Space for a travel quiz!
A new collaboration between ESA and Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands has got passengers thinking about space. Digital screens throughout the airport featuring stunning satellite images of Earth have been stopping travellers in their tracks. That's because these pictures from space are part of a fun Where on Earth? travel quiz.
Here's the challenge: can travellers guess where on Earth the places shown in the pictures are? It's trickier than you think to pin down these intriguing locations. Not least because the Copernicus Sentinel satellites have almost the entire surface of our planet covered, so you could be looking at anywhere on the globe!
Don't worry, puzzled passengers won't be left guessing. To check your answer to ESA's Where on Earth? challenge, all you need to do is to scan the QR code on each digital poster with a smartphone. This takes you to the ESA website, where the location is revealed, along with its fascinating backstory.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers pass through Schiphol Airport every day. Two thirds are holidaymakers, including families with children. Schiphol's digital screens provide a wonderful opportunity to increase awareness of ESA and to get people thinking about space and our home planet.
ESA's Branding and Partnerships Office teamed up with ESA's Earth Observation experts to create a campaign that would catch the eye of busy travellers and provide some space-related fun while they wait for their flights.
A focus on Earth is particularly timely, as ESA has just launched its EarthCARE satellite, which will investigate how clouds and aerosols affect Earth's climate.
ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, said, “ESA's Schiphol campaign gives passengers the chance to reflect on the beauty and fragility of our precious planet and what we must do to protect it. We hope they have fun with our travel quiz and will be inspired to find out more about ESA’s role in helping to understand and take action on climate change."
ESA's Where on Earth? Travel quiz challenge is running at Schiphol airport now. Be sure to take the #ESAchallenge if you are passing through!