter of the theory that life in some form must be somewhere in the universe," concludes Palán.