THETIDA partners created this video to drive you through the Living Labs methodology.

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 “If you want to reach out about Science and Space topics outside your community, Art is a wonderful place where to do that.”

Andreas Bauer (Ars Electronica)

On the 26^th of January, the first episode of Eurisy’s Member’s Corner of 2024 has been co-organised with the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and Ars Electronica Centre of Linz.

During the webinar, the speakers explored the powerful synergy between Art and Earth Observation, introducing initiatives at the intersection between the cultural creative sector at large, and space. The partners also provided an extensive overview of the current educational activities in Austria poised to inspire and motivate the young generations into STEAM education.

From FFG, Konstanze Fila, Earth Observation Expert and Head of Summer School Alpbach, together with Thomas Geist, Head of Earth Observation Department and Copernicus contact point introduced the Agency, and its role in strengthening research and innovation primarily in the country.

As part of FFG, the Aeronautics and Space Agency (ALR), has the function of the national space agency, represents Austria on international aerospace fora, including ESA, EUMETSAT, etc. and implements the Austrian Space Application Programme (ASAP), among others.

Today, the growth of the Austrian space ecosystem is guided by the Austrian Space Strategy 2030+, developed by the Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology back in 2021. The The strategy, eloquently titled “People, Climate, Economy: Space is for everyone” it addresses six main domains:

• Sustainable development on Earth, aimed at demonstrating the potential of space technologies and their applications to support the global sustainability, UN 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also sustainability in Space, as the increased use of space on Earth requires a thorough focus also on the space sustainability. Specific attention is thus devoted to space traffic management and collision avoidance, as well as the implementation of UN guidelines for long-term sustainability of Outer Space.
• Competitive Space Sector, another key pillar of the strategy is related to the development of measures to boost the local space value chain creating high-skilled jobs.
• Scientific excellence for Space and Earth exploration. The last three goals, which focus more on the social perspective, are intended to support the universal use of space data and capabilities as an integral part of everyday life.

From the goal Space for all areas of life, an important attention is also given on the Talents and diversity for Space, intended to spark the interest of the younger generation for space and STEM disciplines, and enable a Space dialogue with the population, focusing on the importance to develop a strategy that would lead to a well-informed public on the crucial role space technologies have in the daily lives.

FFG is also the national entity responsible for the management of the ESERO Office Austria. ESERO is the ESA umbrella initiative for the development of science and technology related projects, engaging both students of different grades and level as well as teachers.

ESERO AUSTRIA WEBSITE 

The Climate Detective project allow schools across Europe to identify a climate-related problem and investigate it using satellite images and on-site measurements. Other activities are more focused on technology capacity building like CanSat, where teams are tasked to build a satellite the size of a drinking can, or the AstroPI challenge, where students are given the possibility to run their codes on the ISS.

FFG also presented the Summer School Alpbach, an opportunity for 60 engineering and science students of ESA countries to participate in a ten-day learning experience in the village of Alpbach in the beautiful Austrian Alps.

Participants will be engaged in an in-depth learning experience, attending stimulating lectures on relevant aspects of space science and engineering, and working intensely within four groups to define and design a space mission under the supervision of experts. An exciting opportunity for students to be exposed to a range of space topics, as well as to develop a team-working spirit and to share a unique experience with other young space enthusiasts.

This year’s topic will be Giant Planets and their Moons.

Identified as the first scientific theme in ESA’s new long-term scientific plan (Voyage 2050) for large missions, the moons in the outer Solar System, but also their host gas and ice giant planets are of the highest interest for the understanding of our own planetary system, representing for this reason an exciting and challenging topic for this year’s Summer School.

The application process is now open!

Check out the website to learn about the participation criteria and other relevant information.

With Andreas Bauer, responsible for organizational operations and cooperation with partners and international institutions at Ars Electronica, we explored the Centre’s vision and ambitions for the future, as well as the educational activities it supports.

Founded as a festival in 1979, Ars Electronica, is an Austrian cultural, educational, and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, focused on the interlinkages between art, technology, and society, it hosts today roughly 170.000 visitors per year.

ARS ELECTRONICA DEEP SPACE 8K Exhibition

Ars Electronica presented the exhibition “Beyond the Satellite- CORINNA Copernicus for Research and Innovation in Austria”, an interactive exhibit showcasing the beauty of our planet captured by the images of Copernicus.

Developed by Manuela Gruber, art mediator, exhibition developer, and curator, at Ars Electronica, in collaboration with FFG and the European Commission, the exhibition explores innovative ideas to spark curiosity about space in the general public.

The art installation, designed as a multiscreen setup shows different “data windows” and enables the audience to interact with it.

Showcased for the first time in September 2023 during the Ars Electronica festival, and later at the FFG Forum in Vienna, and at the Big Data from Space 2023: BIDS Conference in Vienna.

“The plan was to show the beauty of satellites in a public space […] People don’t know about the aesthetics of satellite imagery: the question was- how can we combine showing the beauty of aesthetics and provide also information?”

 Manuela Gruber

The main ambition is to bring the exhibit into new public spaces, from railways stations to airports, to connect even more people with EO and space.

An example of the cultural initiatives let by ARS Electronica, is KOMETOR.

Originally developed by Manfred and Billa Hebenstreit back in 2010, KOMETOR is a walk-in sculpture made of pentagons hosting exhibitions, events, and an 8m high Sky Dome, build to catapult visitors into an art cosmos of colours and sounds.

Manuela Gruber has been also the curator of “Theme Cosmos – New Worlds” an experience accompanying visitors into a journey from micro to macro cosmos, discovering nature of the universe from different perspectives.

The project showcases microscopic imagery of common objects and create an aesthetics path, juxtaposing macro images of the Cosmos from ESA satellites and telescopes. The similarities are designed to explicit universal interconnections.

Andreas Bauer also presented an example of the education activities supported, and showcased how teachers can engage with their students using EO and satellites. The example was an experiment based on an exposure procedure which uses an ultraviolet sensitive liquid to recreate images on paper using a negative copy of a satellite image.

“At Ars Electronica we believe you have to take a different approach in order to attract a new target which is outside of your group zone.”

Andreas Bauer.

This Member’s Corner aimed to showcase how visual arts and innovative educational activities can unlock the mysteries of data and make complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging for diverse audiences.

As stated by Andreas Bauer, “Art not only educates, but also sparks curiosity, inviting individuals to delve deeper into the variety of topics that Earth Observation can contribute to.”

The multidisciplinary aspect of Space was in the spotlight, emphasizing how this domain, which might look like the realm of scientists from the outside, is inherently present in so many other disciplines and realities. From this viewpoint, the creative sector was presented as a powerful domain where innovative interconnections between Art and Space can be developed, which could be the key to a change in perspectives, helping people understand the importance of Space in their daily lives.

Stay tuned for the next webinar of the Eurisy Members’ Corner!

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At the time, planes could patrol isolated across the sea for hundreds of miles, equipped with traditional navigation systems (maps and a compass) and radio frequencies to guide them back. On their way back from a mission, the American pilots of the B-24 Liberator were unaware that Seville used a frequency very close to the one of their Squadron, which was eventually picked by the aircraft. As a result, the crew of the B-bomber ended up flying towards the Iberian Peninsula instead of the location they were meant to reach in Morocco. Due to bad weather, turbulence and poor visibility, the crew attempted a beach landing and crashed instead into the sea. When the landing gear struck the waves, the aircraft overturned and broke apart, killing five of the eleven crew members. The survivors were found and rescued by three fishermen, Jaime Nunes, Manuel Nunes and José Mascarenhas. Despite the difficult conditions, the 5-meter fishing boat and its seafarers made it to the shore…

Click here to discover more about the B-24 Liberator and the THETIDA project!

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The session was chaired and organised with the support of Stefano Ferretti from ESA and Jolanda Patruno from the RHEA Group. The audience nurtured an intense discussion on the capacity of satellite images to serve as a means to deliver educational, political and social messages, while influencing arts and our relationship with the environment.

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In the weeks before the official Kick-off of the Hackathon, excitement was mounting as registrants started to join the online dedicated workspace. From the start, the event promised to be very diverse and multidisciplinary. Participants with different backgrounds ranging from students, entrepreneurs, start-ups, coders, researchers, scientists, and Earth observation specialists shared their passion about space and the development of innovative applications.

Although the audience was not able to brainstorm and exchange their ideas face to face, and no Irish beers were shared at the end of the competition, the online event allowed for the digital participation of professionals that might not have been able to travel to Cork. Moreover, the virtual Hackathon attracted a very international audience, giving participants from across Europe the opportunity to be involved in the preservation of Irish heritage.

Four challenges were presented to the participants, who were asked to come up with innovative ideas based on the use of Copernicus and Galileo data to safeguard Irish cultural and natural heritage, to monitor the effects of costal changes on cultural heritage, and to respond to the threats of COVID-19 (a challenge that the European Commission fostered for all Copernicus Hackathons implemented during these difficult times).

The team with the best idea presented a solution for Heritage Surveillance and Monitoring using advanced remote sensing techniques to detect ground deformation and to monitor subsidence at archaeological sites, monuments and historic urban centres, and relying on algorithms to detect different types of surface changes caused by erosion, floods, vegetation or human actions. Their presentation, together with the presentations of all teams that were awarded a prize is available here.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) of the Republic of Ireland, consulted by Eurisy prior to the Hackathon, proposed the challenge on monitoring the effects of costal changes on cultural heritage. The OPW also offered part of the prize awarded to the team with the best idea on this topic. The OPW showed its commitment and interest in finding a suitable solution for this critical issue by taking the time, before and during the hackathon, to mentor participants on how climate change threatens cultural sites and popular tourist destinations along the Irish coastline, with negative impacts on the economy of local communities.

To give an example, in 2019 the heavy storms hitting the West coast of Ireland caused the Dunbeg Fort in Dingle, a promontory fort built in the Iron Age, to partially collapse. The team with the best idea on this topic presented a solution called MAYA (Monitoring Coastal Erosion Anywhere), relying on Sentinel-2 data to study the effects of coastal erosion on sites situated around the Irish coast, using Dunbeg Fort as a case study.

In the end, a total of nine teams pitched their projects online to the jury and the other participants. Apart from the team tackling the COVID-19 challenge, all other teams decided to address the challenges related to monitoring the effects of coastal changes and to safeguarding Irish cultural heritage. This underlines the potential for Copernicus to effectively contribute to preserve Cultural Heritage in Europe and around the world. It also indicates that cultural heritage matters to the young European professionals working with Earth Observation data.

Indeed, the effects of climate change and human activities on cultural heritage have been widely acknowledged. Yet, heritage managers have little cost-effective tools to efficiently monitor the threats to cultural heritage and to hence target their adaptation measures. The Hackathon has set an important wave of ideas and projects in motion that could meet these pressing needs.

To find out more about the hackathon, please visit the event website. The recording of the Pitching and Awarding Day is also accessible here.

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Aimed at both private and public stakeholders, these can facilitate the integration of satellite based applications (Earth Observation, satnav, satcom), as well as other types of technology to manage cultural heritage sites and more.

A detailed look at the calls can be found in Ms Virginia Puzzolo, Head of Space Project Management Sector at the EU’s Research Executive Agency’s presentation here. Here are our top 8 picks!

SPACE-01-EO-2018-2020: The call aims at fostering the development of products that use Copernicus data to create user-centric operational services that will be useful in a number of fields, ranging from environmental protection to land management, infrastructure monitoring and management of cultural heritage.

LC-SPACE-04-EO-2019: Aims to support research activities to foster cross-cutting applications of Earth observation data between sectors ranging from energy to agriculture, health, cultural heritage, and ecosystem preservation, among others.

LC-SPACE-05-EO-2019: The call is directed towards putting together a gap analysis to prepare future activities for Copernicus data. The call challenges the scientific community to map the requirements (type of measurements, geophysical parameters acquired, resolution in space and time, data uncertainty and quality, timeliness, etc.) for in situ data and compare it to the existing observation system to find gaps. It also invites bidders to propose IT solutions to harmonise the acquisition and harmonisation of in-situ data and to better integrate it with Copernicus data.

LC-SPACE-06-EO-2019: Challenges bidders to enhance international cooperation for the shared use of Copernicus data through jointly developed algorithms, services and/or products which could serve local public authorities. Participants are encouraged to use the Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) cloud storage, or other existing data access solutions.

DT-SPACE-09-BIZ-2019: Space Hubs aims to specifically support stakeholders that can organise initiatives at local level for start-ups, scale-ups and entrepreneurs to use and commercialise Copernicus and Galileo based products (but not exclusively).

Under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme Part “Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials”, the call SC5-20-2019 is now open for applications! Proposals should include actions to re-activate and re-generate historic urban areas and/or cultural landscapes. They should foster innovation by relevant start-ups, cultural and creative industries, including from the digital technologies sector, small scale advanced manufacturing producers and local ‘makers’, craft workshops, etc. for adaptive re-use and leverage of heritage assets and social integration.

Under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme Part “Europe in a changing world – Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies”, the call DT-TRANSFORMATIONS-11-2019: Collaborative approaches to cultural heritage for social cohesion aims at making cultural experiences more accessible and inclusive.

Proposals should develop strategies for fostering collaborative and participative approaches to cultural encounters via communication channels such as social media platforms, participatory approaches, art and co-designed activities. Proposals should consider both tangible and intangible heritage, researching new applications and tools that allow for a more inclusive approach such as digital tagging of objects or co-authoring of societal and place-based memories.

Bidders to the DT-TRANSFORMATIONS-16-2019 call should propose actions to develop a platform to achieve a common understanding of the requirements for the quality of restoration and also of all other interventions in the historical environment and cultural heritage sites at European level.  Consortia should include partners belonging to research communities, heritage professionals, public and private actors and policy makers at local, regional, national and international levels concerned with the impact assessment and quality of interventions on historical and cultural heritage.

Don’t know where to start? Have a look at a list of “Tips&Tricks” on how to write a high-quality and successful proposal“, presented by Ms Virginia Puzzolo, Head of Space Project Management Sector, Research Executive Agency of the European Commission during our “Space4Culture” event.

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