ESTEC Open Day

Registration is now open for the 11th annual ESA Open Day at ESTEC, open to all visitors. ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, will be open from 10:00 to 17:00 on Sunday 2 October, giving visitors a chance to meet astronauts, space scientists and engineers and learn all about the work carried out at Europe’s largest space establishment.

To attend the ESA Open Day at ESTEC for all visitors on Sunday 2 October, please register for a ticket here.

Visitors can register groups of up to four people with one ticket. Because we are obliged to limit the total number of visitors, to ensure a great experience for all who do attend, we urge you to book early to avoid disappointment.

Among the highlights of this year’s ESA Open Day at ESTEC will be talks by German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, recently returned from the International Space Station, and Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers, who twice served aboard the ISS.

ESA’s Human Resources and Education teams will present information on the Agency’s work in education and how to forge a career in the space sector, while the NL Space tent will present the cutting-edge work being done by Netherlands space companies and institutions, with a focus this year on five years of Tropomi in space – the Dutch-made atmospheric monitoring instrument flown aboard Copernicus Sentinel-5P.

The ESA Open Day at ESTEC is taking place as part of the Dutch Science Weekend, Weekend van de Wetenschap, and the conclusion of The Space Week, eight days of activities throughout the Netherlands’ space region, powered by the NL Space Campus and ESTEC’s neighbouring city Leiden, European City of Science 2022.

ESTEC’s visitor centre Space Expo is hosting a day-long space festival to mark the end of The Space Week, co-organised by the NL Space Campus and Space Rocks, celebrating space exploration and the art, music and culture it inspires. ESA Open Day at ESTEC visitors will have free entry to Space Expo and the space festival at the end of their tour.

ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is ESA’s technical centre, and the single largest Agency establishment. In operation for well over half a century, this is where new ESA missions are born and novel technologies are investigated. Completed space missions are also evaluated here ahead of flight, in Europe’s largest satellite testing facility.

The theme of this year’s ESA Open Day at ESTEC is ‘Accelerating Space’. At a time when space technology – from advanced materials and satellite navigation to high-resolution pollution monitoring and weather ‘nowcasting’ – is more and more a part of our daily lives, and ahead of the Agency’s Ministerial Council in November which will set ESA’s future course, the focus is on the work being done to enhance Europe’s role in space, by accelerating the pace of space innovation and commercialising services and technologies.

Parking will not be available on site, so visitors are strongly advised to use public transport to reach ESTEC on Sunday 2 October, check the https://9292.nl/ website for advice.

And remember, the only way to gain access to ESTEC on the day is to register here in advance! We look forward to seeing you.