Making Earth a better and safer place this is the objective of new programmes ESA wishes to implement in the coming years.

A « Space Safety » activity complementing the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme already in place.

The goal is to protect ourselves from dangers coming from space like asteroids and at the same time protect space against our activities such as space debris.

This June 2018 the international community is gathering in Vienna for what is called UNISPACE+50. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. It will also be an opportunity for the international community to gather and consider the future course of global space cooperation for the benefit of humankind.

And next 30 June, will be the « Asteroid day », an international day recognised by the United Nations, marking a global opportunity to raise awareness of the threat posed by the numerous rocky bodies traversing space.

Since 2009, ESA has played a leading role in the global hunt for risky asteroids and meteroids – known formally to astronomers as near-Earth objects (NEO) – and is currently developing cutting-edge widefield telescopes that will have the ability to scan the entire sky in just 48 hours.

ESA also carries out crucial analysis as part of its Space Situational Awareness programme and mobilises observatories and astronomers worldwide through its SSA NEO Coordination Centre at the Agency's ESRIN facility in Italy. 

Note that on 30 June, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and ESA will team up to co-produce a webcast highlighting some of the most recent activities in the global hunt for risky asteroids. It will be live via esa.int/asteroidday.

This B Roll proposes footage linked to these activities.