With over 14 000 registrations for ESA’s Open Day in the Netherlands on 6 October 2019 another attendance record was achieved. People from all over Europe and the world met astronauts, space experts and saw behind the scenes of Europe’s space adventure at ESA’s largest establishment.

The theme of 2019 was ‘ESA to the Moon’. Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers was joined by pioneering Apollo astronauts Walt Cunningham, who flew on the first crewed Apollo mission, and Rusty Schweickart, who was the first person to fly the Lunar Module and use an Apollo lunar spacesuit for a spacewalk.

With areas for children organised by ESA education, and the NL Space Tent to meet with Dutch space professionals. ESA’s Open Days are the opportunity to come nose to nose with space hardware, hear where we’re going next and meet Europe’s space agents – space scientists, engineers and mission designers.

Talks and events were organised with astronauts, space experts and celebrities such as Scott Manley.

ESA hosts the annual Open Day at ESA’s technical centre ESTEC where new missions are designed, their industrial development is managed and the resulting satellites are tested for flight in space.