In June 2017, 33 participants representing 10 different countries gathered for the two-day pre-conference workshop “Space for Life – Develop and share resources” held in Porto, Portugal, as part of the 2017 edition of the Ecsite Annual Conference. Organised by the Ecsite Space Group and the European Space Agency – ESA, this was an opportunity to have fruitful exchanges, work together and share know-how, with the aim to improve and extend communication about space.

During two intense days, participants received space news from ESA, national space industries and fellow science engagement professionals, learned about available and upcoming Space Group resources, and shared their own space-related projects with peers. The three topics addressed were the International Space Station, extra-terrestrial life, and the monitoring of the ocean and atmosphere from space, in line with the three pilot projects developed by the Space Group.

The Space Group also convened the conference session "Is there life out there?" Held on the 15th of June, the session addressed the topic of extra-terrestrial life. Daniel Folha from the Porto Planetarium gave an overview of how astronomy and astrophysics help to shed light on the title question, while Fiorella Coliolo, Jose Antonio Gordillo, and Marc Moutin reflected on how science communicators can make the most of this fascinating topic. The session was chaired by Rob van den Berg, Director at Space Expo, The Netherlands.

Consult the reports available below and visit the Space Group album to find out more about these events.