In recent years, Brno has been establishing a prominent position on the Czech and European space scene. Here, cutting-edge basic research at Masaryk University converges with the rapidly developing space industry and science outreach.
Brno-based companies develop space hardware, manufacture, integrate, and test systems and components for European space projects, including those of the European Space Agency, and operate testing platforms. The Brno Observatory and Planetarium also plays an important role in connecting research, industry, and the public, showcasing the local space ecosystem through initiatives such as the “Cosmic Brno” series.
A key component of this ecosystem is the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University, whose Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics addresses fundamental questions in contemporary astrophysics while also participating in specific space research projects. It was precisely this connection between science, technological development, and Brno’s growing space ecosystem that became one of the topics of discussion on Tuesday, November 10, during the Brno session of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic, which RECETOX co-organized.
During the discussion “A Conversation About Space,” held in the Mendel Refectory of the Augustinian Abbey, three scientists from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at the Faculty of Science represented space research at Masaryk University: Norbert Werner, Tereza Jeřábková, and Lýdia Štofanová. They brought together two perspectives on contemporary space research - specific space projects being developed in Brno and the fundamental questions currently being addressed by astrophysicists around the world.
The first part of the discussion highlighted the activities currently shaping Brno’s space sector, ranging from the space industry and small CubeSat-type satellites to the upcoming QUVIK mission and collaboration on the development of the ANDES spectrometer. The second part took the audience much further into space and its history: to the first galaxies, star formation, the “little red dots” phenomenon, and the question of the origin of supermassive black holes. In conclusion, the panelists also discussed the distribution of matter in the universe and the significance of intergalactic gas.
The evening thus clearly demonstrated that Brno today is not just a place where people talk about the universe and where the universe is studied. It is also a place where specific technologies for space research are developed, manufactured, and tested. The connection between basic research at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, the growing space industry, and the activities of the Brno Observatory and Planetarium creates an environment that allows Brno to play an increasingly significant role in both Czech and European space research.
The international ACTRIS Week 2026 workshop, bringing together nearly 70 research infrastructures, was hosted in Katowice alongside the official launch of the ATMO-SERV project, in which the EIRENE infrastructure participates.
The meetup, held on September 22nd, 2026, in Cork under the Irish presidency of the EU, addressed a topic of „Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape: Advancing coordinated access and strengthening strategic autonomy over critical research data”.
