05.05.2023

European conference: Ready for the Moon

The conference, organised in cooperation with the Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria, will take stock of the findings and recommendations from the recent final report of the High Level Advisory Group (HLAG) on the future of human and robotic space exploration for Europe to discuss its implications and way forward.

credits:

Date: Friday 2 June 2023, 14:00 – 17:00 CEST
Venue: Vienna, Palais Ferstel

Invited by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and the Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria, distinguished representatives from space and non-space stakeholders will be discussing the geo-political, economic and societal potential of future role of Europe in space exploration endeavours. The aim of the conference is to open the debate in Europe following the release of the HLAG Report.

Sessions were livestreamed on ESA WebTV and replays are available on the ESA website.

Programme

Conference

Master of Ceremony: Chiara Moenter – Accelerator Communications Officer, European Space Agency

14:00 Opening Speeches

Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery
Leonore Gewessler, Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation & Technology

14:15 Setting the Scene

Josef Aschbacher – Director General, European Space Agency

14:30 Round Tables

“The international importance of space exploration for Europe”

Moderator:
Kai-Uwe Schrogl – Special Advisor for Political Affairs, European Space Agency

Panelists:
Therese Niss – Member of Parliament, HLAG member and EISC Chair
Paul Bate – CEO, UK Space Agency
Hamza Hameed – Chair, Space Generation Advisory Council
Xavier Pasco – Director, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique

“Economic importance of space exploration for Europe”

Moderator:
Marie Deschamps – Space exploration officer, European Space Agency

Panelists:
Mariana Mazzucato – UCL Professor and HLAG Member
Michal Brichta – Director, Slovak Space Office – Industry Branch
Dieter Grebner – Executive Committee President, Austrospace
Hermann Ludwig Moeller – Director, European Space Policy Institute

“Societal importance of space exploration for Europe”

Moderator:
Margit Mischkulnig – Space Affairs, Head of Dept., BMK

Panelists:
Tomas Rozek – Journalist and HLAG Member
Philippe Baptiste – President, CNES
Ana Noronha – Director, Ciencia Viva/ESERO PT
Stefan Selke – Professor for Societal Change, Uni. Furthwangen

16:00 Concluding roundtable “The way forward for Europe”

Moderator:
Klaus Pseiner – Managing Director, FFG

Panelist:
Barbara Imhof – Managing Director, Liquifer
Renato Krpoun – Head, Swiss Space Office, Incoming Chair ESA Council
Julien-Alexandre Lamamy – Vice-President, Euro2Moon
Walther Pelzer – Head, German Space Agency, Chair of the ESA Council Working Group in preparation of the Council at Ministerial level

16:30 Concluding remarks

H.E. Karl Nehammer – Federal Chancellor of Austria

Press Conference

17:15 – 17:45 Press Conference

Further enquiries

Please contact Piero[.]Messina @ esa[.]int

Image credit: Francois Schuiten