Portsmouth Stargazing Live 2020 pulled some surprises last month with a slightly different perspective to previous years… 

This annual event held at Portsmouth’s History Dockyard was first launched to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists to learn more about space, the solar system and interplanetary exploration – and has dazzled audiences every year since 2013.  

At the 2020 event satellites were featured for the first time through ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions (ESA BASS), who talked about how we use space in our everyday lives. In fact, for the first time at this science exploration event, a conversation was started about looking down at the Earth rather than looking up into Space.

Satellites take centre stage  
Space offers many opportunities and solutions to improve our everyday lives. Satellite navigation systems provide accurate location data for moving or fixed assets, enabling users to get from A to B, but also to share their location or access location-based mobility services. Satellite communication networks allow us to transmit breaking news around the world in seconds. Earth observation satellites can forecast the weather, monitor crop health and inform us about major environmental hazards and events. 

Over 1600 attendees of all ages came to Stargazing Live to learn about space and space science!

Tom Greenwood and Victoria Christmas , ESA BASS UK Regional Ambassadors talked about the uses of satellites, and what would happen if they stopped working. They also played a game with participants, which proved by far the most popular attraction on the ESA table, called #WhereOnEarth? 

Six images taken from satellites of major global cities were on display for space enthusiasts of all ages to guess the location. Successful answers got ESA prizes and goodies (alien friend anyone?) 

Can you guess the six cities? 

On top of the fun taking place in the interactive exhibition, there were public lectures later on in the auditorium. One of the highlights was Tom Greenwood’s ‘Bringing Space Down to Earth’ where the audience discovered different satellite technologies, their uses and types of orbit. Starting furthest away from the Earth, Tom explained the concepts of Geostationary orbits, Medium-Earth orbits and Low-Earth orbits, and which satellites operate in each, and why. 

A super enthusiastic audience were quick to start asking questions, including:

 “What happens to satellites when they stop working?”

“How many new satellites will there be?”

“How big is a satellite?” 

Black holes, Big Bangs and billion-year journeys
Some of the other lectures explored the lives of stars, formation of supermassive black holes and the Big Bang, taking the audience through a 14 billion-year journey. 

The Portsmouth Stargazing Live event was a stellar success, and for the first time, thanks to ESA BASS, satellites were a focal part of the event. 

At ESA BASS we are always looking for new audiences to talk to about the opportunities available to society from space, and how we can bring space down to Earth. 
If you would like to talk to your Regional Ambassador about future opportunities like this then please get in contact here 

Genius 100 Foundation and the European Space Agency (ESA) Business Applications have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to support the development of innovative services that leverage space technologies and data to deliver social impact to unserved communities.

ESA and Genius 100 Foundation will work together under the new MoI to enable communities around the world to be liveable and resilient, and to thrive.  

The MoI will support the incubation, development and piloting of innovative applications that make use of space technology, such as Earth observation and satellite communications and navigation, to deliver socio-economic impact to unserved user communities.

ESA has previously collaborated with Genius in the fields of education and uplifting rural communities. Now, in this renewed partnership, Genius will act as a catalyst by: gathering demand from user communities and stakeholders; liaising with end-user communities to assess the conditions for exploration of future applications; and helping to federate and establish the demand ecosystem. This will ensure any applications developed under the MoI can be exploited in a sustainable way. 

The applications will focus in particular on: education, health and sanitation, art and science for social impact, the circular economy and natural resource management.

“This agreement will create opportunities for companies based in ESA member states to showcase the potential for space-based applications to address highly societal impactful issues through viable business models,” says Magali Vaissiere, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications.

“The collaboration with the European Space Agency fits and contributes to the vision we have for our foundation,” explains Julie Toskan, CEO of Genius 100 Foundation . “This supports our ecosystem of purpose-driven initiatives, strengthening and establishing new ways to enhance social impacts from an economic, technological and ethical point of view.” 

As the first step in this cooperation, Genius and ESA plan to set up initiatives to address improvements in remote health provision and communities in the second half of 2020. 

About Genius 100 Foundation

Genius 100 Foundation, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is an active and engaged community of 100 exceptionally imaginative and impactful people, including scientists, artists, philanthropists, innovators and other paragons of excellence in their own disciplines. What unites them is two qualities: they are both great thinkers and greater doers. 

About ESA and ESA BASS

The European Space Agency is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an international organisation with 22 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions focusses on the commercial exploitation of space assets, data and capabilities by addressing technical feasibility and business development. This includes the development of operational services for a wide range of users through the combination of different systems, and support for existing businesses and the creation of viable new companies.