N° 36–1995: Space brought within children's reach

On 7 October, in the framework of ESA's EUROMIR 95 mission, children from ESA member states will gather at Disneyland Paris for an educational and entertaining event which will culminate in a live satellite link-up with the Russian space station Mir. Jointly organised by ESA and Disneyland Paris, this unique event will enable European schoolchildren to participate in a "space class" during which they will be able to speak with ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, who has been on board Mir since 5 September for a 135-day mission, the second of two joint ESA/Russian missions aboard the Mir space station.

Disneyland Paris is hosting this event as part of its Space Festival (26 August- 5 November) during which a series of exhibits recounting the history of conquest of space - including an educational and entertaining presentation of Europe's space endeavours - is displayed.

The day before the event (Friday 6 October) the children, with their "space mission checklists" in hand, will be asked to reply to questions about the Space Festival exhibits and the theme park attractions that have a scientific/technical aspect. The following day (Saturday 7 October), they will gather in Videopolis for a scientific forum, with a panel of key space and science experts, including ESA astronaut J-François Clervoy.

The highlight will be a satellite link-up with the Russian space station Mir. On giant screens, the youngsters will see spectacular video images of the inside of the space station and the astronauts living there. One "delegate" from each country - designated by his or her school- will be able to put a question to crew member Thomas Reiter. The ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang, from Sweden, who also trained for the EUROMIR 95 mission, will take part in the forum from the Mission Control Centre in Kaliningrad, near Moscow.

Media representatives wishing to follow the event are kindly requested to complete the attached form and return it - preferably by fax - to ESA Public Relations in Paris.