Nika’s introduction to space began with an old USSR telescope he used to view the night sky with his grandfather. Later inspiration came from the book The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society, who makes a compelling case for getting humans to Mars. Nika then joined the Mars society and attended events where he met more people interested in the topic. He eventually decided to start a local chapter of the Mars Society in his home country of Georgia.

As the first and only space advocacy group in his country, Nika soon began holding public events to raise awareness of the importance of space and colonizing Mars. Held at universities and high schools that emphasize STEM learning, their lectures include guest speakers from NASA, ESA, and other major players in the space industry.

During the interview, Nika also describes how his work promoting space topics and interest in a public forum inspired leaders in his home country to reopen their space program after being shut down for over a decade. He also shared his thoughts on countries taking part in the new space economy, SpaceX, and what it was like to attend the 2021 European Rover Challenge in Poland. Attending this event was especially helpful as he and his team are creating an annual Georgia Rover Challenge for university students to build and compete their Mars rovers.