20 years of KUBIK celebration | April 16-17
We can still remember the day on 19 April 2004 when the ‘Delta’ mission began; André Kuipers’ first flight to the International Space Station ISS. ESA had developed the KUBIK biological incubator especially for this mission, for conducting biological experiments in space. Two KUBIKs went into space with André.
In the years that followed, KUBIK became one of the most successful devices on the ISS. Small, flexible, reusable and (certainly by space standards) exceptionally cheap, KUBIK has proven itself in conducting almost 60 (!) biological experiments in space. Since 2004, 7 new KUBIKs have been launched to the ISS and in the past 20 years, there has hardly been a day without KUBIK on the ISS.
On 16 and 17 April, this milestone will be celebrated in a festive symposium at ESTEC in Noordwijk. In addition to scientists and technologists who have worked directly with KUBIK, a number of astronauts who have worked with KUBIK will also be present. Among them André Kuipers himself, who will open the symposium.
Various presentations will discuss the results achieved in the past, but also the role that KUBIK (or the ‘KUBIK philosophy’) can play in the future of space research on the moon or Mars. On the evening of the 16th, there will be a festive dinner at a nice location in Noordwijk.
Preliminary program
Wednesday April 16
08:00 – 08:30 – Reception
08:30 – 16:40 – Welcome speech, keynote presentations by André Kuipers and Samantha Cristoforetti, presentations on ‘Science’ and ‘Historical Development’, ‘Experience and perspective’ sessions, and a speed dating session
18:30 – 23:00 – Dinner, Strand Paviljoen de Zeemeeuw (optional, recommended!)
Thursday April 17
09:00 – 15:30 – Welcome speech, presentations on ‘Science’, ‘ESA LEO Platforms and Perspective & Commercial Aspects’, ‘ESA Moon (Gateway) and Mars Perspective’, workshop on ‘Future ESA & Commercial Project’ and a speed dating session
15:30 – 16:00 – Closing
Especially for NVR members we have at least 30 tickets can be reserved, for which registration is on a first come, first served basis. As an NVR member, you may bring a maximum of 1 guest. You are also invited to the informal dinner on Thursday evening, with live music and a visit from André Kuipers for only €30 per person! Would you like to attend? Then register quickly:
Registration
Participation in the symposium is free of charge (lunch included). You can register as an NVR member via this link.
If you would also like to attend the festive dinner on 16 April at the Strandpaviljoen De Zeemeeuw in Noordwijk, which we highly recommend, you can also register for this via the registration form.
Would you like to bring a guest?
If you want to visit the symposium together with (max 1) guest, you must register separately for this person. However, if you only want to bring a guest to the dinner, you can purchase an extra dinner ticket within your own registration.
After registration you will receive a registration confirmation and, closer to the symposium, the final information about the event, directly from the ESA Conference Bureau.