On 17-19 April 2019, the ESSC Chair attended the 2019 International Symposium on Lunar and Deep Space Exploration and gave a presentation on the “Perspectives of the Scientific Community on the European Space Program” where she described the European opportunities for scientific research and investigations in space in many different fields.

The European Space Sciences Committee members and secretariat are deeply saddened by the passing away of one of its past members, Jordi Torra.

The ESSC Chair was invited through ESA to attend the Women’s Forum Global Meeting 2018, Paris, France 14-16 November 2018, where Diversity but also Climate Change, STEM, clean energy, health and other important matters, very much relevant also to space, were addressed and discussed.

Prof. Hermann J Opgenoorth was awarded the Baron Marcel Nicolet medal for his efforts in the international coordination of Space Weather.

ESSC Chair, Dr. Athena Coustenis has been invited to give a talk at the United Nations High Level Forum which is taking place between 13-16 November in Bonn, Germany.

The European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) – the independent expert committee on space sciences of the European Science Foundation (ESF) – welcomes the outcome from the recent ESA Inter-Ministerial Council meeting that took place in Madrid, Spain on 25 October 2018, under the chairmanship of Mr Pedro Duque, Spanish Minister responsible for space.

The ESSC Chair, Dr. Athena Coustenis and the ESSC member, Dr. Alexandr Chouker met the president of the Central American Association for Aeronautics and Space (ACAE), Mr Carlos Enrique Alvarado, to discuss a potential collaboration between ESSC and ACAE.

ESSC and ESF invited to attend the ESA Intermediate Ministerial Meeting in Madrid, Spain on 25 October 2018.

The Chair of the ESSC, Dr. Athena Coustenis, has been appointed as the Chair of ESA’s Human Spaceflight and Exploration Science Advisory Committee (HESAC) – the senior advisory body to ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration.

The European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) has provided its recommendations on the public consultation of the next FP9 programme on a Space Strategy for Europe.