NETHERLANDS GUIDE

Barbara Hoppel, director of Space Expo.
We need more ‘space’
TEXT: MICHIEL STOL | PHOTOS: SPACE EXPO
Space is all around us, and not just
literally, either; over the past decades,
we have been relying more on space
than ever before, to help us with
communication, mobility and tackling
problems like climate change. At
Space Expo in Noordwijk, the official
visitor centre for ESA ESTEC, you can
learn all about space. “But we need
more space,” says Barbara Hoppel,
director of Space Expo.
ESTEC is the European Space Research
and Technology Centre of the European
space agency ESA. Here in Noordwijk,
roughly 2,800 people work in the technical
heart of ESA. As space and spaceflight
continues to expand with the possibility
of more manned flights and even
commercial space flights, Space Expo
is looking towards its own expansion.
Hoppel: “Each year, over 100,000 people
visit us. They love our museum, but we
want to give them more. We want them
to experience more space and technology.
That is why, in 2020, there will be an
overhaul of the museum. We might want
our visitors to even go on their own ‘mission’.
As for the long term, we want to go
a step further, even. Space Expo should
become an experience centre full of
knowledge, information and education.”
The Soyuz capsule of André Kuipers
Since its opening in 1990, Space Expo
has been displaying a highly interesting
space exhibition. The interactive museum
has a lot to offer for all ages. Children
are in an exciting environment, there
are many interactive places and almost
everything can be touched. The older the
children are, the more information they
will pick up. “They even get their own astronaut
diploma afterwards.” Grown-ups
will enjoy the museum as well. The main
exhibition shows all that has to do with
space travel, satellites and technology.
“One of the main features is the Soyuz
TMA-03M spacecraft that brought Dutch
astronaut André Kuipers to the International
Space Station (ISS) and back.
Kuipers has been to space twice.”
Apollo and the moon landing
This year is the 50th anniversary of the
first moon landing. To commemorate
that, Space Expo has an exhibition dedicated
to this event. “That moment was
of such importance. So, we are delighted
that we have and can show original
56 | Issue 71 | November 2019