N° 55–2025: Discover ESA’s largest space establishment (ESTEC) during the Open Day

As we celebrate ESA's 50th anniversary this year, the theme for the 2025 Open Day will be ‘Elevating the future of Europe: ESA's technical heart’, highlighting ESA's technological leadership, our mission to inspire the next generation and our impact on Europe's prosperity. 

ESA ESTEC opens its doors for media and the general public on the day between 10:00 and 17:00 CEST. Visitors will be able to explore state-of-the-art facilities, interact with ESA astronauts and discover various job opportunities at ESA for students and young professionals.  

Media opportunities on the day include interviews with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, Head of ESA ESTEC and Director of Technology Dietmar Pilz, as well as Director of Human and Robotics Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander. ESA astronauts Rosemary Coogan, André Kuipers, Claude Nicollier, Thomas Reiter and Ulf Merbold will also be available for interviews.

Media opportunities include

Astronaut interview opportunities 

One-to-one interviews with Rosemary Coogan, member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve and Fly! Feasibility Study at the European Astronaut Centre. The study is assessing the conditions for astronauts with disabilities to work in space. 

One-to-one interviews with André Kuipers, a Dutch ESA astronaut and medical doctor, André broke the record for the longest European spaceflight in 2012 with 193 days aboard the International Space Station. 

One-to-one interviews with ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold, the first ESA astronaut to fly into space in 1983 and the first non-American to fly on a US Space Shuttle, with three missions including Spacelab-1 and EuroMir to the Mir space station.

One-to-one interviews with ESA astronaut  Thomas Reiter, the first ESA astronaut to complete a long-duration mission on the Russian space station Mir in 1995/96, and the first German to perform a spacewalk. In 2006, he became the first European to undertake a long-term mission aboard the International Space Station, bringing his total time in space to 350 days.

One-to-one interviews with ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier, member of the first group of ESA astronauts selected in 1978, flew on four Space Shuttle missions and played a key role in servicing the Hubble Space Telescope.

 

Interview opportunities with the ESA Directors:

One-to-one interview slots available with Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General; the Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality and Head of ESTEC Dietmar Pilz; as well as with the Director of Human and Robotics Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander.

Inside the Test Centre. The ESTEC Test Centre is a unique environment with state-of-the art facilities able to reproduce the same environmental conditions experienced by a rocket or spacecraft in space. During the Open Day, the Hydra shakers, acoustic chamber (LEAF) and antenna testing facilities (HERTZ) will be on display. Specialists from the Test Centre will be present to answer any questions. 

Netherlands Space tent. Around 40 Dutch companies, institutes and organisations will showcase their latest innovations - from satellite technology and Earth observation to cutting-edge science and practical applications. It’s a unique opportunity to meet a wide range of Dutch space experts and discover how space impacts our daily lives.

Media registration

Media are invited to register for the Open Day via the registration form by 14:00 CEST on Tuesday, 30 September.  

https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/ 

Timeslots for interviews can be booked by contacting media@esa.int or nora.svensson@ext.esa.int   

Registration to the event is mandatory.

For more information on the day and to keep updated on the general Open Day programme, please see ESA - Register now: ESA ESTEC Open Day 2025.

Images

ESA's Photo Library for Professionals:

https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/

Terms and conditions for using ESA images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int

Videos

ESA's Video Library for Professionals:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.  

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.  

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.  

ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.  

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.  

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int