Cologne/Vienna 26 March 2020
Letter Agreement between ASE-Europe and Space Generation Advisory Council signed
Today the Association of Space Explorers – Europe, the European chapter of the global association representing over three quarters of the human individuals who have already orbited Earth in a spacecraft, and the Space Generation Advisory Council, the UN-based network organisation for young space professionals, signed a Letter Agreement to put their mutual relations and support on a sound basis.
Astronauts, besides their orbital experience and professional performance represent role models to STEM and space-oriented youth willing to follow in their footsteps. The members of the Association of Space Explorers interact with and motivate these future space professionals during their annual congresses, reunions, and invited astronaut lectures. The extraordinary group of young space enthusiasts networking in the Space Generation Advisory Council framework form the natural forum for these astronauts’ messages.
The Letter Agreement, signed by the SGAC Executive director, Clementine Decoopman, and the President of ASE-Europe, European cosmonaut Reinhold Ewald, formulates the interaction between the two organisations. The support from ASE-Europe will consist of financial donations enabling the attendance of SGAC members to workshops, congresses, and events targeted for young emerging space leaders. SGAC will present a selection of suitable candidates to ASE-Europe for decision and will manage the organisational aspects of the process. Funds for the support come from the astronaut-donated ISS Crew Fund, held in escrow by ASE-Europe and intended to foster the peaceful space cooperation between East and West, North and South just like demonstrated on board of the ISS.
A next generation of space professionals will carry the well-proven blueprint of peaceful international space cooperation on board ISS beyond Earth orbit into soon–to–be –established planetary and interplanetary waystations for exploration.
