The ESTEC Open Day is a truly unique opportunity for the public to get a front row seat to the final frontier at the technical heart of the European Space Agency. From astronauts to astrophysicists, to composers and Alien ovomorphs, there’s simply no other event like it, but how did the Open Day begin? And what’s next for space exploration? We’ve got the answer to that and more in our special programme dedicated to the past, the present, and the future of European innovation as ESA celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding. The ESTEC Open Day takes place in Noordwijk in the Netherlands. It’s open to all and free to attend. The 2026 event will take place on Sunday, September 27th with a special accessibility day taking place on Saturday, September 26th. 

Huge thanks to our hosts Lauran Carter and Alfredo Carpineti, and all of our guests for joining the programme. ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan, ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, ESA astronaut André Kuipers, ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold, ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier, The War of The Worlds composer Jeff Wayne, ESA director of human and robotic exploration Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA robotics engineer Sant Brinkman, Stargate actor Dave Hewlett, Event Horizon Telescope Sera Markoff, space fashion designer Laura Theiss JUICE scientist and UK Astronomer Royal Michelle Dougherty Life, Physical Sciences and Life Support Laboratory Manager Alan Dowson ESTEC director Dietmar Pilz Fmr. ESTEC director Franco Ongaro Grégoire Déprez and the crew of the ESTEC Creative Space

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