Per aspera ad astra
@astroslawosz – this is the online nickname under which Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski can be found on the internet. He will reach for the stars aboard the Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule. The astronaut’s story is truly inspiring, as he himself said in an interview just days before the planned launch:
Space has always been close to my heart, because I was born on April 12th, the anniversary of the first manned space flight. Gagarin flew 23 years before I was born. Instead of wishing me all the best on my birthday, my mother would wish me a happy Cosmonautics Day.
TUL, CERN, ESA
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski’s path to cosmic success was paved by his deep technical education. In 2008, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer, and Control Engineering at Lodz University of Technology, specializing in electronics and telecommunications. He was an exceptionally talented and committed student, achieving outstanding academic results. He received an excellent grade on his diploma, and the title of his master’s thesis, written in English, was: “Automatic power measurements and power-driven synthesis techniques on Xilinx FPGAs.” It is worth emphasizing that this thesis was written after a 5-month internship at the headquarters of Xilinx in Grenoble, France. He wrote it under the supervision of Dr. Hab. Zygmunt Ciota, Prof. of Lodz University of Technology, and Prof. Sébastien Le Nours. In the same year, he also received a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Nantes, France. In 2011, he defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Aix-Marseille in France.
Speaking to Lodz University of Technology students in November 2022 about his journey to the stars, he said:
What I received at Lodz University of Technology was a very solid theoretical foundation, mathematical and physical, which to this day bears fruit and gives me the opportunity to conduct scientific research. Look for your opportunities, follow your dreams, pursue what interests you, and then the world will open up to you.
Combining scientific development with a passion for space exploration, he worked at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. There, he specialized in designing highly reliable electronics for operation in radiation environments, such as space accelerators or particle research.
In 2021, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski took part in the recruitment for the European Astronaut Corps, conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). Out of 22,500 applicants, 17 astronauts were selected, including him. In 2024, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said:
Since he was selected about a year and a half ago, Sławosz has become a shining star.
IGNIS
The astronaut will be the second Pole in space. He will spend 14 days there, and this event is drawing enormous interest not only from scientists, but also from enthusiasts. As he explains:
Our mission is called IGNIS, which symbolizes fire and the ambition we have. IGNIS consists of two elements. First: science and technology. Let’s give some examples. We will study microorganisms that created the conditions for life on Earth, to understand how to sustain life during long-term space missions. There will be a lot of research on human physiology and psychology.
The Lodz University of Technology community is very proud of its graduate’s success. We are strongly supporting Dr. Eng. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and eagerly await our next meeting. As he himself said, after returning from space, he intends to visit all Polish technical universities. His alma mater will welcome him with great joy!
