The British space community is coming to Leicester for a major conference

Added by Love Business East Midlands | June 26, 2024

Almost 200 leading space experts arrived in Leicester last week to take part in the 2024 British Planetary Science Conference.

The high profile event covered a range of space community interests including meteorites, future space missions, the results of the James Webb Space Telescope and the recent OSIRIS Rex asteroid return mission and was held at the University of Leicester’s Science and Innovation Park, worth £100 million. , Space Park Leicester and the National Space Centre.

Other highlights of the fourth biennial conference included world-class speakers on the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer, new missions to explore Venus and Mars, a wide range of poster and oral presentations, a workshop on how to develop new space instruments and tours of the laboratories at Space Park Leicester.

Professor of Planetary Science John Bridges, from the University of Leicester and Space Park Leicester, said:

“This was the biggest UK planetary science conference to date and the biggest event we have ever organized at Space Park Leicester.

“The workshop on developing new tools for space exploration was a huge success and there were lots of opportunities for participants to learn about new ways of bringing ideas into space and benefit from the expertise of Space Park Leicester engineers.

“It was incredible to hear so many world-class speakers sharing their expertise on topics such as new Venus science, the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, ancient Mars, the 30-year chase to discover the infrared auroras of Uranus, information about the Winchcombe meteorite , Jupiter. jet streams and fall images of Saturn.

“The wealth of knowledge and advice on offer at the conference was extraordinary and further strengthened the vibrancy of our innovative British space community.”

Pierre Etienne-Martin, PhD student, School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, was among the participants at this year’s conference.

He said:

“The posters and presentations covered a wide range of planetary sciences, from chondrite mineralogy to the unknown surface of Venus, which stimulated engaging discussions and valuable networking opportunities.

“Exploring the National Space Center after the sessions was also a lot of fun.”

Fellow participant Madeleine Stentiford, an MA student at the University of Leicester, said:

“I thought the experience was fantastic – a great introduction to planetary conferences and conferences in general.”

Dr Jenifer Millard, Managing Editor at Fifth Star Labs, added:

“I attended BPSC2024 not as a planetary scientist, but as an astronomer and science communicator, hoping to be inspired and learn beyond my area of ​​expertise.

“I’m delighted to say that I was not disappointed with the event that Space Park Leicester put on. It was a fantastic few days of learning in a wonderful, encouraging and most importantly safe environment.”

The conference was supported by the UK Space Agency, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Europlanet Society and the Royal Astronomical Society.

For more information about Space Park Leicester visit https://www.space-park.co.uk/ or to find out about the University of Leicester visit https://le.ac.uk/about

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