European leaders will reaffirm plans to launch Europe on a world-leading trajectory during a high-level space summit being held on 16 February in Toulouse, France. Join us for live coverage on ESA Web TV, starting at 12:45 CET.

Urgent action is needed to tackle the unprecedented societal, economic and security challenges faced by Europe – from the climate crisis and its consequences to threats to crucial infrastructure in space and on Earth.

Space has enormous untapped potential to help tackle these challenges and future crises, while simultaneously creating jobs and boosting innovation in the European space industry – and it is vital for Europe to catch up with other space-faring nations such as the US and China.

The space summit seeks to identify how best to proceed.

Our live coverage from Toulouse includes the following sessions:

12:45 CET – Lunchtime speech: The future of human exploration – Luca Parmitano, ESA Astronaut, and Helen Huby, CEO of The Exploration Company
13:45 CET – Lunchtime speech: Climate change – Benoit Deper, CEO AerospaceLab
14:30 CET – Address by the French President Emmanuel Macron
15:15 CET – ESA Council Meeting – opening by Bruno Le Maire, French Minister for the Economy, Finance and the Recovery and a presentation by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher
17:30 CET – Press Conference and media Q&A

Note: Start times are approximate and may change.

Source : ESA