News
Milestones since 2016
Workshops, partnerships, conferences and events that trace SEMiLLA IPStar’s work bringing space technology to circular applications on Earth. Entries marked MELiSSA context are events of the wider MELiSSA consortium and the MELiSSA Foundation.
MELiSSA Summer University (6th edition)
Held in Naples from 7 to 10 September, the sixth MELiSSA Summer University brought students and early-career researchers into the consortium’s regenerative life support research.
2025 MELiSSA Conference (8th edition)
Held at Parque de las Ciencias, Granada, this hybrid conference covered air revitalisation, plant-based food production, water systems, waste recycling, modelling and control, under the theme “Current and Future Ways to Closed Life Support Systems.”
2022 MELiSSA Conference (7th edition)
The consortium’s conference returned under the same “Current and Future Ways to Closed Life Support Systems” theme, with presentations later published as a Frontiers research topic.
Pedro Duque Visits the MELiSSA Pilot Plant
Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque, then Spain’s Minister of Science, toured the MELiSSA Pilot Plant in Barcelona with ESA and UAB representatives.
ESA Technology Transfer Story: Cities as Spaceships
ESA profiled SEMiLLA IPStar’s work adapting MELiSSA’s closed-loop life support principles to urban wastewater recycling, projecting significant CO2 savings and economic benefit for a pilot city-scale deployment.
EEEP 2021 & MELiSSA Summer University, Varna
The Ecological Engineering and Environment Protection conference in Varna, Bulgaria ran alongside that year’s MELiSSA Summer University.
Hydrohm’s URIDIS System, “The Place to Pee,” Ghent
A circular public toilet in Ghent opened to the public, demonstrating Hydrohm’s URIDIS urine-nitrification system, a direct terrestrial application of MELiSSA’s nitrifying-bioreactor research.
Summer Space Festival, Lille
MELiSSA took part in this public space-outreach festival in Lille, France.
MELiSSA Conference 2020
The consortium’s conference ran fully virtually that year, continuing as “the European platform dedicated to closed life support systems.”
10th Anniversary MELiSSA Pilot Plant
The MELiSSA Pilot Plant, operated by UAB for ESA, marked a decade of development work on technologies enabling self-sufficient space missions.
Green Cities Málaga
Green Cities, the meeting point for Smart Cities stakeholders, brought together institutions and municipalities to discuss urban development.
Workshop Rome 2018
The first Joint AgroSpace–MELiSSA Workshop highlighted research in regenerative systems and fostered collaboration among participants.
Green Cities 2018
The Green Cities forum in Málaga, on smart-city construction and future urban planning.
MELiSSA Visit to Romania
Dr Christophe Lasseur (then ESA MELiSSA Project Manager) and Rob Suters (MELiSSA Foundation Executive Director) visited universities in Cluj-Napoca and Iași to discuss collaboration.
Round Table, Transfiere Conference
A Spanish-language panel discussion on MELiSSA consortium technologies and their applications to agriculture and livestock.
Tech Transfer & Circular Economy
Hosted by PTA and the University of Málaga at the Green Ray Building, SEMiLLA IPStar presented projects deploying MELiSSA technologies.
Second MELiSSA PhD Call Concludes
The second MELiSSA call for doctoral and postdoctoral proposals (POMP II) concluded; the PhD programme continues. See http://www.melissafoundation.org.
Water Treatment, New Delhi
Foundation stone laid for an on-site test laboratory and pilot plant addressing the Barapullah drain cleaning project under India’s Department of Biotechnology.
SEMiLLA Sanitation Hubs, Prototype Phase
A sanitation unit entered prototype development, providing emergency response through hygienic toilets and washing facilities.
Press Release: De Dommel & IPStar
Water Board De Dommel and SEMiLLA IPStar established a strategic partnership reflecting the shift from a linear to a circular economy.
AstroPlant Challenge
A design hackathon organised by Border Labs, ESA and Blue City, bringing together scientists, engineers and biologists.
Málaga, PTA & IPStar Collaboration
The University of Málaga, Málaga TechPark (PTA) and SEMiLLA IPStar signed an agreement creating a Circular Economy Incubator built on MELiSSA-derived technologies.
Space for Inspiration: ISS and Beyond
An event on International Space Station research and its applications to energy, health and food production on Earth.
Circular Economy Brokerage Event
The Enterprise Europe Network, Knowledge Transfer Network and Innovate UK organised a matchmaking event around Horizon 2020 opportunities.
SEMiLLA Sanitation Hubs, Hannover Messe
SEMiLLA Sanitation exhibited mobile sanitation units for clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
CE100 Acceleration Workshop
A workshop in France developing circular economy pilot initiatives and organisational capacity.
Innovation Expo Amsterdam
SEMiLLA IPStar took part alongside Water Board De Dommel, Biopolus, M.J. Oomen Groep and Wageningen University, at an expo attracting over 4,000 innovators.
MELiSSA Workshop Lausanne
An open forum for sharing research challenges, results and future directions across MELiSSA’s scientific domains.