The first fully Hungarian-developed simulation space cabin equipped with VR technology was presented in Budapest. SpaceBuzz-HU, with which you can take a virtual space trip, can go to Hungarian schools for free as part of the educational program showing the fragility of our planet.
“Our goal is to bring the Earth and the operation of the International Space Station closer to the students on an experiential level. With the SpaceBuzz educational program, we want to draw children’s attention to nature and environmental protection, as well as natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics,” announced the at the event, Orsolya Ferencz, ministerial commissioner responsible for space research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who said that the ministry supported the implementation of the project with HUF 9 million.
“Hungary has done a lot in recent years to ensure that the domestic space sector catches up to the forefront of the world. We have quintupled our contributions to the programs of the European Space Agency (ESA), and the relevant Hungarian actors can bring almost all of them back to our country. There are currently 168 registered Hungarians in ESA there is a business, a research institute and a university,” emphasized Orsolya Ferencz. He explained that within the framework of the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Program, a Hungarian research astronaut can go up to the International Space Station, the selected Tibor Kapu’s backup will be Gyula Cserényi, and they will soon continue their training in the United States. “They both recently tried the VR space cabin and rated it as outstanding,” he noted.
István Zentai, chairman of the board of trustees of the SpaceBuzz Hungary Nonprofit Foundation, said: by the first half of 2025 at the latest, when the selected Hungarian research astronaut, Tibor Kapu, can travel into space, the Hungarian-developed and manufactured rocket can be built, in which twelve participants can simultaneously experience the experience of VR space travel. “The Hungarian space strategy assigns a special role to education, from primary and secondary school to higher education, connected to it through industry and up to social education. Based on the Dutch example, SpaceBuzz launched in our country in 2019 with a free education program subject to registration, and the simulation “We want to help Hungarian schools in Hungary and across the border with the space cabin. Starting in the fall, we will start a workshop for middle and senior managers of companies on sustainability-related awareness,” said István Zentai.
As he said, he trusts that Hungarian companies, foundations and private individuals will also recognize the importance of the case, and will support SpaceBuzz with larger amounts than at present. In response to a question, Orsolya Ferencz explained that the UniSpace program, which primarily focuses on education, was launched by seventeen Hungarian universities in a consortium.
The first pilot program of SpaceBuzz was created in international cooperation (Dutch, French, Italian, Hungarian) with the support of Erasmus+, and since then more than 5,500 students from more than a hundred domestic and international schools have participated in it, and more than two hundred teachers have received training and curriculum that can be used for education.
Source: sg.hu
