The Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences jumped on board with the 32nd Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity by tossing into the mix the chance to sling your name into the cosmos – well, sort of. They offered up the opportunity to win an engraving on the shell of a photometer set to kick it 1.5 million kilometres from our little blue marble. The winner of the auction was Paweł Orepuk, bidding PLN 10,099.
Yesterday, the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences hosted a meeting between Jurek Owsiak, representatives of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the auction winner and his son, during which they were able to take a closer look at the device. The GOCC heart appeared on the most important scientific instrument built in Poland - it will also be the farthest beating heart of the Orchestra!
The Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences was invited to participate in a unique undertaking and prepare the first ever entirely Polish scientific instrument - the "GLOWS" photometer, which will operate during a NASA heliospheric mission. The photometer is an instrument for measuring light parameters in the heliosphere - it studies the three-dimensional structures of the solar wind and their evolution.
The photometer's casing bears the name of the auction winner, Mr Paweł Orepuk, and a GOCC heart. In June, the device will be transported to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where it will be integrated into the IMAP space probe, which has been worked on by specialists from top centres around the world. In a year's time, the probe will launch with a Falcon 9 rocket and reach a point 1.5 million kilometres from Earth - the place where the James Webb Space Telescope operates!
The 32nd Grand Finale took place on 28 January 2024. The aim of the collection was the lungs after the pandemic - the funds raised will be used to purchase equipment for respiratory units for children and adults. The motto of the campaign was "We’re all in tune!”. A record-breaking PLN 281,879,118.07 was collected during the 32nd Grand Finale fundraiser. Since the beginning of its activities, the Foundation has collected a sum of nearly PLN 2.3 billion to support Polish medicine and has bought more than 72,000 pieces of equipment.
The 32nd Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity in Warsaw will take place on the PGE Narodowy meadows. On Saturday, everyone is invited to the partners' area of the 32nd Grand Finale, with many attractions for every visitor to discover!
The emotions after the 32nd Grand Finale are slowly going down. Jurek Owsiak summarized the latest edition of the Summer Blaze in January during a press conference held at the GOCC Foundation, as is tradition.
Jurek Owsiak, conductor of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, gave the signal and the 32nd Grand Finale officially began.
