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ESA
ASTRONAUT VISITS IRELAND
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| The visit to
Northern Ireland by ESA Astronaut Dr Andre
Kuipers proved to be very memorable for all
involved! |
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| Over two days,
Dr Kuipers met school children, journalists,
the Lord Mayors of Belfast and Lisburn, members
of local government, industry and education,
and the general public. The presentations
given by Dr Kuipers were the best we have
ever heard about spaceflight and living in
Space. His talks provided a very detailed
account of astronaut training, the launch
experience, living in Space and the technology
needed to make all of this possible. His passion
and enthusiasm for Space Exploration was evident
and the audiences were captivated by his easy
conversational style and the stunning images
that supported his presentations. He thoroughly
enjoyed the events and spent nearly as much
time after the presentations meeting people
and signing autographs as he did on the talks
themselves. As an example of his enthusiasm,
the talk at Stranmillis College for the Irish
Astronomical Association lasted for two and
a half hours. He actually wanted to continue
but the building was closing for the evening! |
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| Over 2,000 school children from all over
Northern Ireland attended astronaut presentations
in St Patrick's High School, Lisburn and the
Royal Belfast Academical Institution. These
talks were aimed at 11-16 year olds, aimed
at showing them the relevance of scientific
and technological learning in society and
post-primary education. |
| These events are mutually beneficial
for all the organisations involved (ESA, Planetarium,
Action Renewables) as they highlighted how
space exploration and astronomy is relevant
to European society and how the people of
this country (through their taxes!) directly
contribute to the exploration of the cosmos. |
| Armagh Planetarium intends to
strengthen its links with ESA over the coming
years and we look forward to inviting more
of our European colleagues to Northern Ireland
to tell you about their adventures in Space.
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ARMAGH
PLANETARIUM, COLLEGE HILL, ARMAGH, BT61
9DB TEL: 028 3752 3689
© 2003 ARMAGH PLANETARIUM
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