N° 31–1997: International space activities presented at the yearly space congress

This year, the IAF Congress takes place from 6 to 10 October in the city of Turin, Italy, at the Lingotto International Congress Center, in parallel with a large international exhibition at which space agencies, research institutions and companies engaged in space activities around the world will be represented.

The opening ceremony on 6 October, from 9:30 to 11:30, will include an address by the President of Italy outlining his views on space and its implications. The role of ESA will be highlighted by its Director General, Antonio Rodotà, at round tables with other heads of space agencies during plenary sessions on 6 October (15:00 - 16:45 hrs) and 7 October (11:45 - 12:45 hrs), and by numerous ESA session chairmen and speakers.

In addition to a broad exchange of views and ideas among industry professionals and government specialists on the main theme, the Congress will cover such topics as space technology, inner and outer space missions and programmes under development, environmental, economic, legal, management and political aspects of the world's programmes for the peaceful utilization of space.

Throughout the week, the general public, non-space executives, students and schools will be able to visit the exhibition "Space 97 Show", also at the Lingotto complex. Besides a scale model of the International Space Station suspended from the ceiling of the pavilion, the entrance to the exhibition hall will highlight the ESA-NASA Cassini mission with a full-size model of ESA's Huygens probe to Titan, a prototype of the Saturn Orbiter's antenna built by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and a scale model of the complete Saturn Orbiter.

The presentation of European space activities will be completed by an ESA stand putting a special emphasis on the Agency's activities in the field of Remote Sensing data exploitation, carried out at its ESRIN Establishment in Italy. ESA's space science programmes will be further illustrated by a full-size model of the SOHO satellite.

As a novelty, to explain to the public the impact that the transfer of space technologies to other fields is making on everyday life, an international "technology transfer and spin-off" hall has been included in the Space Show, with the support of numerous exhibitors. Examples of technologies originally developed for space that have later migrated to other fields such as the automobile industry, energy generation, sensors, biotechnology and medicine, will be on display together with numerous exchanges between space and non-space industrial developments.

Media representatives will be able to meet ESA specialists during most of the IAF Congress by applying to the ESA Press Officers at the Press Centre. Their attention is drawn to the following opportunities:

Monday 6 October	13:30-14:30 hrs ESA Press Conference with A. Rodotà, Director General. 14.30-15:00 hrs, Signature of Telecom Italia/ESA contract.
Tuesday 7 October	11:00-11:30 hrs, Signature of ESA/ASI arrangement on execution and funding of Node 2/Node 3 project for the International Space Station.