ESA at the Farnborough International Air Show, 19-25 July 2010

The Space Zone at FIA will bring together key players from international space agencies and industry to highlight the increasingly important role of space in a rapidly changing world.

In their exhibition area, ESA will showcase the importance of space systems and applications in facing global challenges and providing decision-makers with tools to respond to critical challenges such as climate change and global security.

The exhibition brings out the many dimensions of space: Space for a better understanding of our Earth and the Universe; space as a generator of new technologies and innovation; space for future human endeavour; and space for improving quality of life and fostering European growth and employment.

Visitors are introduced to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where Vega and the Russian-built Soyuz are shortly to be launched for the first time, offering, along with Ariane 5, a wide range of launch services.

Particular emphasis will be placed on the different facets of our ever-changing planet: atmosphere, oceans, land and ice; and ESA will present the first results of the three recently launched Earth Explorer missions: CryoSat’s new view of ice thickness in Antarctica; the first GOCE global gravity model; and SMOS soil moisture and sea-surface salinity maps.

Examples of GMES services - Global Monitoring for Environment and Security - will also be displayed: daily air quality forecasts, monitoring of ground movement, ocean and coastal areas, risk and emergencies.

The first IOV satellites to be launched in 2011 as part of the Galileo satellite navigation system will be shown together with a special focus on aviation applications of EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.

Telecommunications satellites will be highlighted with the coming launch of Hylas, a public-private partnership between ESA and Avanti Communications (UK) that will target the high demand for broadband services in Europe that cannot be met by terrestrial networks.

Europe's contributions to the International Space Station will be featured including the Columbus laboratory, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Cupola and Node 3. The exhibition will also include the new ESA astronaut candidates and the next missions to the ISS. Visitors will learn about scientific experiments carried out in weightlessness, covering material sciences, human physiology, fluid science and plant biology.

A special display will show the spectacular new results from Herschel and Planck, which are leading us to a deeper understanding of how stars and galaxies formed and evolve, and how our Universe came to be and how it functions now.

A simulated Mars terrain will feature scale models of the three European elements of the ESA-NASA ExoMars programme: the Trace Gas Orbiter with the Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module, 2016; and the Rover, 2018.

Visitors can also see stunning images showing Titan, Saturn's moon; canals and craters on Mars; volcanoes on Venus and the Rosetta fly-by of asteroid Lutetia on the 10 July.

A series of high-level events will be held in the Space Zone including a dedicated Space Day conference organised and hosted by Richard Peckham, Chairman of UKspace and Vice-President Space A|D|S. Speakers will include David Willetts, UK Minister of State for Universities and Science; Mariastella Gelmini, Minister of Education, University and Scientific Research and Chair of the ESA Council at Ministerial Level; Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General; Enrico Saggese, President of the Italian Space Agency, ASI; David Williams, acting Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency; Keith Mason, CEO of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC); and Andy Green, CEO Logica and Chairman of the UK Space Innovation and Growth Team.

Farnborough International Air Show 2010 is open from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 July, with trade visitors’ days on 19-23 July; a special Futures Day for students and schools on Friday 23; and access to the general public on Saturday 24 July and on Sunday 25 July.

Other presentations and events in the Space Zone will include "New Funding and Support for Space Entrepreneurs" (Monday 19), "Space 4 Careers" (Tuesday 20), Space Day (Wednesday 21) and presentations for students on careers in the scientific and technical aerospace sector with ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy(Friday 23).

For further information, please contact:

Wendy Slater
Exhibitions Officer
Communication and Knowledge Department
Tel.: + 33 1 5369 7418
e-mail:Wendy.Slater@esa.int