BR-324 

How space technology improves our lives (ESA BR-324)

Space is an incredibly hard environment to work in: weightless, airless and with daunting temperature extremes. Systems must operate reliably for years on end, with no chance of repair.

Under ESA leadership, European space industry develops top-notch space technologies, many of which offer valuable attributes to terrestrial industries as well.

This book, edited by Technology Transfer editor Poul Nielsen, introduces ESA’s technology transfer programme and tells the stories of some space technologies that are already in use for innovative applications on Earth.

Technology Transfer

Read ESA BR-324 online

We recently visited and donated supplies to a local school in The Hague in which refugees are currently being housed and refugee children are being taught. The building was previously used as the department of social affairs, but is now accommodating refugees amidst the current global refugee crisis.

Run by the city council and a myriad of volunteers, the school is situated in the former library of the building. With around 50-100 children currently living and attending school here, many locals have donated items such as school bags and stationary, as well as food and clothing. EQ’s Linda Carrette and Reese Lee visited the school and brought learning materials, storage boxes, stationary, food and other special items to celebrate the traditional Dutch Sinterklaas holiday festivities.

Following a morning of celebrating Sinterklaas by singing songs and eating “pepernoten”, the children were able to play indoors or outside, however the cold weather is something that they are not yet accustomed to. Lessons are conducted in small groups with children of similar ages and a whole range of subjects is being taught. The emphasis lies on teaching the children Dutch so that they can start their integration process well. The children currently in this building will be moved to a different location once they move through the process of becoming asylum seekers, however the supplies donated by us and others will be used by future refugee children to come.

This is the first welcome school in the whole of the Netherlands, but since its start around three weeks ago, many councils have followed this example and there are now schools being set-up across the country. We’re glad to be able to give towards the “welcome school” initiative and will be sure to return with more supplies in the future.

In the run-up to the first anniversary of the first ever landing on a comet, our DLR Editor Karin Ranero Celius attended Smart Content Day 2015 in Vienna on 29 October. There, she presented some of our communications work carried out on behalf of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Philae lander, including the Twitter account for which she tweets.

This year’s largest Austrian conference focused on content strategy and content marketing. With the theme ‘Digital First, Social First, Mobile First’, a variety of speakers were also in attendance giving talks on communication in the digital age.

As part of our contract with DLR, we are involved in a variety of their English language communications projects, including managing the popular @Philae2014 Twitter account. DLR’s Philae Lander touched down on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November following a 10 year journey through the Solar System.

About a year ago we did something no one has done before. And we told the story of it.

Karin told the story of the comet landing and explained the communication techniques used to personify the spacecraft. A mission such as Rosetta, in which we are continuously entering new territory, is constantly facing the unknown, and so communication with the scientists was of utmost importance. Karin explained why Philae tweets in English, since his mission is one for humanity. She also focused on how important collaboration between agencies is for the success of a mission and communicating the mission to the world.

Still in space, the lander has been tweeting in first person, and will continue to do so until the end of its mission.

Related links

• Smart Content Day 2015 blog post
• Philae2014 Twitter account

Senior Editor Karin Ranero Celius manages the German Aerospace Center (DLR) English-language communications. She has a degree in Physics and years of experience in communicating astrophysics and space science.

We were happy to be at the Digital Communication Awards 2015 in Berlin, Germany last week on 25 September. Together with the DLR German Aerospace Crossmedia team, EJR-Quartz’s Karin Ranero Celius presented the Philae communication campaign, which includes the Twitter account for which she tweets. The communication campaign went on to win an award at the international event.

There were 34 categories in total, ranging from Viral Communication and Web Magazine to Innovation of the Year and Corporate Film. DLR won the award in the category of Online Event and Communication for the outstanding results achieved during the Philae communication campaign. This category honoured online events that are unique in their scope of creative planning and implementation. The jury judged the projects by strategic approach, creativity, innovation, implementation and efficiency.

As part of our contract with DLR, we are involved in a variety of their English language communications projects, including managing the popular @Philae2014. Twitter account. The story of the comet approach and landing unfolded on Twitter in dialogues between the Philae Lander and the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, as well as conversations with NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst.

After landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Philae conducted science, sent back its data and then went into hibernation for seven months. To the world’s delight, Philae woke up again in June 2015, ready to explore. Philae has been tweeting and sharing its mission in the first person throughout the mission, enticing the public to join in on the excitement of the first ever comet landing.

Later that night, Karin collected the prize on behalf of DLR at the Award Gala. We are proud to be a part of the comet-chasing mission and to share the fascinating cometary science with the world through Philae’s Twitter account.

For more information, visit the website and keep an eye on @Philae2014 Twitter account!

Related links

• The Digital Communication Awards website

The latest edition of the DLR Magazine, the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) flagship publication, is out. EJR-Quartz is responsible for the English edition of the publication.

The second DLR Magazine of the year features two fascinating live reports, as well as insights from DLR researchers. The first of the live reports is the cover story, ‘Summit flight in the Midnight Sun’ follows a team of researchers across Greenland and Iceland, as they conduct a flight campaign using DLR’s Falcon aircraft. In the second live report we are told about MAPHEUS-5 – a sounding rocket launched from Sweden, in which material physics experiments are conducted during six minutes of microgravity.

DLR Magazine 146-147 highlights the work performed by researchers both inside and outside the office. A microscope specialist shares his passion for photographing not just materials, but wild orchids. Also featured is a materials researcher who is involved in a social project on the production of prostheses using 3D printing in his free time.

‘Life in space for life on Earth’ provides an insight into medical research within the new :envihab facility at DLR in Cologne. Long-term bed-rest studies for the benefit of mankind – on Earth and in space – are carried out here with volunteer test subjects.

You can also read about DLR’s latest research, the new DLR Chair Pascale Ehrenfreund’s plans for DLR, find out the current status of the Philae lander on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and check out some reviews, including The Martian audiobook – just in time for the movie release this October!

This edition of the Magazine reveals a brand new design. As always, you can read the DLR Magazine online or download it as a PDF file. Receive printed copies of the magazine on your doorstep, free of charge by completing the subscription form.

Related links

• DLR Web portal
• DLR Magazine

As part of our work for the European Space Agency (ESA), we are supporting astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s ‘iriss’ mission to the International Space Station (ISS). EQ editor Julien Harrod is working from the Columbus Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany throughout the mission, and covering it on the ESA iriss mission blog.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen is Denmark’s first astronaut. He launched into space on 2 September 2015 before docking to the station two days later. The iriss mission will last a total of 10 days — significantly shorter compared to the 6 months that astronauts typically spend aboard the ISS.

The goal of the iriss mission blog is to provide the world with a window into life on the ISS. Behind-the-scenes information from the entire 10-day mission is being shared by our Human Spaceflight editor Julien— illustrated with photos taken in orbit. He is following the same schedule as the Danish astronaut, ensuring that his day on Earth is synchronised with Andreas’ in space. As a result, people can closely follow what Andreas is doing. Julien publishes blog posts, answers questions and informs people of what Andreas is doing on every flight day, getting detailed input from Col-CC mission operators.

In the 8 days that Andreas is spending in the ISS, important research within the fields of robotics, spacesuits, water purification, nano-technology and space food will be carried out. He has already completed the Aquamembrane experiment – purifying waste water with new nano-technology membranes. Meanwhile, he is filling up on space snacks and testing muesli bars that may bring spaceflight one step closer to a closed-loop ecosystem, whilst trying on SkinSuit – a skin-tight garment made to be worn inside the ISS.

Andreas is set to land back on Earth later this week, on 12 September. We’re happy to be supporting him on this short, yet sweet mission, brimming with exciting research, observations and people.

Follow the iriss blog and @esaoperations, as well as @astro_andreas own Twitter account.

Related links

• iriss Mission Blog
• iriss Website
• Andreas Mogensen

We were at the ESA Summer Teacher Workshop this month. Taking place at ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, this annual workshop teaches teachers to uses space in the classroom when addressing STEM subjects. EQ’s Karina De Castris, Joanna Holt, and Anca Zinculescu were at the event from 8 to 10 July, working on behalf of ESA and alongside ESA staff to inspire over 100 primary and secondary school teachers to bring space in the classroom.

For the first time, the workshop was open to primary as well as secondary school teachers. It was comprised of practical sessions tailored to both groups which focused on 5 central themes: Gravity, the Solar System, Earth observation, light, and human spaceflight. The workshop provided teachers with inspirational and motivational material to use when teaching their STEM-related subjects.

Space experts such as ESA astronaut André Kuipers and Rosetta Project Scientist Matt Taylor were also in attendance. They answered questions and gave the teachers access to information from within space missions.

For the first time, the workshop was open to primary as well as secondary school teachers. It was comprised of practical sessions tailored to both groups which focused on 5 central themes: Gravity, the Solar System, Earth observation, light, and human spaceflight. The workshop provided teachers with inspirational and motivational material to use when teaching their STEM-related subjects.

Space experts such as ESA astronaut André Kuipers and Rosetta Project Scientist Matt Taylor were also in attendance. They answered questions and gave the teachers access to information from within space missions.

Related links

• ESA Summer Teacher Workshop

We were happy to hear that the Rosetta/Philae outreach team won the Sir Arthur Clarke Award in the category of “Space Achievement – Education and Outreach”.

The Philae/Rosetta Outreach Team is comprised of people from all over Europe, including EJR-Quartz! As part of our contracts with the European Space Agency and DLR, we support the outreach activities for both the Rosetta orbiter and Philae lander in the Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The Sir Arthur Clarke Awards have been presented annually in the UK since 2005 to reward outstanding contributions to space activities. This year’s awards were announced at the UK Space Conference Gala Dinner and Awards in Liverpool on Tuesday 14 July 2015. The Awards are sponsored by the UK Space Agency in collaboration with the British Interplanetary Society and Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.

Upon announcing the prize winners, the British Interplanetary Society posted the following on its website about the team:

“The Rosetta/Philae Outreach Team turned a great scientific achievement into a really great popular science outreach achievement. They had the most engaged audience for a space event for a very long time, having created an extremely wide range of publicity material, from the amazing top-level science fiction/science fact introductory film ‘Ambition’, the detailed press kits, and the entertaining ‘Once upon a time’ cartoon videos, covering each campaign milestone. They produced brochures, models, and posters and put out a continuous stream of blog posts, tweets, hang-outs, and a series of ‘Comet Hunter’ videos on Euronews to keep everyone up-to-date with the mission status, the ever-changing state of Comet 67P/C-G, and the scientific results. They also made brilliant teaching/educational resources available, including a dedicated website, the primary and secondary lessons, and the fantastic Paxi alien educator.”

EJR-Quartz editors have played a key role in developing and running outreach material for both Rosetta and Philae. Since 2013, we have run the twitter accounts for ESA and DLR, with EQ’s Emily Baldwin and Karin Ranero Celius the primary voices of Rosetta and Philae, respectively. The Twitter accounts are now some of the most followed in the agencies – Rosetta has more than 348, 000 followers and Philae has over 451, 000.

Many of the press kits and articles, along with posts for the popular Rosetta blog, are prepared by EQ editors Emily, Karen O’Flaherty and Daniel Scuka.

Daniel and Emily, together with EQ’s Maria Bennet and Erica Rolfe, have also played a key role in the organising and presenting the numerous Rosetta-themed Google Hangouts throughout the mission to date.

Emily and Karen, together with their colleagues in the Communication, Outreach and Education Group in the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration, are also part of the team developing the scripts for the adorable cartoon adventures of Rosetta and Philae that are subsequently produced by Design & Data. Classroom resources are produced by EQ’s Anca Zinculescu and Joanna Holt, including a mini-site with educational material related to Rosetta.

Our editors have been working hard to communicate the brilliant science being done in this mission and we are proud to be a part of this wonderful team and to share this award with all those involved in the inspiring outreach of Rosetta and Philae.

Related resources and links

• British Interplanetary Society website
• The EJR-Quartz team
• Rosetta mission page

Websites

• Rosetta dedicated blog
• Philae blog
• Rosetta Press Kit
• ESA Science and Technology: Rosetta
• Where is Rosetta (interactive 3D visualisation tool)
• Comet Viewer

Social media channels

Twitter

• @ESA
• @ESA_Rosetta
• @Philae2014
• @ESAOperations
• @ESAScience
• @DLR_EN

Facebook

• Rosetta mission Facebook page

Social media team at Rosetta #cometlanding 2014

We were a proud sponsor at the annual European Space Agency (ESA) Football tournament during the last weekend of June.

This year, located in Palma de Mallorca, the event was organised by ESA staff at the ESOC facility in Germany. We sponsored the ESRIN team at the event for a second year in a row and our flag was on display during the matches, alongside the flags of our fellow sponsors.

The weekend of sport had blue skies and warm weather, as each ESA team played in the mini championship. ESOC’s men’s team and ESAC’s women’s team took home the winning trophies, with ESRIN and ESOC coming up in close second place.

As with every year, the tournament was a great opportunity for ESA friends and colleagues located across the continent to meet. We are happy we got to play a part in this wonderful event and look forward to the chance to support it again in the future!

Related links

• ESA Football Tournament Facebook page

On 14 June, our editors had a nice wake up when they received confirmation that comet lander Philae was back in touch with its orbiter Rosetta. At 22:38 CEST the previous night, signals were received at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Once all key partners had been informed, and following a briefing to discuss the details of the signal, the news could be announced.

The robotic lander separated from comet-chaser Rosetta before descending onto comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November last year. It operated for 2.5 days as planned before entering a period of hibernation. Prior to this Philae sent back images of its surroundings – a dark location with high walls that limited the amount of sunlight reaching its solar panels.

However, with the comet soon approaching perihelion on 13 August 2015, its closest point to the Sun along its orbit – Philae has received enough sunlight to charge its solar panels and wake up from hibernation. The first contact – in approximately seven months – between the lander and Earth, via Rosetta, lasted 85 seconds. To announce this, the probe’s Twitter account, managed by EJR-Quartz on behalf of DLR tweeted, “Hello Earth! Can you hear me?”

The Rosetta mission was launched in 2004, before the days of social media, so much of the early coverage was through online news and blog entries. Having already maintained ESA’s Rosetta website throughout the mission, EJR-Quartz editors have played a key role in developing and running social media channels for Rosetta and Philae at ESA and DLR since 2013. The Twitter accounts are now some of the most followed in the agencies – Rosetta has more than 339, 000 followers and Philae has over 441, 000. We assist ESA and DLR with web and magazine articles and also support their social media campaigns. With the recent mission extension until September 2016, we are looking forward to continuing to support the mission and communicating the science being done by the comet-chasing duo.

Related resources and links

• Rosetta mission page

Websites

• Rosetta dedicated blog
• Philae blog
• Rosetta Press Kit
• ESA Science and Technology: Rosetta
• Where is Rosetta (interactive 3D visualisation tool)
• Comet Viewer

Social media channels

Twitter

• @ESA
• @ESA_Rosetta
• @Philae2014
• @ESAOperations
• @ESAScience
• @DLR_EN

Facebook

• Rosetta mission Facebook page

Instagram

• Rosetta mission Instagram account

We were happy to be at Deutschen Preis für Onlinekommunikation 2015 (German Prize for Online Communication) this week in Berlin. EQ’s Karin Ranero Celius attended the event on behalf of DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt). The Philae Twitter account for which Karin tweets won an award at the event.

There were 35 award categories, ranging from Online Strategy of the Year and Social Media Presence, to Viral Communication and Blog. Those nominated included digital communication projects and campaigns from high-profile contenders such as Coca Cola, Volkswagen and Dell. DLR won the Deutschen Preis für Onlinekommunikation within the category of Online Event & Live-Communication – honouring those that work on the Philae Lander Twitter account.

As part of our contract with DLR, we are responsible for the DLR English language communication projects, including Philae’s twitter account. Each tweet shares the Rosetta mission from the perspective of the spacecraft’s lander. The account especially gained popularity during the mission’s comet landing event last November. The story of the comet approach and landing unfolded on Twitter, in a dialogue between the Philae Lander and the ESA Rosetta spacecraft.

We are proud to be a part of the exciting comet-chasing mission and look forward to communicating more DLR projects to come.

For more information, visit the event website and keep an eye on @Philae2014 twitter account!

This week marked the website launch of one of our newest clients – the exciting EU-funded Horizon 2020 DexROV project. The project brings together seven different international organisations to challenge the possibilities of undersea operations, using space-based technology.

As a partner, our role is to support the DexROV public communication activities, including the recently launched website and social media channels. We became communications partner in January 2015 and visited Marseilles, France for the kick-off meeting in March 2015. As well as digital communication tools, we have designed brochure and poster material illustrating the underwater project. The website launched on 10 June 2015 and provides detailed information on DexROV’s purpose, goals and news.

As part of the long-term Blue Growth strategy to support sustainable growth in the European marine and maritime sectors, DexROV has high aspirations. The project will explore the possibility of operating ROVs from shore, improving underwater robotic dexterity through haptic technology and developing robotic autonomy to compensate for latencies in satellite communications. These developments should improve safe and autonomous access to some of Earth’s most difficult environments.

We are looking forward to seeing what this partnership will bring and are excited to be producing content that will allow its message to be shared with the world.

For more information, visit the DexROV website and Twitter account.