A European Space Agency astronaut and member of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mission that flew into space on Friday, will honour the Polish science fiction author Stanisław Lem on the centennial of his birth. The astronauts launched into space by Elon Musk’s SpaceX will remain on board the International Space Station for more than six months.

The information about the plans to commemorate the Polish science fiction author was announced by the Polish Science Fiction Foundation.

“Stanisław Lem will be honoured in space probably in the autumn, at the end of the Crew Dragon’s mission. But in what way exactly – that remains a mystery, and preparations are underway” – states Szymon Kloska of the Krakow Festival Office, which has teamed up with the Polish Science Fiction Foundation and the European Space Agency.

The crew of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mission to the International Space Station, includes four participants. One of them is French astronaut and mission specialist Thomas Pesquet – and it is he who will honour Stanislaw Lem, according to the announcement.

The launch of the Crew Dragon capsule captured the attention of the world as it was another milestone taken by SpaceX as it was the first time a manned spaceflight was conducted by a private company with a reused crew capsule and the first time ever that a reused rocket booster was to launch the crew into orbit.

The new technology will drastically reduce the costs of manned space flights and is expected to revolutionise the space industry.

Writing his science fiction novels from 1946 and onward, Stanisław Lem accurately forecasted many of the technologies used in space flight today.

The author’s books deal with various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of them are satirical and have been written with a great dose of humour. His books have been translated into over 40 languages and have sold over 45 million copies across the world.