Michaela Musilová to head simulated missions to the Moon and Mars

Slovak scientist Michaela Musilová will be the director of the planned simulated missions to the Moon and Mars in Hawaii. The owner of the simulated space station at Mauna Loa, in Hawaii, offered to make the Slovak scientist the director of all future missions, according to the TASR press agency. Simulated missions on the Moon are set to begin at the end of November. Next year Musilová is slated to head the European Space Agency (ESA) mission. "A Slovak rover [space exploration vehicle] entirely manufactured in Slovakia was supposed to be used in the sixth NASA mission. Instead, the rover will form part of the ESA mission next year. "The rover is supposed to help my crew with some scientific and technical work, including field research for scientific purposes and collecting samples," said Musilová, adding that the data obtained from the rover will be provided to Slovak university students.