BME Innovations Join the Exclusive Club of Space-Tested Technologies

“BME innovations are looking to the universe, and the mechanisms are in place here to enable their commercial application. For the university to be a strong innovator, it must be capable of carrying forward fundamental research – and that is how deep tech is born: major scientific achievements with disruptive potential,” said János Levendovszky, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at BME, in the opening remarks of the science outreach lecture held at the University on Tuesday as part of Hungarian Innovation Week.

The event featured two research projects to which former BME student Tibor Kapu contributed through his work on the International Space Station. His mission as Hungary’s second astronaut included conducting several experiments on behalf of Hungarian scientists. The two highlighted projects could hardly be more different: one is a targeted innovation aimed at solving a specific problem and is already in the product development phase, while the other is a piece of fundamental research in geometry, whose practical potential may emerge in the future. What links them both is their foundation in BME’s academic and research environment.

The first presentation was delivered by Diána Balogh-Weiser, Associate Professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, on an ophthalmic insert developed for the treatment of SANS (Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome) – a condition ranked by NASA among the five most critical health issues in space travel. The insert, a nanofibre object just a few millimetres in size, is placed into the lower conjunctival sac, where it releases an active ingredient designed to prevent the formation of oedema responsible for vision deterioration in space. (More information is available here.)

According to Diána Balogh-Weiser, the experiments conducted with the insert proved successful, yielding a wealth of valuable data, the analysis of which is still ongoing. However, preliminary findings already suggest strong potential for the continuation of the project, with regulatory approval likely to be the next major milestone. And not only for use in space: while the initial motivation for the development stemmed from the difficulty of administering eye drops in microgravity, the solid insert may in many cases prove to be a more effective alternative to drops in ophthalmic treatments on Earth as well, the BME researcher explained.

Gábor Domokos, University Professor at the Department of Mechanics, Materials and Structures, spoke about a discovery made last year that not only appeared on the cover of Scientific American, but also reached space via the AX-4 mission. He presented a new universal class of geometric forms known as “soft cells”, which are characterised by their unique property of filling space without gaps or sharp vertices. This shape is commonly found in nature, and together with doctoral student Krisztina Regős, Domokos developed an algorithm that can generate soft cells from any pattern composed of polyhedra.
While in space, Tibor Kapu took advantage of microgravity to create a soft cell made of solid water, in order to demonstrate the concept. 

“We learned an incredible amount from this, because without gravity everything behaves completely differently – our intuition doesn’t apply to such conditions. It was a rare opportunity to study geometry in an environment like this,” 

said Gábor Domokos. Soft cells offer potential solutions to a wide range of spatial filling problems, though their precise practical applications remain to be seen. One of Professor’s earlier discoveries, the Gömböc, was also hailed as a scientific sensation; more than ten years after its invention, it went on to inspire the design of a new type of insulin capsule.

Following the presentations, a panel discussion took place featuring the two researchers alongside experts from the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Programme: medical doctor Ádám Schlégl and chief engineer István Örökös-Tóth. The conversation was moderated by Krisztián Kabát, an analyst with Portfolio.hu.

The first topic was the emerging boom in the space industry, which, according to Ádám Schlégl, could experience growth of 15 to 35 percent, given its notable resilience in times of crisis.  He highlighted the increasing activity of China and India as key drivers, while noting that “Europe has been slow to act” – though it is promising that this has been increasingly acknowledged, and the European space sector is now gaining some momentum. This is particularly important, as István Örökös-Tóth pointed out, because the space race is also a race in innovation.

And how was Hungary able to become involved in all this? Ádám Schlégl pointed out that “the International Space Station’s schedule is packed with human experiments,” making it extremely difficult to secure a place – so the fact that Hungarian research programmes succeeded in doing so is a remarkable achievement. It was noted that 25 such experiments were carried out – an amount that typically takes much longer to complete. “The club of technologies that have made it to space is an exclusive one. Smaller players rarely get a foothold in this field, so the opportunity provided by the HUNOR programme acts as an accelerator for the research involved,” explained István Örökös-Tóth.

Diána Balogh-Weiser emphasised that the significance of their own experiment lies not only in its specific outcomes, but also in the methodology and mindset the team acquired during the development process. When asked whether there had been previous research aimed at replacing eye drops, she replied that there had been several attempts, but none progressed to the stage of human testing – let alone space trials. Compared to those earlier efforts, the key advantages of their insert are the delayed release of the active ingredient, and the minimal foreign body sensation.

Ádám Schlégl also spoke about the astronaut selection process, as he himself was among the candidates. He explained that today’s astronauts must be something of a Swiss Army knife: someone who is slightly above average as a researcher, an engineer, a technician, and a communicator – all while maintaining exceptional psychological stability. 

According to NASA, psychological issues are considered the primary risk in crewed space missions, 

which is why candidates undergo an extensive battery of questionnaires, group exercises, and stress-resilience assessments. Another fundamental requirement is medical fitness: candidates must have no conditions that could pose a potential medical emergency, nor any abnormal adaptive mechanisms. This is why flying in a Gripen fighter jet, completing survival training, and experiencing sleep and food deprivation are all part of the process.

Finally, the moderator posed the question: what comes next? Will the Hungarian space programme continue? István Örökös-Tóth explained that the decision now lies with policymakers – it is up to them to determine whether further funding will be provided. Both Diána Balogh-Weiser and Gábor Domokos agreed that they have additional ideas that could be of interest to space research. Domokos added that he had witnessed Hungarian students replicating parts of Tibor Kapu’s experiments carried out in space, and based on what he saw, he is convinced: “Even if all we achieved was to inspire the talents of a new generation, it was already worth it.”

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