On September 17^th,  the Joint Research Centre (JRC), Polish Space Agency (POLSA) and the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology held a meeting about space research at the European Commission Representative Office in Warsaw, Poland. The event was opened by Katarzyna Smyk, the newly appointed head of the Polish EC Delegation, and Prof. Grzegorz Wrochna, President of POLSA. An introductory address was given by Ignacy Niemczycki, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology. The Joint Research Center (JRC) was represented by Bernard Magenhann (Acting Director General) and Matthias Oel (Director of Societal Resilience and Security).

The scope of the Center’s activities and research was presented by JRC experts, with a particular emphasis on crucial areas such as positioning, navigation, and timing technologies (critical for the implementation and evolution of Galileo and EGNOS); space technologies for enhancing security and defense (including the use of space connectivity to bridge the digital gap in Africa); secure connectivity from space (supporting the design, development, and operation of IRIS2); strategic support for Copernicus; and Earth Observation for civil security.

Prof. Wrochna provided an overview of the Polish space sector, including POLSA’s objectives and activities. His presentation highlighted past achievements as a foundation for future objectives and directions. He emphasized that the Polish space sector needs a new framework, termed “Space 5.0”, which reflects the sector’s evolving public-private environment and the growing demand for space infrastructure to meet the needs of modern societies. POLSA, as an agency, now has an expanded role as an integrator of the needs of public administration, other sectors, and society itself.

Additionally, Piotr Orleański, Director of the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Łukasz Wilczyński from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, spoke about Polish capabilities and achievements in the space domain from the perspective of scientific institutes and universities.

The meeting’s goal was to lay foundation for collaboration efforts on Earth to advance space research and exploration.