Astronaut Paolo Nespoli in Dublin for Science Week

jfSDAS

hi all,

I just received this notice from the Irish ESERO node.

ESERO Ireland invites you to meet European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli who recently spent six months on board the International Space Station (ISS) and while there took the iconic photographs of the last Shuttle mission to the ISS. While on board the ISS Paolo conducted more than 30 experiments, not only for European scientists, but also for the US, Japanese and Canadian space agencies.

His educational programme included two main activities: the international ‘Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut’ initiative built around health, well-being and nutrition, and ‘Greenhouse in Space’, a greenhouse to grow plants and observe the life cycle of a flowering plant, while schoolchildren use a similar greenhouse and the same species of plant on the ground.

Paolo also made films with ESA’s novel 3D camera to show the Space Station in a new way.

Book tickets for this FREE event at http://astronautscienceweek2012-es2.eventbrite.ie/?rank=1&ebtv=C

Hope the moderators don't mind me creating this as a separate thread -- I kind of felt some people might miss the announcement if it was just listed in the "Upcoming Events" thread.

John

12april1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2P8xR7JqZ4&feature=related

jfSDAS

hi everyone,

Hope you had a good weekend.

Thanks for all the interest shown in Paolo's talk ... it is now sold out unfortunately. However, I suspect it may be recorded and made available on the Science Week web site at some stage. Keynote speakers have had their lectures posted up to the site in previous years.

See you there!

John

12april1981

Thanks for posting John,really looking forward to Saturday.

A note about the video I posted there,the Astronaut at the begining is Paolo,and of course the Astronaut on the EVA is Dan Tani.In a very sad
coincidence Dans Mother died during that mission just a few weeks into his long duration flight.Last year Paolo got to fly again,this time he got to fly a long duration mission just like Dan and a few weeks into his mission his Mother also passed.
On a happier note,when Paolo was training for that mission in Russia he met and married his wife Alexandra who worked in Mission Control and they now have a baby Daughter.

jfSDAS

Really enjoyed that clip and it was fantastic when Dan did that outreach with Blackrock Castle Observatory. My nephew is all excited he is going to meet an astronaut, as is my neighbour's kid, who also has a ticket.

12april1981

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Ireland taken by Paolo from the International Space Station last year on his second spaceflight

jfSDAS

Nice pic! It shows there are still lots of dark sites in Ireland.

Someone giving a talk at Dunsink the other night mentioned they once put up a light pollution map of Ireland when speaking to school children. On seeing the swathe of dark sky in the northwest, one of the kids piped up, "My granny has electric lights in Leitrim." ;-)