N° 29–2023: Media invitation: Join the Euclid launch event at ESA-ESOC, Darmstadt
23 June 2023
ESA’s Euclid mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida no earlier than the current target launch date of 1 July with 2 July as the current backup launch date.
Journalists are invited to participate in a European launch event on 1 July 2023 at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
ESA's Euclid mission is designed to map the large-scale structure of the Universe and help us to understand two mysterious components: dark matter and dark energy. 95% of the Universe appears to be made up of unknown 'dark' matter and energy. Dark matter and energy affect the motion and distribution of visible sources, but do not emit or absorb any light, and scientists do not know yet what these entities actually are. Euclid will create the largest, most accurate 3D map of the Universe. It will observe billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than one third of the sky. With this map, Euclid will explore how the Universe has expanded and how large-scale structure is distributed across space and time, revealing more about the role of gravity and the nature of dark energy and dark matter.
Launch media event at ESA-ESOC
Programme – 1 July 2023 (all times in CEST)
12:00 Doors open for media / security check-in
13:00 Media Briefing in Press Centre H05
ESA spokespeople and experts, as well as spokespeople from Thales Alenia Space and other partners, will be available on site for interviews including:
- Rolf Densing, Director of Operations, ESA
- Toni Tolker-Nielson, Director for Space Transportation, ESA
- Dietmar Pilz, Director for Technology, ESA
- Mark McCaughrean, Senior Advisor for Science and Exploration, ESA
- Pierre Ferruit, Euclid Mission Manager, ESA
- Guadalupe Cañas Herrera, Research Fellow (cosmology), ESA
- John Hoar, Science Operations Manager, ESA
- Matthias Maurer, astronaut, ESA
- Rosemary Coogan, astronaut candidate, ESA
- Katherine Bennell-Pegg, astronaut candidate, Australian Space Agency
During the event, journalists will get live updates from the nearby ESA control rooms to which they will have limited temporary access too followed by interview opportunities with ESA operations experts for Euclid.
15:30 Doors open for VIP event guests
16:30 VIP Stage programme starts in conference centre HI-VI
Start ESA TV webcast from Astronomy Dedicated Control Room
17:11 Lift-off SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
17:52 Spacecraft Separation from launcher
17:55 Acquisition of signal over New Norcia ground station
18:15 End of ESA TV webcast; end of stage programme in conference centre
18:20 VIP event
19:30 Doors close for VIP & media
Be aware that launch dates may change. If the launch is cancelled on the foreseen launch date and re-scheduled 24 hours later, the event will be repeated. In case of a 48-hour launch delay, we foresee a limited scope event at ESOC. You will be informed of changes via email. Updates on the launch date will also be announced via the @ESA_Euclid twitter channel and the ESA website, www.esa.int.
ESA Web TV
The English pre-launch press briefing, as well as the launch, will be streamed via ESA Web TV.
Registration
Please express interest by 28 June at 17:00 CEST for the European Launch Event, by selecting and completing the relevant form at https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form.
More Information
Click here to view the launch kit (PDF, 102 MB) in English – soon to be available also in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
Learn more about Euclid at https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid.
Contact
ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office – Simona Nichiteanu & Bernhard von Weyhe
Email: media@esa.int
Images
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Search?SearchText=euclid
ESA's Photo Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/
Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int
Videos
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Search?SearchText=Euclid&result_type=videos
ESA's Video Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals
Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int
Social Media
Hashtag: #ESAEuclid
Follow ESA on:
Twitter: @esa @esascience @esa_euclid
Instagram: Europeanspaceagency
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency
YouTube: ESA
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA
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 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia 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