ESA opens its doors for European Researchers Night
UPDATE: Registrations are now full. To add your name to our waiting list, please go to the registration link below and follow the instructions.
On Friday 28 September hundreds of research centres throughout Europe will open their doors to the general public, and ESRIN, ESA’s establishment in Italy, will take part in this initiative by welcoming guests on its premises from 16:00 to midnight.
Promoted each year by the European Commission, European Researchers Night is targeted at people of all ages who want to know more about science, research, and space exploration. As in previous years, ESA is taking part in this initiative through the Frascati Scienza consortium.
This year’s theme is BE a citizEn Scientist (BEES). Its aim is to highlight the incredible possibilities that science can achieve through the collaboration between researchers and citizens. This will be addressed by our guest speakers in our Conference Centre, who will present their areas of expertise to the public. Five keynote speakers from ESA, including ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, as well as a magazine director and film producers, will discuss the importance of space in our daily lives.
Registration to the event is mandatory, and this can be done through our dedicated website.
In addition to the dynamic talks happening in our Conference Centre, visitors will have the opportunity to visit an inflatable planetarium where celestial objects will be shown and explained. They will also be able to observe the Moon, Mars and Saturn on the Uliveto Terrace thanks to three powerful telescopes. The Apollo and Soyuz simulators will be on hand for guests to try, and the Vega launcher and its various stages will be demonstrated to the public.
A fun competition will be organised for children and adults, where they will need to avoid an asteroid and save the planet! Another big attraction will be the opportunity to visit the new interactive Φ-Experience, a hands-on exhibition area that offers a peek into the wealth of information coming from satellites that are continuously keeping an eye on our planet.
The Heritage Missions Walkthrough will also be open to our guests, where they will taken on a technological walk through the history of Earth observation missions at ESA. And last but not least, the Control Room for Earth observation payloads will also be showcased. Hands-on laboratories for children aged between 8 and 12 will give them the chance to build their own Sentinel satellite, find out what it means when we talk about ‘life’ on other planets, and experience the same difficulties astronauts experience when they need to work with big gloves in outer space.
The night is sure to satisfy every child and every adult’s curiosity about space, so register now!