Overview of ESA communication activities in 2009 relevant to the media
ESA PR 01-2009. Press conferences, exhibitions, launches, political events… the list of the main communications activities that ESA will be involved in is taking shape. Pencil these dates into your diaries as of now.
14
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain meets the Press at ESA headquarters in Paris, France, to give a status report on ongoing activities and an overview of upcoming events.
15-16
Opening event of the International Year of Astronomy, UNESCO, Paris.
February
tbc
Astronaut selection 'media day' at ESA/EAC, Cologne, Germany.
March
tbd
Start of 'Mars500' first isolation campaign (Moscow, Russia).
02-08
19th Italian Week of Scientific and Technological Culture, open day at ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy.
Launch of ESA’s GOCE satellite (Earth’s gravity field) onboard a Rockot launcher from Plesetsk, Russia.
30-02/04
International Space Debris Conference at ESA/ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.
tbc
GMES Conference under the Czech EU Presidency, Prague, Czech Republic.
April
12 (tbc)
Launch of ESA’s Herschel / Planck spacecraft onboard an Ariane 5 from CSG, Kourou. Launch coverage at several ESA establishments across Europe.
19-24
European Geosciences Union, General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.
May
tbc
Announcement and presentation of the new ESA astronauts.
12
Space Shuttle STS-125: fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
'Apriamo la mente', Latium festival of scientific thinking; exhibition and lectures at ESA/ESRIN and other location in the Latium region.
09-10
'Fête de l’Europe', space exhibition in Paris (France), Ispra (Italy).
27
Launch of ISS Expedition 20 on Soyuz 19 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, with ESA astronaut Frank de Winne on board.
June
15-21
48th Paris Air & Space Show, Le Bourget, Paris, France. ESA exhibition.
25
High-level meeting on Space Exploration, Prague, Czech Republic.
tbc
'Objectif Terre, la révolution des satellites': opening of a permanent exhibition at La Villette, Paris, France.
July
Launch of ESA’s SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission, together with the microsatellite Proba-2, on board a Rockot, from Plesetsk, Russia.
till end 2010
'Cosmos and Culture' exhibition at the Science Museum, London, United Kingdom.
August
06 (tbc)
Space Shuttle STS-128 mission with ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang on board.
September
26
'European Researchers Night': exhibition and lectures at ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy.
tbd
'The long night of Science': open day at ESA/ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.
October
01
60th anniversary of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg: ESA participation in event.
12-16
60th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2009), Daejeon, Korea.
tbc
Herschel and Planck first science results: presentation to the media (location tbd).
November
12-15
'Science Festival 2009' exhibition and workshops, Luxembourg.
13
Rosetta comet chaser 3rd Earth swing-by: media activities at ESA/ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.
Launch of ESA’s Cryosat-2 mission, on board a Rockot from Plesetsk, Russia.
30/11-11/12
'COP 15', United Nations Climate Change Conference - ESA exhibition, Copenhagen, Denmark.
till January 2010
'Futuro remoto', exhibition and lectures on robotics, Città della Scienza, Naples, Italy.
December
10 (tbc)
Space Shuttle STS-130 mission (Node 3 and Cupola).
tbc
Maiden flight of ESA’s new small launcher Vega, from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), Kourou.
tbc
Start of 'Mars500' 520-day isolation campaign (Moscow, Russia).
Dates of certain events, in particular launches, depend on various factors such as the readiness of the spacecraft and/or the launcher. In the calendar of activities they remain tabled as 'to be determined' (tbd) or 'to be confirmed' (tbc). Definite dates are confirmed by Arianespace (for Ariane launches), Starsem (for Soyuz launches), Eurockot (for Rockot launches) and NASA (for Space Shuttle launches).
For further information please contact:
ESA Media Relations Office
Communication and Knowledge Department
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 53 69 72 99
Fax.: + 33 (0)1 53 69 76 90
Queries: media@esa.int