India is a land of unity in diversity. Its rural and tribal corners, though brimming with curiosity and raw talent, often remain unsensitized by the conversations that shape our future, especially when it comes to space science and environmental awareness. On 14th November 2024, at Varanasi (an Indian city popular as a pilgrimage site), a quiet revolution began. LIFE-To & Beyond Foundation®, in collaboration with the Pratham Education Foundation, penned down a new chapter in the Indian space ecosystem. It was marked by a shared vision of "bringing science and space to the mainstream discussion". But this wasn't a lofty corporate pitch, but an interactive DIY science workshop on weather and climate change. This was made possible through LIFE-To & Beyond Foundation® (i.e., through our Outreach Sarabhai initiative, named after the Father of the Indian Space Program, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai [Figure 1]), when we decided to go further, deeper, and wider right into the heart of rural and tribal India. But such a dream needed legs, wheels, and fuel (both literal and metaphorical). That’s where Pratham Education Foundation entered as a key collaborator. Pratham helped bring together its grassroots strength to the table: identifying school children from rural and tribal areas, arranging transportation, and managing the logistics of setting up workshops in their Creativity club centers across India.

Thus, from the ghats of Varanasi to the sub-urbans of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh; from the arid desert regions in Dausa, Rajasthan to the naxalite-maoist affected, densely forested areas in Konta and Sukma in Chhattisgarh to the gateway to north-east India, i.e., Cooch-Behar, in West Bengal, India, it was a journey across the lengths and breadths of north, west, and eastern parts of India (Figure 2)

The theme for these workshops was Weather and Climate Change and was carried out under the name “Build your Weather Station”. Why? Because these children are not just future citizens, they're current stakeholders of a planet undergoing rapid change, mainly due to anti-environmental human activities. And what better way to learn than by engaging? Kids were introduced to DIY weather stations, built their thermometers, rain gauge, and anemometer, along with engaging demonstrations of magic in a glass of water explaining the concept of atmospheric pressure, cloud in a jar and bottle, a tornado in a bottle, and paper-origami rocket, and a climate satellite model making. All built from everyday materials to understand concepts of temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, rainfall, wind, and climate monitoring through. From crafting anemometers out of paper cups to decoding how clouds are born, the sessions turned into hands-on labs of discovery. The idea was simple: make science feel like play and not an academic work.

​Meet MRD-001: The Mars Recon Dog
As part of the StarG2025 platform, the MRD-001 tracked Mars Scout Dog was deployed for its first dual-test mission — one in an urban indoor setting, and another in the field among alpine meadows and virgin forests.

Why "StarG"?

• Star Guardians – Youth as defenders of ecosystems and the universe
• Star Generation – Representing the next wave of interstellar humans
• Star Growing – For ecological restoration and space biospheres
• Star Genesis – For future planetary transformation and space colonization

​

Learn more about Chris Yuan and his activities at LinkedIn
or contact him via ​[email protected]

The Ursa Minor Interstellar City (UMIC) project was born out of the need to create accessible and sustainable space simulation environments on Earth. Inspired by NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) and NEEMO underwater project, as well as ESA’s CAVES programme, UMIC reimagines these concepts to provide affordable, eco-friendly simulations that bring space exploration closer to ordinary people, considering the following scientific principles:

• Low-gravity simulation: Using underwater neutral buoyancy environments to replicate microgravity for astronaut training.
• Closed ecological systems: Conducting oxygen regeneration and resource recovery experiments to simulate living conditions on the Moon and Mars.
• Human adaptation studies: Exploring human survival in extreme environments, akin to ESA’s cave studies, through underwater confined space experiments.

A Journey of Innovation
​In 2020, collaboration with Professor Thais Russomano on the Evetts-Russomano (ER) CPR method sparked the idea for UMIC’s Underwater Space City. Over four years, UMIC has developed the complete underwater space city elements: EVA training spacecraft, animal spacecraft, lunar commuter motorcycle, space farm, the world's largest astronaut helmet, and the smallest underwater cafe - Galaxy Cat Cafe (see videos below). We can even provide astronauts with a cup of hot coffee underwater, and broadcast space education for young people around the world, truly realizing the popularization of space exploration education.

​Mission and Impact
UMIC’s goal is to train commercial astronauts to thrive in space and on alien surfaces while establishing ecological, multi-species habitats. By fostering collaboration and resilience, it not only advances humanity’s path to becoming a multi-planetary species but also strengthens our ability to protect Earth and preserve its ecosystems

The webinar, organised by InnovaSpace Director Prof Thais Russomano, was presented by 4 students from the Remote Medicine iBSc program, National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, and in association with the MVA (Moon Village Association). The focus of the event was on one of the most critical aspects of future lunar habitation: human health.
Join the student panel as they explore the unique environment of the Moon, the history of its human exploration from NASA Apollo Mission first steps to future Artemis plans, its potential impact on human physical health and mental well-being, Moon research and Earth-based space analogues, and research limitations and gaps in the knowledge.
​
Congratulations to the presenters - Manvi Bhatt, Nareh Ghazarians, Diya Raj Yajaman, & Elvyn Vijayanathan - and good luck with your future careers. 

​The government of Tanzania has set itself a goal to venture into space exploration by launching its first ever Communication Satellite, scheduled for the end of 2023 following similar endeavors by other countries in the region. This daring spirit shown by the government is also reflected by a rising number of space-related activities, establishment of privately owned companies venturing into space exploration, and a germinating stalk of space ecosystem in Tanzania, most notably in the country’s commercial city of Dar es Salaam.
 
One of record-breaking events to ever happen in Tanzania is the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, which is the largest global hackathon organised by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States of America and partner organisations from all over the world, such as ESA, CSA, JAXA, ISRO and many more.

InnovaSpace congratulates the hard work and dedication of Space System Engineer Marco Romero and Daniela Barbosa and their team of helpers, who dedicate their own time and resources to promoting science & technology initiatives in Angola and beyond. Well done all on your latest activity to inspire the future space generation!

The Thematic Week to Celebrate Rural and Urban Development and looking at the contribution of the Education sector to sustainable development, saw the launch of 10 Editions of Space Science and Technology Comic Books, produced in Angola.
“Ruvi Humbi” illustrates the life of a girl born and raised in a village in southern Angola. She dreams of reaching the stars but a conflict between the cultural and empirical knowledge of her friend Humbi and the scientific knowledge of her physics teacher makes it difficult to realize her dream of exploring the universe.
“Xiamy” recounts the story of two boys who are invited to travel back in time to use the knowledge they acquired in physics and maths classes to help Punguandongo elders improve space surveillance and planetary defense techniques.
“Katutu – The Space Engineer” - Young Katutu is a dreamer who goes through the phases of discovering his profession. His regular routine of life as a student and homework is interspersed with dreams in which Katutu discovers a robot with whom he learns what it is like to be a Space Systems Engineer and how he can contribute to space science and technology that changes the world.
“Tropa dos Kandengues” - A group of young scientists go on a study trip to the Namibe desert, imagining its dry red landscape to be like a trip to the red planet Mars, and they apply all their knowledge acquired in classes on human and robotic exploration of the Solar System.

On the 2nd of October 2020, the Astro Zimba space education curriculum for young children began its programme, launching a pilot study with the Whitestone School, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. This space education curriculum recognises that building Zimbabwe’s space autonomy is hinged on the nation’s capacity to make a critical mass of skilled individuals. This capacity-building must necessarily begin from the early developmental stages.
​
The Astro Zimba curriculum, created by myself and Marco Romero, in collaboration with InnovaSpace and Students for Exploration & Development of Space (Zimbabwe), is a series of lectures on space and space-related themes, using interactive sessions, games, videos, comic books and other learning activities to spark space science and technology curiosity amongst the youth. This is done in the hopes that more children, especially young girls, will be inspired to take up STEM subjects and careers. The founders of this programme identified a gap in existing curricula, one which they wish had been filled during their initial years, and one which they believe has a profound impact on the development of the space industry.

​Space sciences and technology, while a rapidly developing and exciting field, can often be quite a technical subject area for young children to understand. That said, having a dedicated programme which delivers science content in an engaging, tailored and fun way helps to boost interest in young children. It has the dual effect of inspiring both genders to become involved, which is the goal of the Valentina project for girls, facilitated by InnovaSpace, acknowledging that young girls are underrepresented in the STEM sciences. Giving access to quality education boosts social and economic circumstances, alleviates poverty and empowers young girls, positively impacting on the SDG 1 (poverty reduction), SDG4 (quality education) and SDG5 (gender equality).
The following lesson plans were presented during the pilot study. The introductory video sought to spark the learner’s curiosity and inspire more children to pursue careers in the space industry. Having careers in the space industry, the Founders thought it important to add a touch of personal experience and insights, including initiatives that have made a difference in their personal career journeys. The learners are introduced to each week’s theme through an interactive video message, before proceeding with practical in-person class sessions.

​High Altitude Balloon Discover Mission (HABDM) is the first space student-led project that has been done in Zimbabwe. The project was a collaborative engagement project between students from the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Zimbabwe (SEDS Zimbabwe) and the Meteorological Service Department (MSD) of Zimbabwe. The purpose of this mission was to spearhead space education in Zimbabwe and ensure that students are aware of the opportunities that space has. Our primary goal was to record the flight to the stratosphere and use that footage for educational purpose as well as celebrating the World Space Week. Prior to the launch date we decided that we would send our payload together a radiosonde from the MSD so that we could compare the atmospheric information obtained.

To add to the mission, we covered the capsule pink acknowledging that the month of October is the month for breast cancer awareness. It only took us three days to have all the equipment for the payload. Despite the risks involved and the probability of failing to recover our instruments was high because we did not have enough time to prepare. We had seen videos of well-prepared teams who had done high altitude projects facing some challenges in recovering their payloads when they were using state of the art equipment. So in our case to avoid too much disappointment we had to lower our expectation and accept any outcome.
​
On the 10th of October the whole team met at the MSD offices and without wasting time the balloon was launched. We were graced by the presence of the Deputy Director of MSD Zimbabwe, Mr Mazhara. Unfortunately on the launch the weight of the payload posed a huge challenge. We ended up removing the radiosonde to ensure that the balloon ascended to the stratosphere. Our payload consisted of two cameras, mobile device, usb adapter, power bank and a data logging system. The team consisted of students from University of Zimbabwe and National University of Science and Technology Zimbabwe, with the assistance from Claire a geography teacher at St John’s College in Harare and William, a self-employed space enthusiast. It was through the collaborative effort of the team that we were able to have all the resources that were needed for the launch. The MSD came through for us by providing us with the balloon and hydrogen gas.