Sunday 24 July 2022
Καλημέρα (Kalimera)!
It’s time to thank the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for a smooth, welcoming Assembly, it was good to be back in-person after 4 years to hear the latest scientific findings & meet the people behind the research! We need virtual components, of course, to extend access to those who can’t travel, to reduce our carbon footprint & to watch sessions after the Assembly over the coming year, but it’s difficult to replace the chance encounters that happen at an in-person Assembly like COSPAR.
And a big ευχαριστώ (efaristo – thank you) also to the AFEA team (shown here with Manolis Georgoulis, Chair of the LOC) who made everything work with a smile 🙂 . Kudos for the instant availability of all the helpers and the solid technical support in all the session rooms. (Feedback was also very positive on the snacks & drinks at coffee breaks) Many of us are sure to come back to Athens purely for pleasure!
The last event of the 44th COSPAR Scientific Assembly was this morning’s Council meeting. This is where the representatives of National Scientific Institution Members & International Scientific Union Members of COSPAR, the Scientific Commission Chairs, the Chair of the Finance Committee & the COSPAR President get to vote on a variety of matters such as financial contributions, budgets, general “housekeeping” & nominations.
And the big announcement (drumroll) is the site of the 46th Scientific Assembly: #COSPAR2026 will be held in Florence, Italy!
But we hope to see you well before that, as next year we’ll have the COSPAR Symposium in Singapore, for Space Science with Small Satellites, & #COSPAR2024 will be in Busan, South Korea. Keep your eyes open for the next issue of Space Research Today & COSPAR News, our e-newsletter: we’ll be announcing the next Capacity Building Workshops that have been on hold due to Covid.
Ok, we realise that not everyone had time to fill in their Associate form & put it in the box, but you can still send us your contact details via the COSPAR website. And if you have any photos or comments that you’d like to share, we’ll do our best to include them.
