It’s probably not mainstream, but it feels completely natural—everyone dreams about space.
It was definitely one of the first careers I ever wanted. Besides dreaming of being a sailor, doctor, or bus driver (like many children do), the first time I officially chose a future job was in 1996, on the first day of school in a small village in Romania. I was in first grade, and our teacher gave us the Abecedar (the Romanian alphabet book). He asked us to open to the very first page and choose an object that would define our future career. Naturally, I picked the rocket—not just because I was fascinated by it, but also because of the suit.
That’s when I discovered it was called a “cosmonaut”—or astronaut—and that this person was flying toward the stars. 👇🏼
Back then, I didn’t even know such a thing was truly possible. But after that day, for years after, I played astronaut, imagined UFOs landing in my parents’ yard, and traveled to distant galaxies in my mind.
Books and movies were rare and not very accessible to me at the time, but I held on to this passion until I discovered an even greater love: the computer.
Years later, space remained a passion and a strong interest, and my career eventually led me to work as a software architect in the aerospace industry for five years. In a way, everything I did had some connection, however subtle, to understanding space and the world.
After all, everything has something to do with space anyway. I studied physics at university, took an astronomy course at the Romanian Academy’s Institute of Astronomy, and even decorated my home—and themed my wedding—around space!
The fascination with space never left me, and it has always stayed close to my heart. Recently, new developments rekindled that flame deep inside.
On March 11, I was honored to be part of the launch of a program under the European Space Agency (ESA) portfolio. The VIRTUE Project aims to support First Responder UAS for SAR Missions, advancing automated real-time human detection. The event was hosted at CNCAN (National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control).
My presentation was titled:
Handling Multimedia Content in the Age of GenAI: Challenges and Opportunities, where I covered:
- Content Generation
- The role of Agentic AI in managing multimedia
- Modern algorithms for image and video search
The capabilities of today’s multimedia processing have enormous potential in applied space and Earth research, as well as in surveillance. From dynamic mapping to deep pattern recognition, novel technologies are pushing the boundaries for scientists.
Although the event was brief and served only as an introduction to the VIRTUE project, being there and engaging with experts in physics and space research meant a great deal to me. It reignited my deep fascination and thirst for space.
Even if we are still far from flying to space like I imagined as a child, today’s technology allows us to explore the unknown with our minds—and I feel fortunate to have had the chance to refine my engineering skills in software, the tool that makes all of this possible.
I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to participate, and I extend my sincere gratitude to Mr. Cristian Vizitiu, PhD, Head of Space Applications for Human Health and Safety Department at the Institute of Space Science (a subsidiary of the National Institute for Laser, Plasma & Radiation Physics – INFLPR).
I look forward to contributing with my best efforts to future space-related projects.
