Plymouth welcomes prestigious space agencies

The University of Plymouth is hosting a special civic reception to welcome senior personnel from the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA this weekend. The agencies' annual summit, as well as an exciting week-long exhibition featuring Bridget - the ExoMars Rover - will also take place at the University. The reception, on Sunday 28 June, will see the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Purcell, and the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Kenneth Foster, welcome Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, and Professor David Southwood, ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, whose home city is Plymouth. Both men will be accompanied by approximately ten colleagues. Other distinguished guests include Plymouth MP Linda Gilroy, recently announced Assistant Minister for the South West, who is also speaking at the event. On the same evening, the focus will turn to Bridget, when the Space and Exploration exhibition is opened at the University; the exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from Monday 29 June until Thursday 2 July, giving the community the opportunity to see Bridget in action as well as view other exhibits, including the murals of the Mars Express 3D landscape and ESA's Science and Robotic Exploration that provides a stunning image of the universe. The University, which already has close links with ESA and NASA through its experts' collaboration with the space agencies on projects including robotics and error-correcting codes, is also providing the inspirational setting for the ESA and NASA annual Bilateral Science Summit that takes place from Monday 29 June until Wednesday 1 July.