Visit Europe’s biggest "Space Place" at the ESA-ESTEC Open Day! In 2019 we celebrate 50 years since Neil Armstrong first landed on the moon!

About the ESA-ESTEC Open Day

Europe’s largest space centre is right near The Hague! It is not one of the most widely visited establishments in the Netherlands, but on the ESA-ESTEC Open Day the doors will open up for all those who long to see its workings.

What is there to explore?

Meet astronauts and space experts and tour key facilities with special exhibitions. Feast your eyes on objects that have actually been to space and stay up to date on big current developments in space travel. Visit the centre to talk to mission experts, see how they simulate space on the ground, and discover the knowledge and technologies brought back to Earth from space.

Special astronaut guests

Each year, there are special VIP astronaut guests giving talks. In previous years, the speakers have included:

• Michael Foale (UK)
• Dumitru Prunariu (Romania)
• Ulf Merbold (Germany)
• Ernst Messerschmid (Germany)
• Dirk Frimout (Belgium)
• Jean-Jacques Favier (France)
• Claudie Haigneré (France)
• André Kuipers (Netherlands)

About ESA-ESTEC

ESA stands for European Space Agency. ESTEC is a large building complex that's easily reachable from Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Leiden. ESTEC is full of laboratories and testing facilities to prepare satellites for their voyages. Comet hunter Rosetta was developed right in this very test centre.

Register to secure your place at the open day

Register for free on the Space Expo website to secure your place at the European Space Centre open day.

Popular open days in the Netherlands in autumn

Other popular open days in the Netherlands in autumn include The Hague International Open Day and European Heritage Days | Open Monumentendag.

Thumb image: ESA–G. Porter