N° 12–2016: Call for Media: Don’t miss the largest ever Earth observation conference
4 May 2016
Media representatives are invited to the Living Planet Symposium for the latest results from Europe’s satellites and achievements of ambitious Earth observation initiatives.
Held on 9–13 May at the Prague Congress Centre, Czech Republic, the event brings together more than 3000 scientists and users from across the globe to present their latest findings on Earth’s environment and climate derived from satellite data.
The versatility of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions will be the main focus. The three missions in orbit are CryoSat, SMOS and Swarm. Over the past few years they have been providing new information on Earth’s cryosphere, soil moisture and ocean salinity, and magnetic field, respectively.
The Sentinel satellites have also played a major role in monitoring our environment and ensuring civil protection through Europe’s ambitious Copernicus programme. Four Sentinels have already been launched, and their data are being used to map and monitoring Earth’s changing lands, oceans, ice and atmosphere.
Results from ESA’s Envisat and ERS heritage missions, as well as from satellites flown by national space agencies, will also be featured in the week-long programme.
Programme
The latest results from ESA’s missions and overview of the Earth Observation and Copernicus programmes will be presented during the opening plenary session on Monday, 9 May, 10:30–12:00 CEST, followed by a 30 minute press briefing.
10:30–12:00 CEST
- Welcome address by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Bohuslav Sobotka
- Welcome address by Johann-Dietrich Woerner, ESA Director General
- An introduction to ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes by Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes
- Highlights of Earth Explorer scientific results by Wolfram Mauser, Chairman of ESAC
Address by the Czech Minister of Transport, Dan Tok
12:00–12:30 CEST
Media questions and answers session
The full technical programme will follow after the opening plenary session, and is open to media. Full programme at: lps16.esa.int
About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 20 are Member States of the EU.
ESA has established formal cooperation with seven other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.
ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.
Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int