In June 2018, 34 participants representing 12 countries gathered in Geneva gathered for the two-day pre-conference workshop "Space for Life" . Organised by the Ecsite Space Group and the European Space Agency – ESA, this was an opportunity to work with peers around the theme of engaging audiences with the question "Is there Life out there?". A hands-on session with the group’s upcoming resource, the board game “Alive!", complemented various exchanges with ESA representatives and peers.

The workshop also took participants outside of Geneva for an exciting visit to two facilities of the Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva: the Observatory at Sauverny and the Écogia site, host of the INTEGRAL Science Data Centre, helped attendees build a strong link with the Swiss space science research and science engagement community.

The Space Group also convened a topical conference session linking Space and the Sustainable Development Goals. Three panelists each took different angles in highlighting the link and endeavoured to reflect on how science centres and museums present could enhance their work on sustainability and the SDGs with insights from space and space technology applications.

The Space Group community will come together in person once more this year: the dates and location of the Ecsite Space Group’s Annual Meeting will be announced in the coming weeks. Be sure not to miss the annoucement by tunning in to our website and subscribe to the bi-monthly Space Group newsletter.