
OUR STORY


Meet the Team

Jakub Falaciński
Psychologist, organizer, and chairman of the Scientific Circle of Aviation and Space Psychology at SWPS University in Warsaw. A graduate of Total Design Management postgraduate studies at the Warsaw University of Technology in design and innovation management. Founder and CEO of EXORiON. Originator and organizer of the first Polish analog mission EXO.17 in the Mars Desert Research Station in the USA. Member of the winning team in the 2018 MBR Space Settlement Challenge. In 2015, he participated in the AMADEE-15 analog simulation organized by the Austrian Space Forum, where he tested his invention - the FOG - mist shower. He is interested in the human factor in extreme conditions, ergonomics, and industrial design.

Michał Kazaniecki
He was a flight engineer during the EXO.17 mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert. As a member of the Student Astronautical Circle at the Warsaw University of Technology, he co-created the Mars rover Ares. He works as a systems engineer. Previously as an electronics engineer in one of the companies in the Polish space sector. He has participated many times in international rover competitions - European Rover Challenge (2015, 2016) and in the University Rover Challenge (2016, 2018) as well as in the ESA_lab project “IGLUNA” - a space habitat. He is a laureate of the competition "Development of human resources in the space sector." He was an onboard engineer during the EXO.17 mission in the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, USA.

dr Natalia Zalewska
She graduated in geology from the University of Warsaw and then obtained a Ph.D. in the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. She is currently employed there as a specialist in geology research on Mars based on satellite data and the presence of water on planets in the Solar System. In 2005, she was the first Polish scientist to participate in the analog Martian mission in MDRS on the invitation of hosts, and in 2017 she commanded the mission EXO.17 at the same place. She is a devoted space popularizer. She also graduated from the music high school in the violin class and the three-year theater school of J.H. Machulski.

dr Karolina Zawieska
She graduated as a sociologist and completed her Ph.D. at UCD in Dublin. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at De Montfort University in Great Britain as part of the H2020 REELER project. She is conducting research as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellowship at Aarhus University in Denmark. She was associated with the PIAP Institute - Lukasiewicz Research Network for over a decade. Her research interests are social robotics, robotics, and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). She acted as an expert for the needs of works carried out, among others, by the European Commission and the United Nations. In 2017, she participated in the EXO.17 mission.

Cezary Szpakiewicz
He is a computer scientist and a handyman fascinated by new technologies. He has the role of a researcher and database administrator at the EXORiON Foundation. He supports the EXORiON team with his logistic experience and constructs technical facilities. He is passionate about road bicycle racing and reading good books.

Maria Rzeźniczek
She graduated from the University of Sport Education in Warsaw and then from Deutsche Sporthochschule in Cologne. Her main interests are the human body's capabilities in terms of biomechanics and individual characteristics. She is passionate about what the human organism can achieve and is influenced by external and internal forces on the body's movement in various conditions. She works out personalized training sessions for the EXORiON team based on biomechanical research. Moreover, she is a personal trainer using one of the latest training methods – EMS (Electro-Muscle-Stimulation) and a sports teacher.

Miłosz M. Dobrzyński
He graduated in ancient languages, art history, and culture. He spent most of his professional career in advertising. He works in one of the largest Polish media companies in TV production, journalism, and PR positions. In the EXORiON Foundation, he is in charge of PR and cooperates with institutions unrelated to the space industry. He is interested, among other things, in the humanistic aspect of space exploration and the influence of civilization progress on the perception of humans by themselves.

Kamila Zarębska
She graduated in Sociocultural and American Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow and Journalism and Social Communication at the College of Social and Media Culture in Toruń. For many years she has been creating and implementing social transformation projects in Poland and the USA in a range of creative and innovative potential in various fields. She is the laureate of three European competitions for the best social change project. She is widely interested in self-development, analyzed by sociocultural studies, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. In the EXORiON Foundation, she coordinates the formal management of projects.

JÄ™drzej Górski
He is a postgraduate at the Wrocław University of Technology. He graduated from the Space Studies Program at the International Space University in Strasbourg. He cooperated with the European Center for Space Technology (ESTEC) in the Netherlands as the developer of the communication system with satellites of the Cube-Sat type (project GENSO). He implemented modern innovative teaching methods while working with students on the original program of balloon stratosphere research FREDE, implemented in cooperation with the European Space Agency under the REXUS-BEXUS program. He participated in the first Polish Martian simulation EXO.10 in 2017. Moreover, he cooperated with industry representatives (among others, IBM) and science (science University of Mondragon / Arrasate in the Basque Country). In recent years he worked as a specialist for the Polish Space Agency and commercialized the acquired knowledge.