N° 25–2024: Media advisory: EarthCARE launch media opportunities

EarthCARE is the most complex of all of ESA’s trailblazing Earth Explorer missions – missions that deliver critical information to understand how our world functions and the impact that human activity is having on natural processes.  

Developed as a cooperation between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), this exciting mission will make a range of different measurements that together will shed new light on the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s delicate temperature balance.  

With global climate change increasingly affecting our planet, EarthCARE is poised to provide data for climate research, improve the accuracy of climate models and support numerical weather prediction.  

Media can attend a wide range of in-person and online pre-launch media briefings detailed below and are also invited to participate in the European launch event currently planned to take place on 28 May 2024 at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. 

Please note that journalists wishing to attend several of the events mentioned below should register for each activity separately to ensure that they receive the right link/information.

Pre-launch media event at ECSAT UK (Tuesday 21 May,13:00-15:00 BST)  

Programme  

12:00-13:00 welcome and light lunch 

13:00-14:00 expert presentations followed by media Q&A:  

• Anthony Illingworth, Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Physics, University of Reading 
• Michael Eisinger, Performance & Science Products Coordinator, European Space Agency 
• Robin J. Hogan, Principal Scientist, Earth System Modelling Section, ECMWF 
• Beth Greenaway, Head of Earth Observation and Climate at the UK Space Agency, UKSA 
• Ralph Cordey, Head of Earth Science, Airbus UK 
• Andrew Haslehurst, Chief Technology Officer, SSTL 
• Will Grainger, Head of Systems Engineering, RAL Space
• Manuel Ángel Ruiz Saldaña, Ground Segment Business Manager UK, GMV-NSL
• Helen Brindley, Divisional Director within the UK's National Centre for Earth Observation 

14:00-15:00 individual interview opportunities 

How to get to ECSAT – see here

Please register here to attend the media event at ECSAT by Monday 20^th May.  

Online pre-launch press briefing in English (Tuesday 21 May, 16:00 – 17:00 CEST) 

EarthCare pre-launch press briefing and Q&A with:

• Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, ESA 
• Dirk Bernaerts, EarthCARE project manager and Acting Head Earth Explorers Division, ESA 
• Futoshi Takiguchi, Vice President and Director General for the Space Technology Directorate I, JAXA 
• Eiichi Tomita, EarthCARE/CPR Project Manager, JAXA 
• Maximilian Sauer, EarthCARE Project Manager, Airbus  

Please register here for the English pre-launch online briefing by Monday 20^th May. 

Online Q&A sessions in German and French will also be available to members of the press after the English briefing upon request. Please register your interest here

Launch media event at ESOC 

Programme – Tuesday, 28 May 2024 (all times in CEST)

18:30  Arrival media

19:00  Media Briefing in Press Centre H05    

20:00  Interview opportunities

20:30  Doors open for VIP event guests
21:00  VIP Stage programme starts in conference centre HI-VI
23:34 Start of ESA TV webcast

00:05  SpaceX live broadcast

00:20  Lift-off SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, California, USA

00:30  Spacecraft deployment
01:12  Acquisition of signal
01:20  End of ESA TV webcast; end of stage programme in conference centre
01:30  Doors close

ESA spokespeople and experts, as well as spokespeople from Airbus and other partners, will be available on site for interviews including:

• Dominique Gillieron, Head of Earth Observation Projects Department, ESA
• Björn Frommknecht, EarthCARE Mission Manager, ESA
• Thorsten Fehr, EarthCARE Mission Scientist, ESA
• Kotska Wallace, EarthCARE Optical Payload Manager, ESA
• Isabel Rojo, Head of EarthCARE Mission Operations, ESA
• Mr. Futoshi Takiguchi, Vice President and Director General for the Space Technology Directorate, JAXA
• Dr. Riko Oki, Director of the Earth Observation Research Center, JAXA
• Albert Zaglauer, Head of Earth Observation programmes, Airbus

During the event, journalists will get live updates from the nearby ESA control rooms to which they will have limited temporary access too followed by interview opportunities with ESA operations and science experts for EarthCARE.

In the event of launch reschedule or delay, media will be informed of replanned activities via email in due course.

How to get to ESOC: www.esa.int/esoc

Please register here for the media event at ESOC by Friday 24th May.

 

ESA Web TV

The launch event at ESOC will be streamed via ESA Web TV.

Registration 

Please express interest by selecting and completing the relevant form at https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form.

Please remember that journalists wishing to attend several of the opportunities mentioned above should register for each activity separately to ensure that they receive the right link/information for each event.  

More information on EarthCARE mission 

Learn more about EarthCARE at https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/EarthCARE  

Images 

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/EarthCARE/(result_type)/images 

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images 

Terms and conditions for using ESA images: 
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images 

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int. 

Videos 

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/EarthCARE/(result_type)/videos

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals 

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos: 
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions 

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int. 

Social Media 

Follow ESA on:  
X:  @esa @ESA_EO  
Instagram: @europeanspaceagency @ESA_Earth  
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency  
YouTube: ESA  
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA  
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA  

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. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are Associate Members. 

ESA has established formal cooperation with four 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 as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions. 

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int