EJR-Quartz for ECMWF Copernicus

| 26 January 2017

We are pleased to announce that we have just signed a contract with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Copernicus Services to provide science writing services.

ECMWF, based in Reading, UK, is an independent intergovernmental research institute and operational service that provides numerical weather predictions to its Member States. ECMWF has been appointed by the European Commission to implement the Copernicus Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services, under the EU’s flagship Earth-observation programme Copernicus.

Beginning this week, we will assist the ECMWF Copernicus Services communication team achieve their goals of reporting scientific information and complex data findings to the wider community of scientists, policy makers, industry, SMEs, and the media. We look forward to collaborating with the Copernicus communication team at ECMWF and helping to increase the visibility of the Copernicus Services programme and the important research it undertakes.

 

We’re Hiring: English Editor in Frascati, Italy (TEMPORARY)

| 17 January 2017

English Editor, EJR-Quartz for ESA ESRIN in Frascati, Italy

EJR-Quartz srl is looking for a mother-tongue English editor to work on ESA’s Intranet web pages, under contract to ESA/ESRIN, Frascati. This post is a maternity leave replacement, fulltime on site at ESRIN, in Frascati.

Requirements:
The requirement is for a mother-tongue English editor, with journalistic writing skills and proven online editorial experience. The position entails writing primarily for ESA’s Intranet on HR and Facilities Management topics. Candidate must have a degree in a related subject. Fast turnaround, diplomacy, flexibility and patience are essential! Familiarity with Intranet best practice and online publishing tools are key. An Italian residence and work permit is obligatory.

Skills:

• Mother-tongue English, degree in communications, HR or other relevant topic

• Expertise in the use of web publishing tools and multimedia.

• Knowledge of Intranet best practice

• Knowledge of management/HR issues

• Experience in working for an international organization

The successful candidate will be employed directly by EJR-Quartz srl, under contract to ESA.

Start date: 1 Feb 2017. Please note this is a 6-month maternity replacement contract.

Tell us why you’d like to join our team. Please send your CV and references (in English) to: vacancy@ejr-quartz.com

Please note that only applications in English will be considered. 

We’re hiring: ESA Educational outreach production administrator (TEMPORARY)

| 13 December 2016

This position is now CLOSED.

Temporary position (11 months): ESA Educational outreach production administrator (onsite at ESTEC)

For a maternity leave replacement, EJR-Quartz is seeking an outreach production administrator to support the European Space Agency’s Education Department, in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Working for the STEM Education and Outreach Unit of the ESA Education and Knowledge Management Office, and in line with the communication guidelines of ESA, the successful candidate shall be responsible for the coordination and administration of all tasks related to the production and maintenance of educational outreach products and materials, from the Education on-line platforms and social media, to the graphical design and production of ESA’s educational communication and promotional items.

In particular, the applicant shall perform the following tasks:

  • In close coordination with the ESA Communication Department, manage the evolution of the ESA Education on-line platforms from the web design point of view, with focus on the functional refurbishment of the ESA Education portal (www.esa.int/Education) based on given requirements; the work shall also include the design and management of an on-line platform for the registration and tracking of educators/students participating in ESA Education projects, as well as the creation of an on-line template for the creation of ESA classroom resources;
    update and maintain the Education web portal and associated sites using the ESA customized web content management system eZ Publishing;
  • Update and maintain the Education-related social media channels (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc);
  • Liaise with external ESA Education writers for the production of web articles and texts;
  • Liaise with the ESA Education external translation service for the translation of written materials;
  • Liaise with external providers for the acquisition of web-related licenses, where needed;
    contribute to the definition of requirements for license agreements and/or intellectual property registration (e.g trademarks) on visual and web matters;
  • Produce graphical layouts and 2D illustrations for ESA Education outreach products (e.g. brochures, posters, etc); when required, liaise with external providers for the material production of such items; this task also includes following up with the design, asking for quotations, following up with delivery within deadlines and checking the quality of the final product;
  • Create and maintain the Education-related and ESAkids visual identity branding and manuals for all ESA Education projects and products;
  • Incorporate inputs and information related to educational activities of other ESA directorates into the on-line platforms and outreach products;
  • Represent the ESA Education Office in the ESA Web Portal weekly editorial meetings.

Specific competence requirements: 

  • A university background in communication and/or web/visual design.
  • Experience with:
    • Basic level Web front-end development and design (html5, CSS);
    • Managing and publishing websites and social media; knowledge of IPS, eZ Publishing or similar CMS is an asset;
    • Graphics design (2D and layout), in particular mastery of Adobe Photoshop,  InDesign, Illustrator;
    • Proficiency in MS office and desktop publishing software;
    • knowledge of the Education and space fields;
    • Social media channels
  • Good analytical skills,
  • Fluent in English; knowledge of another Member State language is an asset,
  • Good communication skills, verbal and written; ability to work in a team.
  • Knowledge of the Education field and/or the space sector will be considered an asset
  • Capability to establish and maintain relevant interfaces within and outside the Agency, (e.g. ESA Communication Dept, external providers and so on),
  • Autonomy in the execution of tasks and ability to manage his/her workload; ability to identify priorities and actions; ability to cope with pressure, meet deadlines and deliver on time.

Contractual matters:

The successful candidate will be employed directly by EJR-Quartz BV, working full-time on-site at ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

Start date: 1 February 2017. The contract with EJR-Quartz would be for 11 months, with no possibility of renewal. Send your application, together with examples of your work, to: vacancy@ejr-quartz.com ref. ESA/EDU/AZ

Deadline for applications: 31 December 2016. Please note only applications submitted in English will be considered.

 

OUT NOW: DLRmagazine issue 151/152

| 6 December 2016

DLRmagazine issue 151/152

The latest English-language issue of the DLRmagazine (issue 151/152) is now available! DLRmagazin is the quarterly publication of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) that includes in-depth articles, feature stories, stunning photography, programme updates, event summaries, book reviews, and more for the interested public. Subscription is free and open to individuals all around the world.

Issue 151/152 spotlights precision – in robotic design, in positioning data, and in environmental monitoring – and offers the usual round-up of the latest in space news and events, resource reviews, and book recommendations. Access issue 151/152 (titled ‘No voice – No mouth’) in PDF or Flipbook format. Or subscribe for your free copy of the DLRmagazine, delivered to your doorstep anywhere in the world.

Keep up with the latest news and events from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) via the DLR Portal, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Since June 2010, EJR-Quartz has been responsible for the English-language edition of the magazine –translating, adapting, editing and proofreading content – to help bring the activities and programmes of the DLR to a wider, global audience. Looking to produce an English magazine or journal? Got questions about our translation and editorial services? We’re happy to answer them. Read more about how we can help your content reach a wider audience or contact us today.

Rocking SpaceUP Barcelona

| 1 December 2016

The SpaceUP-series of UNconferences – which have no pre-planned agenda – have achieved growing popularity and success in Europe, and the November 26-27 SpaceUP Barcelona was a great example why!

Some 60 participants including students, academics, scientists and engineers joined representatives from start-ups, the space industry, agencies, institutes and the open-source community at the Escola d’Enginyeria de Telecomunicació i Aeroespacial de Castelldefels, part of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, for the weekend event.

To date, European SpaceUPs have taken place in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, the UK, Poland, Belgium and several other countries, and routinely include astronauts, scientists, senior programme/activity managers and a wide range of ‘insiders’ working on the frontiers of space business, technology and exploration.

Since there is no pre-planned programme at an UNconference, all attendees are strongly encouraged to give a short 5-minute talk or a longer presentation – or take part in a panel discussion or even a live demonstration on any topic or project they are currently working. It’s crowd-sourced community knowledge-sharing at its best.

SpaceUP Barcelona included presentations from cutting-edge space technology start-ups, including Zero2Infinity and PLD Space, the European Space Agency, numerous small and medium enterprises involved in space or related areas, a scientist working on ESA’s Gaia star-cataloguing mission, Comex, a Marseille-based company involved in technology development and analogue training, and many others.

The talk by Comex’s Space and Innovations Division Manager, Peter Weiss, was especially interesting for us at EJR-Quartz, as Comex is a key technology development partner in the DexROV project, in which we are serving as the lead communication and outreach partner.

DexROV is bringing together seven different organisations from across Europe to challenge what is possible in the realms of undersea operations. DexROV will use, develop and evaluate new technologies to allow safer, more cost-effective undersea operations with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

Peter’s presentation highlighted Comex’s wide range of undersea and space technology developments, which include extensive analogue astronaut training initiatives (undersea, in remote areas and in the lab) in partnership with NASA, ESA and the European space industry.

I took part in SpaceUP Barcelona to present several recent highlights, including web and social media coverage provided to ESA for ExoMars arrival between 16-19 October, and the A Simple Response project, which saw over 3,700 messages submitted from citizens worldwide transmitted on a 434-lightyear journey to the North Star.

My ExoMars presentation highlighted how the EJR-Quartz team worked closely with engineers and scientists to provide social media reporting for the arrival of the TGO orbiter and the landing of the Schiaparelli test module, giving ESA’s global audience a ‘real-time’ link with mission control.

SpaceUPs are ideal venues for learning about the latest developments in space, and the Barcelona edition had a strong contribution from technologies and businesses having a ‘spin-in’ or ‘spin-off’ relation to space, including areas such as materials, software and technologies like 3D printing in zero gravity.

The many hard-working thought-leaders spending a full weekend meeting, networking and talking about space meant that SpaceUP Barcelona was an extremely worthwhile event.

SpaceUP Barcelona: where attendees are also speakers for crowd-sourced community knowledge-sharing at its best. Can you spot EJR-Q’s editor-at-Large Daniel Scuka? He’s usually the tall guy at the back… CREDIT: SpaceUp Barelona
Comex, our technology development partner for the H2020-funded DexROV project that recently had its successful 18-month review. Credit: D. Scuka
Daniel Scuka grabs a selfie with SpaceUP Barcelona event manager Marta Lebron aka @MLbluespace and a small version of comet 67P, 3D printed at Tinkerers FabLab. Credit: D. Scuka
Daniel Scuka and ESA’s Eurocom ground controller Andrea Boyd, aka @AusAndgie7, pointing out where SpaceUP Barcelona took place: co-located with the ESA Business Incubation Centre on the campus of the School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Castelldefels. Image credit: a passer-by who took over Andrea’s mobile whose name we didn’t get.

We’re hiring! EO Social Media Editor for ESA (ESRIN)

| 29 November 2016

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED

EJR-Quartz is seeking a social media editor, to support the European Space Agency’s Earth Observation Directorate, in Frascati, Italy.

ESA’s Earth Observation (EO) Directorate wishes to further promote the Earth observation programmes on social media channels.

The Social Media Editor will contribute to the preparation of a social media plan and will be responsible for implementing this plan with the Earth Observation Communication Programme Officer and in coordination with ESA Corporate Communication teams.

Position Overview

The applicant will be part of a dynamic team of communication experts who engage within online communities. Following a strategy developed with the EO Social Media Coordinator, he/she will conceive ideas, build connection plans and execute initiatives across a range of social media platforms. The Social Media Editor will lead the development and day-to-day management of ESA’s EO communities within social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

The candidate will have an excellent grasp of English, preferably mother tongue, and online marketing, digital and social media experience with excellent written communication skills and a drive for exploring new technologies. A good understanding of ESA activities, particularly within the realm of Earth Observation, is mandatory and applicants should have a thorough understanding of community management and audience engagement. He/she will source, write, and edit content on a daily basis to support the digital strategy. The Social Media Editor will also support the collection of insights through social media analytics tools and compile actionable reports.

The contract will be for 1 year, renewable for a further year.

Tasks

  • Run EO social media channels based on EO content;
  • Implement the ESA Earth observation social media strategy;
  • Investigate ways for Earth observation to partner, engage, reach out to and with various platforms “how can we find our angle within this platform”;
  • Investigate and engage in external support contracts for digital content
  • Search for and develop further content from the Earth Observation Directorate and from external scientists as well as search for opportunities for the various platforms to tell Earth observation stories;
  • Study, measure, and report on EO social media in line with best practice in order to show return rate for EO social media on a weekly/event basis and communicate and manage these statistics within the communication teams.

Requirements

  • Excellent English (preferably mother tongue)
  • 3+ years of experience with using current social media and digital landscape
  • Ability to communicate effectively for various audiences from multiple points of view
  • Ability to work directly with scientists to gather input and “translate” scientific language for a general public audience
  • BA or BSc degree in science communication and a basic interest or grasp of scientific topics or similar
  • Should have basic knowledge of video/graphics editing and post-production of graphics and videos in any area is an added benefit
  • Visa and work permit to work in Italy

Contractual matters

The successful candidate will be employed directly by EJR-Quartz srl, as part of our editorial services to the European Space Agency. The position is full time, based on site at ESA/ESRIN in Frascati, Italy.

Start date: 15 January 2017. The initial contract with EJR-Quartz would be for 1 year, with a possibility of renewal. If you think you would fit with our team, tell us why. Send your application, together with examples of social media campaigns you have led, to: vacancy@ejr-quartz.com

Deadline for applications: 12 December 2016. Please note only applications submitted in English will be considered. 

Cycling to space with Julien Harrod

| 17 November 2016

Here at EJR-Quartz we are tremendously proud of our team. They are talented and creative individuals who know their stuff and are passionate about their work. They are the people who make your content matter. In our new series, we speak to our staff – editors, writers, communications specialists, social media gurus, content managers, scientists, IT specialists, explorers – about their work and what inspires them. Follow along and get to know #WhoWeAre.   

First up in the series is editor Julien Harrod.

So what is your role at ESA?

JH: I am the editor for Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency. I’ve been in this role for nearly 5 years.

As an editor for human spaceflight, what are some of your main tasks?

JH: I write and edit articles about the latest news and events happening in Human Spaceflight for the main ESA website. Some of this is standard, cyclical news and updates on human spaceflight events, launches, or projects. I also write about related science experiments happening in ESA or externally, as well as press releases. Another major part of my job is social media. I write posts for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, Flickr, and YouTube. I am the voice of @esaspaceflight and formerly 50% of @esaoperation, but also support other ESA accounts, including that of astronauts during their missions on the International Space Station.

That’s really interesting! Can you tell us more about working regularly with ESA astronauts? What kind of support do you provide them?

JH: It is! While most astronauts have a sense of how they’d like to use social media while they’re on their mission, I help them plan and execute their social media strategy. I also assist them logistically with the timing and posting of their content. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have incredibly busy schedules as well as limited internet access. The internet connection bounces between satellites as the Station orbits the Earth, so connection time and speed vary. So I ensure their tweet, photo, or video clip appears when it should.

Sounds like a dream job. But what are some challenges of working with astronauts on the ISS?

JH: Scheduling, for one. The main contact times with astronauts are during what would normally be my breakfast, lunch and dinner times. The astronauts also usually have weekends off. This means I’ve got to have a more flexible work schedule in order to interact with and accommodate them. Also, no two astronauts are alike, meaning the socmed approach that works for one astronaut doesn’t always appeal to another. So I always have to be ready to pitch new ideas and learn from their responses to better support their public relations goals during their missions.

What do you like the most about your job overall?

JH: I love the variety of what I do, from writing about upcoming events to discovering new things to share in the world of science and spaceflight. There is never a dull day at work, because something is always happening. Human spaceflight is also very dynamic, meaning things can always change unexpectedly. For example, the launch date for the next ESA astronaut going to the Space Station (Thomas Pesquet) was pushed back. You’ve got to be ready to work with such surprises. There’s an element of unpredictability but I find that exciting and challenging.

You’ve been a part of some remarkable things. Can you share a memorable moment you’ve had in this role?

JH: As Human Spaceflight editor, I’ve had the opportunity to be in a control centre during a Mission Critical Phase. This is where all the action happens; it’s the closest thing to space without actually being in space. I’ve spent many hours in control centres and I’m always blown away by how mission control teams are able to do their job calmly and professionally. Meanwhile, I’m the one bouncing from excitement!

You’re based at ESTEC (European Space Technology Centre) in the Netherlands. How do you like it there?

JH: I love it. I have great colleagues who are a wonderful source of support and inspiration. They’re also fun people who are open to new ideas and fun stuff. For example, we pitched the idea to participate in the viral “Harlem Shake” video trend a few years ago, and they were up for it. We called it the ESTEC Shake. It was a great opportunity to connect the space sector with popular culture.

What are some of your hobbies outside of human spaceflight? What do you like to do when you’re not communicating with astronauts or writing about space exploration?

JH: I am passionate about bicycles. I cycle to work every day, often planning my day along the way. I am also a bit of a nerd. I love playing around with computers. I have 3 Raspberry Pis at home, but primarily I try to give all my time to my wife and six year old – not always easy when astronauts are emailing you at all times!

♦

Julien’s next big project is supporting ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who is launching to the ISS with crew mates cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson on Thursday, 17 November 17 at 21:20 CET from Baikonur. You can watch the launch LIVE here.

Learn more about Thomas and his mission on his blog and the Proxima mission page.

Follow along on social media: Twitter: @thom_astro, @esaspaceflight #Proxima, Facebook, and Flickr.

 

Human spaceflight editor Julien Harrod, EJR-Quartz for ESA
Daniel and Julien blog for ATV docking
Editor Julien Harrod manning the ESA stand at the NASA Plum Brook Station Open House in Ohio, USA.
The person inside this Paxi suit may or may not be a certain human spaceflight editor!

Lights, camera, action! DexROV hits M18

| 3 November 2016

The DexROV consortium got together in Brussels for the mid-term review this month. Partners demonstrated their progress, confirming that the project is on track to meet its ambitious goals.

The DexROV project combines advances in robotics, manipulation, teleoperations and force feedback technologies to create a service system for Europe and the world. Focusing on cost efficiency and safety, the project has the potential to open up underwater activities for a wide range of consumers in industry and academia.

Partners and the European Commission’s project officer all positively expressed their impressions of DexROV’s progress so far as well as their optimism for its future success.

As the official communications partner for DexROV, EJR-Quartz showcased our DexROV portfolio from the past 18 months. Our achievements included DexROV’s visual identity, launching a website and designing a package of materials for partners to share the project with the scientific community, industry and future customers. EJR-Quartz also provided detailed breakdowns of audience habits and origins for the consortium and unpacked the communication process.

We also took the opportunity to film an upcoming short video on the project. With partners spread out across Europe, we make the most of every opportunity when they come together. Taking advantage of collaboration opportunities and liaising with companies across Europe is one of the fun challenges of this project’s communication efforts. Filming in particular meant we were able to involve our talented colleagues from the Leiden office who got to do the things they are passionate about: writing and producing. We look forward to sharing this video and other project updates and milestones in the months to come.

To learn more about the DexROV project, visit the website and watch our first project video. For the latest updates, follow along on social media: Twitter @DexROV and Facebook and Flickr.

Presenting our 18-month progress to the European Commission.
Lisa Guilpain presenting a summary of our communication milestones for the DexROV project.
DexROV is on track to meet its goals!
Content manager Lisa Guilpain working with EU Horizon 2020 project DexROV, bringing science, robotics, and innovation to the seabed.
Bionic boss!

EJR-Quartz team helps cover Mars arrival live

| 31 October 2016

On 19 October 2016, as Europe’s newest Mars mission arrived at the Red Planet, the EJR-Quartz team worked on site at ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, supporting ESA Communications in bringing news in real time to an enthusiastic global audience.

The sheer complexity of the mission’s sequence – separation of the Schiaparelli test lander from the ExoMars/TGO orbiter on 16 October, followed three days later by its entry and descent to the surface while the orbiter conducted a critical orbit-entry manoeuvre – kept the team extremely busy almost around the clock to ensure that ESA’s social media accounts and news channels were updated.

For Twitter, the lead account proved to be @esaoperations, fed with outstanding support direct from the mission control teams with minute-to-minute updates on TGO orbit-entry progress, activities in the Main Control Room and in-space support from Mars Express, as well as news from the experimental yet highly successful ground tracking campaign.

A number of dedicated accounts – including @esa, @ESA_TGO, @ESA_EDM and @esascience – provided the wider context, ensuring that the mission’s scientific and exploration goals were communicated to curious citizens across Europe and the world.

The arrival of TGO was a text-book-perfect demonstration of how to fly a spacecraft around an alien planet. Unfortunately, the Schiaparelli test module didn’t survive landing, but it did return substantial engineering data during its descent, which will enable a full reconstruction of what happened. Space is hard – and getting to Mars is harder!

The on-site team were supported by other EJR-Quartzers and colleagues across ESA’s communication and graphics teams to ensure that the full family of ESA social media channels were kept updated throughout, including Facebook, Google+, Flickr, YouTube and Instagram. This coordinated teamwork extended across other channels, covering the main ESA Portal and exploration.esa.int, serving the science community with in depth info. Our ESA country desk colleagues were equally busy ensuring coverage in other languages.

The effort paid off handsomely: Twitter alone generated well over 1,000,000,000 (!!) timeline deliveries against the #ExoMars hashtag, while traffic to ESA’s web and blog channels was similarly tremendous.

Perhaps most importantly, the EJR-Quartz team in Darmstadt had a fabulous time learning about this ambitious mission and meeting the dedicated experts making it happen. You can’t communicate about a topic with passion, depth and accuracy until you’ve understood it yourself!

The EJR-Quartz editorial team in Darmstadt included Daniel Scuka (Operations), Dr. Emily Baldwin and Dr. Karen O’Flaherty (Science), Erica Rolfe, (chief online publisher) and Maria Bennett (chief social media publisher).

Read more about ExoMars at esa.int/exomars and exploration.esa.int/mars.

Round of applause for some members of the team who helped relay all the ExoMars excitement to us! From right to left: Erica Rolfe, Dr. Emily Baldwin, Maria Bennett, Dr. Claudia Mignone (Vitrociset Belgium for ESA), Thomas Ormston (ESA), and Daniel Scuka.
Go time! Credit: ESA/P. Shlyaev
Go time!
Dr. Emily Baldwin, PhD in planetary science, is Space Science Editor for ESA.
Back at ESOC in Darmstadt to help cover ExoMars arrival and landing!
What helping to cover a #marslanding looks like
Back at ESOC in Darmstadt to help cover ExoMars arrival and landing!
Back at ESOC in Darmstadt to help cover ExoMars arrival and landing! Clockwise from top right: Dr. Karen O’Flaherty, Maria Bennett, Erica Rolfe, Daniel Scuka, Dr. Emily Baldwin, and Dr. Claudia Mignone (Vitrociset Belgium for ESA).

ExoMars is Coming to (Martian) Town

| 14 October 2016

Hot on the heels of the Rosetta comet landing, we are back at ESA Operations in Darmstadt, Germany, this time covering the latest news from Mars, as the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter approaches and enters orbit around the Red Planet, and its Schiaparelli module lands on its surface. The joint ESA/Roscosmos mission – ExoMars – launched in March this year and is arriving at the Red Planet on 19 October. The two spacecraft separate on 16 October ahead of arrival and landing on 19 October.

Our editors – Daniel Scuka (Operations), Emily Baldwin and Karen O’Flaherty (Science), Erica Rolfe, (chief online publisher) and Maria Bennett (chief social media publisher) – will be supporting ESA in reporting on the events as they unfold.

You can find live updates and webstreaming details here. Follow the conversation on Twitter via hashtag #ExoMars and with updates from @ESA_TGO, @ESA_EDM, @esaoperations, @esa, as well as ESA’s Facebook and Google+ pages.

Read more about ExoMars at esa.int/exomars and exploration.esa.int/mars.

Tune in for this historic week, when Europe lands on Mars!

Our version of mission control.

Feel the Beat: Open Day at ESA’s Technical Heart

| 10 October 2016

Last week was quite an exciting week for space. In addition to comet-chasing Rosetta wrapping up her extraordinary mission by landing on 67P (read all about that here), the European Space Agency’s Technology centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands opened its doors to the public for its annual Open Day. EJR-Quartz was amongst those on hand, interacting with audiences, answering questions, and streaming/documenting the day’s many talks on social media.

Visitors were welcomed by Franco Ongaro, Head of ESTEC, along with ESA astronauts André Kuipers, Thomas Reiter, Hans Schlegel and Franco Malerba. The welcome was streamed LIVE on Facebook courtesy of Technology editor Sean Blair, who could be spotted zipping around ESTEC with his headset and phone recording other live sessions for Facebook and snapping photos/tweeting. Prior to the Open Day, Sean was busy promoting the event with web articles, even more tweets, and videos.

The AIM mission, ESA’s candidate mission to an asteroid that is up for Ministerial Council approval this December, got a lot of attention at the Open Day. We have been working on the AIM website since its inception and have also been involved in the creation of a number of videos for the project, including a virtual reality show, which was released on the Open Day. Visitors were amazed to see the 3D full-dome version of an animation that visualises the mission as it will proceed in a few years’ time. To engage the smallest of visitors, the AIM team had been working together with the University of Amsterdam to create an interactive, fun and educational game for tablets and phones. The game was well received by the youngsters, with some of them coming back to the AIM stand to proudly show which level they had reached whilst touring the rest of the site.

More fun for children was had at ESTEC’s Escape Centre with music, science and live astronauts. ESA’s Education office coordinated many of the activities. Our Didactics Expert Fatima Pinto engaged kids and parents in the LEGO Mindstorms as well as the rocket science session, showing participants how to make and launch one out of paper. Web and graphic designer Anca Zinculescu manned the ESA Education information stand, providing parents, youngsters, and teachers information on ESA Education programmes. Anca also covered the event on social media.

In the E-corridor of the ESTEC main building visitors learned about ESA’s environment programme and Earth observation missions in an exhibition set up by EO editor Honora Rider.

It was a splendid day with over 8700 visitors ranging from space enthusiasts, who travelled especially for the day, to local residents who have always wanted to know what goes on behind those gates. One thing is certain, it was a packed day for all involved and a very satisfying one in terms of response from the public.

ESTEC Open Day featured in the Leidsch Dagblad.
Who didn’t want to be an astronaut growing up?! Credit: ESA-SJM Photography
The person inside this Paxi suit may or may not be a certain human spaceflight editor!
Engaging the youngest of visitors. Credit: ESA-SJM Photography