MIIGAiK, Roscosmos and Roscongress implement a Time Capsule on the ISS
Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK), Roscosmos State Corporation and the Innovation Space platform of the Roscongress Foundation launched joint projects dedicated to the 245th anniversary of the University foundation. The first of them was the Time Capsule – a message from MIIGAiK students, which was sent on board the International Space Station (ISS) on the Soyuz MS-25 transport spacecraft.
In February 2024, the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an Order on the creation of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and celebration of the 245th anniversary of MIIGAiK. The main anniversary events will take place in May 2024. The Organizing Committee included heads of various ministries and departments, Roscosmos State Corporation, Rostec, Rosreestr, as well as representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. By order of the Russian Government, the Organizing Committee was headed by the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov.
The sending of the Time Capsule took place on 23 March 2024 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Also, the Roscongress Foundation and Roscosmos State Corporation are preparing a joint greeting of MIIGAiK University on its 245th anniversary directly from orbit.
Among the guests of honour at the launch was Viktor Savinykh, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot and cosmonaut of the USSR, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, and President of MIIGAiK.
The set of anniversary events will be completed by a session with the participation of Oleg Novitsky, Soyuz MS-25 crew member and Roscosmos cosmonaut, which will be held as part of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June 2024.
“The presence of a large delegation of MIIGAiK at this launch in the anniversary year for the University is a symbolic and significant event. MIIGAiK is the backbone university of the space industry, and its future is today’s students. We invest resources in them, we introduce them to future professions, and we reveal opportunities and prospects to them. We brought a few of them to Baikonur, but we chose from the best, they were entrusted with the mission: to hand over the Time Capsule to the cosmonauts for their flight into space. I sincerely thank Roscosmos State Corporation, which made this dream of our students a reality,” said Nadezhda Kamynina, Rector of MIIGAiK University.
She also emphasized the importance of the fact that the anniversary events are implemented with the support of the Innovation Space platform of the Roscongress Foundation: “We have prepared many interesting events to not only celebrate the 245th anniversary of the university, but also with the help of colleagues to tell a wide audience about our professions and the prospects of working with spatial data on the largest platforms of the industry and economic agenda of the Russian Federation, which is provided by the Roscongress Foundation.”
In his turn, Alexander Stuglev, Chairman and CEO of the Roscongress Foundation, commented: “We are pleased to join the anniversary events of MIIGAiK as one of the leading universities in the country. The topics of technology development and training qualified personnel for the future of Russia are high on the agenda of our forums, and a significant role in this is played by the Innovation Space, a special thematic platform that combines a discussion programme, presentation space and an exhibition of high-tech Russian companies, start-ups and scientific institutions.”
The next joint project will be the International Exhibition and Forum entitled ‘Spatial Data: MIIGAiK – Innovation Space”, which will be held on 24– 27 May 2024 at the University. The Innovation Space platform of the Roscongress Foundation is a partner of the event.
MIIGAiK traces its history back to 1779, when, by the decree of Empress Catherine II, the Land Surveying School, one of the oldest educational institutions in Russia, was founded at the Surveyor’s Office. The Land Surveying School was named Konstantinovsky in honour of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the grandson of Catherine the Great. Later it was transformed into a school, then into the Konstantinovsky Land Surveying Institute. In 1873, the educational institution moved to the former ancestral mansion of the Demidov family in Gorokhovsky Lane, built according to the project of the famous architect Matvey Kazakov. MIIGAiK has been located in this building for 150 years now.
On 1 September 2023, at the ceremony dedicated to the beginning of the 245th anniversary academic year of MIIGAiK, the Time Capsule was filled with a message from students and faculty of the university, heads of ministries and agencies involved in education, research and innovative technologies in the field of spatial data. The message was signed by Dmitry Afanasiev, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Elena Martynova, Deputy Head of the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, and Nadezhda Kamynina, Rector of MIIGAiK. The Time Capsule set off on its first journey directly from the ceremony on 1 September 2023. By the end of May, it will have travelled to many iconic places on the planet associated with the scientific and educational areas of MIIGAiK University, and even into space. After that it will be stored on the territory of the University. It is planned to be open in 50 years.
