“We look forward to working with our new colleagues”, said Naoki Sato of JAXA, which currently chairs the ISECG. “The accession of POLSA demonstrates the interest of agencies to engage in focused international strategic exchange and coordination, and to build new strategic partnerships for advancing the implementation of the Global Exploration Strategy.”
Poland established its space agency in 2014, although Poland’s space heritage dates back centuries, to Nicholas Copernicus, Johannes Hevelius, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and many other space pioneers. “The principal tasks of the Agency include supporting Polish space industry by combining the worlds of business and science. POLSA is additionally responsible for the arrangement and implementation of the Polish National Space Programme”, explains Grzegorz Brona, President of POLSA. “We foster active bilateral and multilateral cooperation with international partners, primarily in the field of space exploration. Therefore, we believe that ISECG participation is very important for the advancement of international strategic partnerships, to coordinate developments of technologies, and to exchange information about programs and projects.”
Among the many successful international space missions in which Polish entities are currently participating are the Mars Curiosity Rover and the Mars InSight Lander, both presently operating on the surface of the Red Planet, as well as the ICEYE Earth Observation constellation launched late last year, and numerous others. Poland has also been an active member of The European Space Agency since 2012, and Polish companies and research institutes have completed or are in the process of implementing over 300 contracts commissioned by ESA.
More information about POLSA can be found at https://polsa.gov.pl/en/