Astronaut Sunita Williams Visits Planica and Becomes Ambassador of SpaceMed Programme
Published: 16. jan. 2026
As part of her visit to Slovenia, one of the world’s most prominent astronauts, Sunita Williams, also stopped in Planica yesterday, where she visited the Laboratory for Gravitational Physiology of the Jožef Stefan Institute. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Igor Mekjavić and Dr. Urša Ciuha, the laboratory conducts cutting-edge research in the field of space physiology and medicine.
Sunita Williams, a former NASA astronaut who spent an impressive nine months aboard the International Space Station, shared her experiences from space and emphasised that many technologies and scientific insights developed for space missions now make an important contribution to advances in medicine, rehabilitation, and patient care on Earth.
She also addressed our students, encouraging them to dream big and remain curious on their scientific path, while highlighting the inspiring role of Slovenian scientists in the international research community.
We are especially proud that, during her visit, she became an ambassador of the SpaceMed master’s programme, an international Erasmus Mundus programme jointly developed by the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School in cooperation with partner universities in France and Germany. The programme integrates education with state-of-the-art research infrastructure, including the PlanHab research centre in Planica, one of only three European Space Agency (ESA) reference laboratories in Europe.
Photos: Marjan Verč
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