ECSITE Space Group annual meeting 2019 at ESA’s establishment in Italy
The main theme selected by the ECSITE Space Group to work on together in 2019 was ‘Climate change: monitoring the atmosphere and oceans from space’.
It was therefore a popular choice to host the annual Space Group meeting at ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation, ESRIN, in Italy, on 27 - 28 January 2020 so participants could visit the facilities there and learn more about the benefits of Earth observation from space for monitoring global change and the environment.
Day1
The meeting was opened by Simonetta Cheli, Head of the Strategy, Programme & Coordination Office for ESA’s Directorate of Earth observation, who welcomed the Space Group to ESA’s establishment in Italy and gave an introduction to the activities carried out on site with a special focus on ESA’s Earth Observation programme.
This was followed by a welcome speech from Catherine Franche, Executive director of ECSITE, and the Space Group co-chairs, who gave an overview of the Space Group composition, its aims and activities and the objectives of the Annual Meeting.
A round table followed during which all participants were invited to introduce themselves and their specific motivation and objectives for participating in this Annual Meeting.
Philippe Willekens, Head of the ESA Communication Department presented the mission launches and programmes for 2020 the outcome of ESA’s highly successful Council meeting at Ministerial Level held in Seville in November 2019 and ESA’s three-year communication strategy, that will focus in particular on the : climate crisis, space and safety, inspiration through space exploration and space for the economy.
Frederic Le Gall, Head of Production and Management Support in the ESA Communication Department, gave an overview on the new organisation and planning of how the department will now function , including the new Outreach Coordination Office that will be a main interface for the ECSITE group.
Fabrizio Zucchini, from the External Relations team of ASI, the Italian Space Agency, closed the first part of the day, presenting recent and ongoing cooperation projects between ASI and museums and the benefits of combining arts and sciences to reach a wider audience.
The second part of the day was dedicated to Earth Observation from space.
Ana Noronha, Executive Director of Pavilion of Knowledge Ciência Viva, Lisbon, Portugal, presented an update regarding the third pilot project of the Space group “Climate change: Ocean colour from Space” and its development. She explained the intention to develop a set of posters with the colours of the ocean viewed from space.
ESRIN houses a new Φ Experience facility, that uses interactive display technologies to increase awareness and visibility of ESA’s Earth observation programmes and applications, and the closing session of this first day included a dedicated guided tour of this.
Before the visit, Robert Meisner, Earth Observation Programmes Outreach and Φ Experience coordinator, gave a presentation on ESA’s programmes to address the climate change crisis. His colleague Michele Martino presented the facility, and took questions from the participants after the tour.
Day 2
The second day was introduced by Barbara Budassi, ECSITE Space Group coordinator for ESA, and started with a presentation by Fatima Pinto, Science Didactics Expert from the ESA Education office, on the educational programme and resources linked to the Earth Observation.
Stefano Badessi and Massimiliano Ferrante, ESA engineers from the Earth observation Programme, introduced the Air Quality Platform (AQP), a kit that can measure several parameters of the air composition. The data can be locally archived, geo-located and sent in real time to an on line map.
A general presentation followed on the different types and sources of ESA digital material available for use by museums. Maria Bennett, Head of the Digital Media Production Office, and with members of her team presented how to access material and gave details on formats, permissions, procedures for requests, together with a short presentation of the ESA Web TV that now streams topical material around the clock, as well as live transmissions.
In the afternoon, during the showcase session, participants could show their activities and projects and share resources and ideas.
Soon after, Hugo Simoes, Head of Print media and Merchandising Production Office at ESA, presented both the ESA Shop on line and the ESA On Demand, a popular source of material for museums and museum shops.
The last part of the day was dedicated to the preparation of the Space Group future activities, including a workshop “Space for Today’s challenges” to develop during the next months.
The Space Group pre-conference on the 9 -10 and the Ecsite Annual Conference, on the 11-13 of June 2020 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, have been cancelled due to Covid-19 but ESA and Ecsite are currently looking into ways to hold an exchange via digital platform to replace the workshop and continue the Space Group’s cooperation.
About the Space Group
The Space Group, with more than 190 members and the support of ESA, aims to facilitate the exchange of ideas and projects to promote European achievements in space to the general public.
The group benefits from the established European networks of ECSITE and the European Space network of ESA and its Member States.
The Space Group is led by three co-chairs, Marc Moutin, Director of Exhibitions at Cite’ de l’Espace, Toulouse, France; Ana Noronha, Executive Director of Ciência Viva, Lisbon, Portugal; Maria Menendez, Head of the Outreach Coordination Office at ESA.
For more information on the ECSITE Space Group, please click here.
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