Newsletter #2 | September 2021
Dear Φ-lab community,
this edition of our newsletter is all about ESA Φ-week 2021, a free-to-attend virtual event to be held on 11–15 October 2021. Φ-week is ESA’s iconic event on innovation in Earth observation, and this year’s proceedings will take place with a combination of online attendees and speakers in person at ESRIN. Each year Φ-week addresses a central theme, and the 2021 event is focused on the New Space Economy, chosen to emphasise the recent ESA Agenda 2025 priority of boosting the commercialisation of space activities through faster innovation, new players and a more dynamic ESA.
The Φ-week programme reflects the New Space Economy focus throughout the week. Key speakers will take the stage to highlight the role of market pull and transformative technology, explore how different market and technology domains are coming together to create something completely new in both business and science, and discuss how Europe and ESA are strategically developing the New Space industry.
Most importantly, this event will be about you, our Earth observation community. We want to nourish and delve into your spirit of entrepreneurship and understand your role, both in shaping the future of Earth observation and in helping European space companies become world leaders. To support these aims, Φ-week 2021 will host around 30 side events organised directly by our community, 110 scientific e-posters and 30 e-exhibition booths.
Check out our Φ-week and Φ-lab websites and remember you can register for the event free of charge. By signing up for what is undoubtedly the Earth observation event of the year, you can be sure not to miss the latest insights from our influential set of speakers.
The Φ-week Organising Committee
