And the ATV competition winner is….
Two months ago, ESA asked young people from all over Europe to suggest the most suitable playlist for the astronauts living on the International Space Station. After sifting through over 1000 entries from 10 Member States, the judges have announced their final decision.
The overall winner is Therese Miljeteig (age 14) from Norway, who came up with a wonderful mixture of songs that are 'out of this world'. Her playlist will be downloaded onto an MP 3 player and sent to the International Space Station (ISS) on board ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) in early 2008.
Youngsters were asked to write down a song selection that they thought would be most suitable for an astronaut on the ISS to listen to. Before deciding, they were asked to try to put themselves in the shoes of the men and women who live on the Station and put together a playlist that would cheer them up, inspire them, etc….
Here is Therese's winning playlist:
Here Comes The Sun - Beatles
Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra
Rocket Man - Elton John
Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
Imagine - John Lennon
Flashdance - What A Feeling - Irene Cara
Walk of Life - Dire Straits
Fly - Celine Dion
Rockin' All Over The World - Status Quo
I Believe I Can Fly - R Kelly
Therese’s Grand Prize is an exciting visit to the tropical spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana to see the ATV launch. Prizes were also awarded for the best entry from each country. All of the national winners will enjoy a VIP tour of the European Astronaut Centre in Germany.
The lucky national winners, all aged between 10 and 17, are:
Belgium: Aricia Planchenault
Denmark: Frederik Heimark
France: Adam Viaud
Germany: Erik Guenther
Italy: Luisa di Valvasone
Netherlands: Sebastiaan Van Doornik
Norway: Therese Miljeteig
Spain: Lucìa Aparicio
Sweden: Jean-Philippe Green
Switzerland: Andrew Hale
ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy was one of the judges. "It was a very enjoyable task to judge this competiton", he said. "We were fascinated to see the range of music suggested, and also that young people from all over Europe shared common tastes in music, old and new."
The top five songs suggested by participants from all countries were:
Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Imagine - John Lennon
Grace Kelly - Mika
What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
Thanks to all who participated!
Note to editors:
Ten European countries are participating in the ATV programme: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
