State Secretary Martina Hirayama at the European Space Conference

The 14th European Space Conference from 25 to 26 January 2022 focused on the theme 'A New Era for European Space: Turning Vision into Action'. It was organised by key European space actors from politics, the public sector, science and industry. At the conference, Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education Research and Innovation, offered Switzerland's point of view as a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA) and mentioned the contribution Swiss academic and research institutions as well as industry have made and intend to make in the future to the success of promising European space ventures. These days space-based applications are essential for everyday life: weather forecasts, navigation instruments, global climate and environmental monitoring, disaster and crisis management and, in particular, global communications would not be possible without space infrastructure. Satellite data and applications are increasingly used in Switzerland, too - in science, navigation, telecommunications, earth observation and natural disaster prevention and control. Switzerland participates in institutional space activities in particular as a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) and through participation in its programmes. This ensures it access to acquisitions, data and services.