Minister Sherlock Officially Launches European Space Expo at Trinity College Dublin
Posted on: 06 June 2013
The Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock launched the European Space Expo, at Trinity College Dublin this week.
Having visited over twelve European cities during the past year, the travelling space exhibition has now set down in Trinity’s Front Square for the week where visitors of all ages will be able to experience the wonders of space through interactive exhibits and learn how space science can benefit us all.
Speaking to the students of local schools at the opening of the European Space Expo, Minister Sherlock highlighted “the ability of space to inspire the next generation to study science and technology subjects. If we are to meet the rising demand for suitably qualified scientists and engineers to work in Europe’s growing space industry, more students must be encouraged and facilitated to study these subjects. They can then take advantage of the many rewarding career opportunities that exist in all aspects of the global space economy.”
Dean of Research, Professor Vinny Cahill, welcomed the European Space Expo to Trinity: “We are delighted to host this exciting space exhibition. It is a celebration of innovation and exploration that will inspire and stimulate all age groups. It also provides Ireland with a wonderful platform to showcase some of its own exciting research in space.”
Words of welcome were also sent by Commander Hadfield to the Space Expo at Trinity.
Hosted by Trinity’s School of Physics, each day a series of short Soap-Box Talks will be given by talented scientists from all over Ireland. A team of dedicated mediators will take visitors on a fun-filled tour of the dome and answer all of your questions. At lunchtime every day Sun@One will take place – a chance to remotely control a world-famous telescope on the Canary Islands and take pictures of the sun.
“‘Are we alone in the universe? Did a comet wipe out the dinosaurs? Will the Sun burn out?’ These are the kinds of questions that astrophysicists grapple with on a daily basis, and Ireland’s involvement with the European Space Agency (ESA) enables Irish researchers to be at the cutting edge of modern space science and astrophysics,” commented Professor Peter Gallagher, a solar physicist at TCD and organiser of the Space Expo event at Trinity.
“A really exciting and challenging new mission that we are involved in, is ESA’s Solar Orbiter,” continued Professor Peter Gallagher, “the mission will be launched in 2017 and spend nearly three years flying past Venus and Mercury until it gets closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft. Once there, it will take the best images of the Sun that we’ll ever have seen? the Sun in super HD ? allowing us to understand the origins of solar activity and how the Sun affects us at Earth.”
6th class pupils of Assumption Primary School, Walkinstown, view the exhibits
Researchers in Trinity and Irish universities are also working closely with Irish space companies, such as Skytek based in Dublin. Together TCD and Skytek are developing new software techniques to deal with the complex data that we receive from ESA spacecraft, such as Solar Orbiter. where ‘Big Science meets Big Data,’ according to Professor Gallagher.
The dome will be in Front Square and open to the public with free admission for the week-long events.
European Space Expo and its arrival to Dublin has been funded by the European Commission. The initiative has also received local funding from Science Foundation Ireland.
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