Serco Europe, a leading provider of services to the space sector, is sponsoring Asclepios, an international project organised by Space@yourService, a non-profit organisation promoting space sciences.
The Asclepios project is a space analogue mission completely made by and for students supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) professors and specialised mentors from the European Space Agency, to be held in July 2021 in Switzerland.
During the mission, six analogue astronauts (all students) will be isolated for ten days in a “lunar” base in the Swiss Alps. As in the International Space Station, they will conduct a series of scientific experiments, work out, take care of the base, and keep time for the media. The mission is run by a team of 60 international students from 18 countries across the world with interdisciplinary backgrounds and with more than 15 fields of expertise represented.
Guido Vingione, Space Business Development Director for Serco Europe, said: “We are very proud of our collaboration with this initiative, which is a confirmation of our involvement in innovation and education projects linked to space research in an international environment. We look forward to witnessing the outcome of this first, exciting mission.”
Chloé Carrière, President of Space@yourService, commented on Serco sponsorship: “Collaborating with Serco Europe is an amazing opportunity for the Asclepios team. Working in close relationship with the space industry fosters innovation within our project but also provides a first direct contact with companies for our student team. We are very happy to welcome Serco Europe onboard our mission.”