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INDUSTRY SPACE DAYS 2022, ESA ESTEC, Wed Sept 28th

INDUSTRY SPACE DAYS 2022, ESA ESTEC, Wed Sept 28th
Today I attended @europeanspaceagency Industry Space Day at ESTEC, The Netherlands. It was my first day back at ESTEC since the pandemic and it was so lovely to return, it’s always had a special place in my heart.
I also got to hang out with some of my fellow #ESAChampions @charlotte_pouwels @jan.spratek & @hanshuybrighs. We had a meet & greet with our ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, discussing outreach and space communication insights and how we can collectively continue to promote ESA in our work.
After lunacy I hung out in the Exhibition Hall & caught up with Irish companies REALTRA & LIOS.
Shoot out to the awesome Ruth McAvinia for doing a fantastic job as host of all the sessions taking place in the Conference Hall. Go Ruthie!!
More tomorrow!! Thanks ESA for an awesome Day 1
#earth #palebluedot #esachampion #estec #esa #noordwijk #stemeducation #scicomm #space #outreach #dreambig

It’s lovely to be back at @europeanspaceagency E

It’s lovely to be back at @europeanspaceagency ESTEC on Noordwijk. First time back since COVID lockdown days!
I’m here in my capacity as part of their #esachampions at the Industry Space Days 2022 event. Lovely to finally meet @jan.spratek @hanshuybrighs & re-connect with fellow alum @charlotte_pouwels
#earth #palebluedot #estec #esa #thenetherlands

I’m smiling cos FINALLY it’s a good hair day!!

I’m smiling cos FINALLY it’s a good hair day!!
After a summer of crazy dry matty full-on frizz head, the curls have re-emerged in the cooler, wetter climate- one of the blessings of the beckoning winter!!
Amirite, my fellow curly mops?
Welcome Autumn! 🍁🍂
#earth #palebluedot #autumn #winter #curls #goodhairday #tuesday #noordwijk #ireland

EPSC PLANETARY SCIENCE CONGRESS I love my job! B

EPSC PLANETARY SCIENCE CONGRESS
I love my job! Blessed to have a career sharing science and space stories and meeting fascinatingly curious people who are passionate about their research and STEM careers.
Credit: Vix Southgate, Comms for @europlanetmedia
#earth #palebluedot #epsc2022 #thursday

Spending the week in Granada Spain. Today was a wa

Spending the week in Granada Spain. Today was a walk down memory lane, visiting some of the old spots from last summer during the Space Studies programme.

SUNDAY SEPT 18th: INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER FROM HARSHITH

SUNDAY SEPT 18th: INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER FROM HARSHITHA!!
This is @harshithachavan a new member of my incredible support team who are helping me roll out a ton of workshops and activities in the weeks ahead during @worldspaceweek and @week.of.science.
While I’m in Granada to host a Daily Briefings session of the @europlanetmedia Science Congress, she is covering things for me at @iacparis2021 in Paris.
If you’re at IAC, say ‘hi’ to Harshitha, get a selfie and we’ll post it on our ‘Space family wall of fame’!
Check out her IG takeovers all this week, and our livestream sessions to discuss the various science research and space industry announcements from both conferences.
It’s going to be a great week of #space!!
I can’t post about Harshitha without also giving thanks to my amazing support from @greendigo for over a year now. Thank you my dear, dear friend 🙏🏻
#earth #palebluedot #sunday #iacparis2022 #epsc22 #space #dreambig #spaceinsociety

SOFIA Flight Thursday Sept 8th, NASA Armstrong Fli

SOFIA Flight Thursday Sept 8th, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Centre, Palmdale California
I went to New Zealand to capture the last deployment of this terrific science research project, SOFIA, a NASA/DLR programme to gather infra red data of our universe using the telescope onboard and a series of 6 discrete instruments. The programme ends on Sept 30th and I wanted to highlight and understand more about this science programme before it was over.
I spoke with researchers, team leads, pilots, ground operations crew while in New Zealand about the amazing work achieved by SOFIA over the years. The German agency DSI who manage the science operations for the German space agency were especially interested in an ESA Champion in Education getting to learn more about the mission and were especially supportive of my efforts to capture this great SOFIA story.
Then, after @nasaartemis launches were scrubbed, I flew up to California to pursue my seat on a special educators flight. I spent a few days at the hangar, getting another tour of the plane, meeting the team and watching SOFIA take off a few days before my own flight.
I’ll be writing more about my experiences in the weeks ahead, and sharing my experiences with schools & families for Space week & Science week.
It took a bit of time to pull this trip together but I would like to thank DLR, DSI, USRA and NASA for their enthusiasm and support for me to share their story, the outreach departments of each of these organisations, David for encouraging me to chase up the right people for the opportunity, Bernhard & Dörte for arranging the flight and to all the German educators (and Antje our chaperone) for a really special night on one of SOFIA’s last flights.
SOFIA, the "Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy" is a joint project of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR) & NASA. Scientific operation for Germany is coordinated by the German SOFIA-Institute (DSI) and in the USA by USRA.
IMAGE 1 credit:Florian Behrens DSI 2022
The other images are my own (David took the other picture of me).
#earth #palebluedot #sofia #nasa #germanspaceagency #astronomy #space #dreambig #education

ESA CHAMPION IN EDUCATION ADVENTURES: A night fli

ESA CHAMPION IN EDUCATION ADVENTURES:
A night flight with a telescope, the FORCAST instrument, scientists, pilots & 8 other German educators. This was my @sofiatelescope experience, thank you again @sofiaatdsi
Check out a reel about the flight: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiTOmFnuNct/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
#earth #palebluedot #stemeducation #california #newzealand

FRIDAY SEPT 9th, Palmdale California Last night I

FRIDAY SEPT 9th, Palmdale California
Last night I got to fly on SOFIA science mission plane, with an infra red telescope on board. For 10 hours we flew across the US and gathers data about the moon, spiral galaxies and young stellar objects. I spent the evening with 8 other educators from Germany and a young radar operator David from JPL.
I have lots to tell you about how it all went during @worldspaceweek and @week.of.science but for now, here’s a quick reel to capture my first impressions.
Wonderful evening, thanks again to @sofiaatdsi & @germanaerospacecenter & @nasa for the opportunity.
#earth #palebluedot #sofia #astronomy #stem #stemeducation

NASA ARTEMIS UPDATE: Sunday Sept 4th. The spacecr

NASA ARTEMIS UPDATE: Sunday Sept 4th.
The spacecraft will soon return to the Vehicle Assembly Building for further analysis and testing. There’s talk of another launch attempt in October, that’s a busy month for me but I’ll do my best to return to cover this important launch to the moon.
I’m exhausted but am so appreciative for the opportunity made possible thanks to ESA and NASA public affairs office who feel that my coverage is just as important as the big news channels.
Thanks to those who wrote to me & for your kind comments and thank yous. I felt very lucky to be at Kennedy the past few days, no matter what the sacrifice.
There were over 800 media joining me at Kennedy Space Centre, sometimes it was overwhelming and I felt completely out of my depth. But there was a shared sense of camaraderie in it all, as we all contributed in our own way to sharing the story of Artemis I first launch attempt.
We all put in crazy hours, ate grilled cheese sandwiches from the food truck at 2am, stood in the rain and the sweltering humid heat outside (& froze in the super-chilling AC temperature setting of the press room), all to capture the story of Artemis I and share it with the world.
I got a flight out from Orlando earlier this morning & have moved on already to the next assignment. I’ll be writing more in the days ahead & sharing interview videos on YouTube.
But I wanted to take a moment to thank those members of the press who shared seats, water, bug spray, food, camera & launch advice, to the throngs of astronauts & experts who stuck around for interviews & to NASA & ESA Public affairs office staff & teams of people who chaperoned us foreign media @nasakennedy !
This was my #ArtemisLaunch experience.

NASA ARTEMIS UPDATE: TUESDAY AUGUST 30th: yesterda

NASA ARTEMIS UPDATE: TUESDAY AUGUST 30th: yesterday morning the launch attempt of Artemis had to be scrubbed. Firstly an issue arose with bleeding engine 3 that required further investigation. Then the weather changed and so, with a tight 2 hour launch window constraining things, it was decided that they go for launch another day. The team will assess more fully the issues that arose yesterday morning with the third engine.
Being there on the ground yesterday morning as the team shared progress on tank filling and cooling temperatures and leaks, you begin to fully appreciate just how complex and sophisticated these rockets are and that all conditions must be perfect to launch. Anything less than perfect cannot be tolerated.
Space is hard and every launch is precarious. Never underestimate how complex these systems are. It’s a massive achievement to even build these huge rockets and to launch successfully takes a massive effort from 100s of specialists who know this rocket intimately.
I can imagine how exhausted the team must have been to get to launch day and hope that they can resolve the issues that emerged yesterday. In one of interviews over the weekend at NASA Kennedy, somebody told me that 90000 people have been involved in getting this rocket & capsule to the Launchpad. I love the ambition of the Artemis mission and wish the teams involved every success for the launch they deserve.
Next window for launch is Fri Sept 2nd between 12.48-2.48pm.
I’m still here in Florida and keen to share that moment with you all.
As they say at Mission Control , ‘Standby

NASA ARTEMIS LAUNCH UPDATE 7.20am T minus 1hr 13m

NASA ARTEMIS LAUNCH UPDATE 7.20am
T minus 1hr 13mins
It’s a stunning morning here.
Some cooling issues being reported but it still looks good to go.
#wearegoing #artemis

Looks like we’re going to the moon today. The bo

Looks like we’re going to the moon today. The booster rockets are being filled as I type & the countdown clock has started here on the lawn at NASA Kennedy, so maybe we’ll have a launch today!
Stay with me all morning for updates. I’m doing regular live stream updates if you’d like to follow progress.
We are going!!
#earth #palebluedot #moon #artemis #nasa #esa #orion #wearegoing #monday

NASA ARTEMIS UPDATE: Sat Aug 27th, T-1 day 10hrs t

NASA ARTEMIS UPDATE: Sat Aug 27th, T-1 day 10hrs to launch.
At @nasa Press site, I got to meet and interview one of my space heroines!
There’s something special about meeting a female astronaut & meeting @astro_jessica today @nasakennedy did not disappoint. Jessica was modest, passionate & insightful about her role as a #WomenInSTEM and taking her time to reflect on the significance of that first all-female spacewalk with @astro_christina in 2019. No wonder she’s been selected to be one of the #artemis astronaut corps. and quite possibly the first woman to walk on the #moon. It was a very special interview for me and thank you again @nasa & @spaceuniversity pal John Connolly for arranging.
#earth #moon #meetyourheroines #artemis1 #saturday #space #love #capecanaveral #wearegoing #womeninaerospace

SPACENEWS: August 24th 2022. T-5 days to @nasaarte

SPACENEWS: August 24th 2022. T-5 days to @nasaartemis launch!
It’s my last day here in Portugal,final presentation time, trying tosupport the 4 teams, been here 14 hrs straight, 1hr left.
Spent Sunday catching up with some Irish friends on holiday here & catching a few hours in the stunning Sintra.
Wishing all #spp22 participants the very best of luck tmrw. Thank you ISU, @taguspark_sa @tecnicotaguspark & @municipiodeoeiras for your hospitality & beautiful memories.
Hitting the airport in 8hrs & bound for @nasakennedy.
WE ARE GOING!!
#wearegoing #earth #moon #palebluedot #portugal #oeiras #spaceinsociety

Back in March, the SLS rocket with Orion capsule a

Back in March, the SLS rocket with Orion capsule assembly headed to Launchpad 39b for its first wet dress rehearsal. Check out this rollout in my story highlight: SLS Rollout.
#earth #wearegoing #moon #artemis

NASA ARTEMIS I Update: The SLS rocket & Orion cap

NASA ARTEMIS I Update:
The SLS rocket & Orion capsule assembly rolls out TONIGHT to prepare for launch.
T-13 days to launch. Join me over the next few weeks from @nasakennedy. It’s going to be EPIC! En route!
#wearegoing @europeanspaceagency @nasa @nasaartemis @nasa_spacelaunchsystem
#earth #palebluedot #moon #europe #artemis #ireland🍀

New Zealand trip- here’s what we got up to when

New Zealand trip- here’s what we got up to when we took a short trip to the North Island- a bit of a work/vacation type thing.
WHAT ARE GLOW WORMS?
Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They GLOW IN THE DARK, and we caught them at the Waitomo cave, a boat ride in total darkness and complete silence (they can get freaked out by sound and stop luminescence). A magical experience that felt like we were looking at the night sky (except the stars were a bright green). A very special experience indeed.
MITAI MĀORI VILLAGE:
Just outside Rotorua, we visited a traditional Maori village where they gave us a guided bush walk, cultural performances & a ground-cooked meal. It was really great.
ROCKET LAB, Auckland: thanks again to the comms team to allow us have a tour of the facility and allow me write a piece about the AMAZING work happening at their facility and the continuing success of their ELECTRON rocket. More details on this tour soon.
#earth #pakebluedot #spaceinsociety #newzealand

Returning from New Zealand to Strasbourg to cover

Returning from New Zealand to Strasbourg to cover space stories. Here’s my layover at Singapore.

NEW ZEALAND SPACE STORIES: SOFIA is a #space sci

NEW ZEALAND SPACE STORIES: SOFIA is a #space science mission that has been running for over 12years, an airplane that has been observing our Universe with its infra-red telescope onboard and series of 5 instruments. It’s a mission jointly run by NASA and German Space Agency, DLR.
When based at NASA Armstrong in California, the plane flies at night to gather data. But thanks to the mobility of this telescope, it can also travel to other locations.
At least once a year, SOFIA completes deployments to New Zealand and other Southern Hemisphere locations. This region of our night skies are of particular interest to the International science teams involved.
Christchurch has become a big part of the annual schedule for the telescope. All the locals know about SOFIA, they’revery proud that this fascinating airplane and the teams of scientists and engineers spend time stationed at the International Antarctic Centre.
Over the years SOFIA’s unique far infra-red telescope has provided unique data about our cosmos. It is the only telescope observing the skies at this wavelength of light & their data should compliment the near and mid infra-red James Webb Space telescope data very well. All these telescopes creating together a mosaic image revealing the story of our place in the Universe.
Sadly, this NASA/DLR joint mission ends in September, ending 12 years of expertise and skill in operating and utilising this unique mobile space telescope. Today the plane returns to base at NASA Armstrong, California.
I was delighted to spend time with the teams for their very last deployment here at Christchurch. It’s been fascinating getting to know more about the science & engineering of running the telescope out of an airplane.
I made one last visit yesterday to the SOFIA base. It was very quiet, the offices and hangar are now practically empty, everyone’s making their way back home.
Safe travels home SOFIA. See you in California for one final farewell. Thanks to all the SOFIA teams for their support (especially David) and making my job all the easier.
More SOFIA space stories to follow.
Third image below is courtesy of
Bernhard Schulz, German SOFIA Institute, DSI

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