ESA Headquarters celebrates 50 years of the ESA Convention

On 5 September 2025, 300 current and former staff members of ESA Headquarters celebrated the agency’s 50th anniversary.

The programme opened with inspiring statements from Head of Establishment Eric Morel de Westgaver, Director General Josef Aschbacher and Chair of the Staff Association Committee Rolf de Groot. The event looked into the past and explored ESA’s future.
The celebrations also included a video interview, prepared by Nathalie Tinjod, with 100-year-old Roy Gibson, the first Director General of ESA, as well as tree planting and the placement of a time capsule by Young ESA (Sacha Bressollette, Aurora Tuozzi, Toyah Eglin, Ora Buch Kornreich, Phillip Brefka and Clément Pécheux).

The event continued with the unveiling of a bust of Mario Nikis, namesake of the street where the building is located, and a panel with ten colleagues (listed below) representing the wide range of activities and functions at headquarters over five decades.

The celebrations took place in the very same room where, a few weeks earlier, high-level representatives of ESA Member States signed the Anniversary Statement, committing to the promising future of the agency.

The programme was moderated by Teevi Subert and Kai-Uwe Schrogl. The event was additionally prepared by Anne Kiviranta, Nelson Raboto, Sonny Pluchard, Marie-Benjamine Moothien, Iga Szczesniak, Julia Sokolska and Célénie Jauniaux, as well as Laurent Jauniaux and Jose Macia.

On the panel: Raymonde Agostinis, Guy Duchossois, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, Martin Brady, Marion Adler, Fatia Dehguir, Nathalie Meusy, Petra Bartilla, Maria Menendez and Quentin Verspieren.