GMV in World Space Week 2023

The United Nations General Assembly framed the celebration of World Space Week to commemorate two important dates: 4 October 1957, when Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was launched, and 10 October 1967, when the treaty on the principles governing the activities of States in the exploration and use of outer space came into force.

World Space Week, held from October 4 to 10 each year, seeks to highlight the contributions of science and, in particular, space technologies to humanity, while encouraging the inspiration and interest of new generations in different areas of the space sector. The 2023 edition has been developed under the theme "Space and Entrepreneurship".

On the occasion of World Space Week and as a key company within the sector GMV and its professionals have carried out various space promotion and dissemination activities, contributing to the aim of this annual initiative.

Several of our GMV colleagues took part in the organization and were present as speakers at the "2nd Children's Space Congress", organized on 4 October by the Madrid local group of the association WIA-E (Women in Aerospace Europe). The event took place at the Adolfo Suárez cultural center in Tres Cantos and was attended by around 800 6th grade students from different schools in the municipality, who were able to learn from our colleagues about different space-related topics such as technological developments to combat space debris, or how the Copernicus Earth observation satellites contribute to the sustainability of the planet.

Other members of GMV also took part in various space-related forums and meetings. GMV was represented in the First Meeting with Speakers of Tres Cantos organized by the science outreach association "Ciencia con Tres enCantos". This event discussed topics related to outer space, its exploration and usefulness; artificial intelligence and its impact on society; climate emergency and energy management. The company also took part in SPACECON 23, the University Space Congress organized by the Cosmos Aerospace Association, highlighting the work of mission analysis in the context of space missions in which GMV participates, especially in the area of earth observation.

As part of World Space Week GMV also organized together with the Madrid Press Association (Asociación de la Prensa de Madrid) an interesting conference for journalists on space communication, presenting GMV's activity in the space sector, the challenge posed by space traffic and space junk, everything space has to offer and the treatment of space-related topics in the media. Teresa Guerrero, journalist of the newspaper El Mundo specializing in the area of science and the environment, also contributed her views.

GMV also supported and collaborated in the Madrid edition of NASA's International Space Apps 2023 challenge, the biggest STEM hackathon in the world, whose theme revolved around the slogan "Explore Open Science Together". This initiative is promoted by NASA and supported by 9 space agencies around the world, including ESA. GMV's Deputy General Manager of Space Systems EST, Miguel Ángel Molina, was in charge of closing Madrid's hackathon with an inspiring talk with the aim of encouraging scientific and technological vocations. He was also a member of the jury that selected the two winning teams who, as well as winning a cash prize, entered the next stage with the local winning teams of the over 320 cities where the hackathon was held. The ultimate goal is to be among the ten teams selected by NASA experts for the solutions proposed to the challenges based this year on the theme "Explore Open Science Together" and travel to the Kennedy Sapace Center in Cape Canaveral (USA).