I was delighted to be one of four Irish participants on the International Space University’s first ever online Interactive Space Program in 2020. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the regular in person Space Studies Program did not go ahead. In response to this, ISU adapted the course into a 5 week full time online program.
The concept of the program was to imitate what the space industry can be like in real life, where professionals from a range of disciplines linked to space conduct teamwork similar to that of a Space Analog where crew members, mission control, scientists and experts collaborate remotely in an intense mode.
On 21st July 2020, our crew consisting of 86 participants representing 30 countries launched on the first ever Interactive Space Program (ISP20). The program scenario was virtually set in the year 2120 where humanity is no longer an Earth-bound species with settlements across a number of planetary and space habitats. We were distributed on three virtual habitats, Earth Orbit, Moon, and Mars. Our mission required us to explore, and produce an influential report and presentation on;
“How space can help in the monitoring, mitigation as well as the prevention & preparedness of pandemics”
This is our mission patch that was designed by some of my fellow crew members. All the different aspects of our mission are represented on the design. You will see an image of the Moon, Mars, and The Space Station to represent the virtual habitats. The astronaut in the center is holding the Rod of Asclepius, a symbol of medicine to represent how our mission centers around pandemics.
At the end of the 5 weeks, three final sub reports of the overall Team Mission Report were produced and the findings were presented online. The image to the left is the final cover designs of these reports. If you would like to watch our final presentations, you can view them here.
If you would like to read more about my experience as a participant on ISP20, I have written a blog post for each week of the program recounting the events of each week. You will find a link to these blogs below.
SSP22 – Week 1
Space Camp! This Summer I am participating in the International Space University (ISU)’s Space…
Expedition ISP20 Blog – Week 5
Initiate Re-Entry Sequence! After 5 weeks on our virtual habitats across Earth orbit, Moon and Mars,…
Expedition ISP20 Blog – Week 4
The Last Week of Class This week we had our final series of Daily Seminars and Interactive Workshops…
Expedition ISP20 Blog – Week 3
Halfway there! This week we reached the halfway point of Expedition ISP20! It’s hard to believ…
Expedition ISP20 Blog – Week 2
What a way to start Week 2! It’s Week 2 of Expedition ISP20, and what better way to start the …
Expedition ISP20 Blog – Week 1
Fueling is complete, begin countdown to launch! On 21st July 2020, our crew consisting of 86 partici…