Debrecen4U July 21, 2025

The University of Debrecen is also counted on for successful space research

As Unideb.hu reports, Hungary has done a lot in recent years and achieved outstanding results in the field of space research and space technology, all in order to play a decisive role in the international ecosystem. “In this process, as before, we will continue to rely heavily on domestic universities, including the University of Debrecen, Deputy State Secretary for Technology, Space, and Defense Industry of the Ministry of National Economy Szabolcs Szolnoki stated during his visit to the University of Debrecen to assess Debrecen’s space industry potential on Thursday,

“Hungary has been a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since 2015 and has been a full member for five years. The domestic space strategy aims to exploit the opportunities inherent in the sector and affect the entire national economy, stimulating innovation and economic growth. To this end, we are increasing, according to our plans, domestic support for the sector. At the end of the year, the financing negotiations for the next three years of ESA will begin. For successful negotiations, and in order to most effectively use and draw on international resources that determine the future of the sector, we need to develop a complex picture of the results of the domestic space research ecosystem,” Szabolcs Szolnoki said at the professional consultation.

The Deputy Secretary of State highlighted that the planned establishment of the national space agency, as well as the regulation of the Hungarian space sector, is aimed at increasing the visibility of the domestic space industry and the international recognition of domestic players. He said that the successful HUNOR research astronaut mission has given new impetus to the domestic, already active sector.

The professional consultation stated that the focus areas of the domestic space industry could be developments in electronics, radiation exposure, and supporting human space travel.

“The DE-SPACE space research programme of the University of Debrecen serves as an umbrella for the university’s scientific activities in this area. Our institution has been dedicated to space research since the late 1970s. Within the framework of the scientific programme, our experts have developed, among other things, a memory-based radiation measuring device and an aerogel insulating material and are also investigating the fluid rearrangement and skeletal muscle differentiation that occurs in the body in microgravity,” László Csernoch listed during the presentation of the DE-SPACE programme.

The Vice-Rector for Science of the University of Debrecen called the university research conducted as part of the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Programme in the scientific portfolio of Axiom Mission 4 a success of the UD space research programme, which, as he said, “will continue and enter a new phase with the return of Tibor Kapu.”

“The cerebral hemodynamics research has entered the third phase of the study, when, after the return, the experts will document the process, changes and speed of the normalization of cerebral blood circulation after space travel. UD’s agricultural researchers are awaiting the return of samples of pepper, radish and wheat plants grown on the International Space Station for their research aimed at plant germination, microgreen production and leaf development,” László Csernoch added.

The Vice-Rector for Science of the University of Debrecen reminded that the institution has established six research groups of the DE-SPACE programme in four thematic areas: cosmic radiation, long-term space travel, the effects of microgravity, and the examination of data from space.

During his visit, Szabolcs Szolnoki got acquainted with the results of research on radiation physics, space physiology, space nutrition, space medicine and diagnostics, as well as on climate change, and isotopes and their applications. Experts from the Ministry of National Economy visited the Institute of Physiology of the Faculty of General Medicine and got acquainted with the work of the university’s space physiology research laboratory.

The delegation visited the Manufacturing Technology and Information Technology Lab of the Department of Experimental Physics of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, as well as the Biodrome of the Institute of Applied Plant Biology of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management, which is home to research on plant germination, microgreen production and leaf development, which was successfully carried out in the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Programme.

During the visit, organised by UD Catapult, the technology transfer company of the University of Debrecen, the Ministry’s staff also had the opportunity to gain insight into the space industry developments of the HUN-REN Nuclear Research Institute and Emerson Test & Measurement (NI).

Source:dehir.hu | Photo credit: Facebook (Debrecen városa)