Space Resources Week Returns with Hybrid 6th Edition

The Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) has confirmed that the sixth edition of Space Resources Week is taking place as a three-day hybrid event from Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 March 2024.

Since its inauguration in 2018, Space Resources Week has become a reference event for the space resources community. For the 2024 edition, hosted at the European Convention Center Luxembourg as well as online, the event will bring together space agencies, thought leaders, scientists and business visionaries in a multidisciplinary forum. The aim is to strengthen the foundation on which the field of space resources is built, align the scientific and commercial needs and capabilities, and collectively develop a sustainable space resources architecture for the future.

The event is organised by the Luxembourg-based European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) together with the LSA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Luxembourg Institute of Science & Technology (LIST). For the sixth edition, 520 people have registered to join in person, while 600 more are set to follow the event online. A total of 105 speakers will take to the stage and 52 posters will be presented.

"Space Resource Utilisation is a dynamic, vibrant and truly multidisciplinary field, bringing together scientists, engineers, legal experts and established entrepreneurs with a common goal: to enable the sustainable exploration of space. Space Resources Week is a wonderful opportunity for Luxembourg to bring together the community, to facilitate discussion and to once again be the focal point for the community," said Kathryn Hadler, Director of ESRIC. "I am immensely proud that ESRIC, together with its partners, LSA, LIST and ESA, is able to host such an important event in the annual calendar. This year we are particularly pleased to be also hosting the UN Expert Meeting in parallel to Space Resources Week."

Among the speakers are Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESRIC Director Kathryn Hadler, as well as Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA, Aarti Holla-Maini, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Matthias Maurer, ESA Astronaut and Materials Scientist.

"In-Situ Resource Utilisation is a critical capability for Europe's journey towards greener and more sustainable space exploration. As exploration efforts accelerate, ESA plans to take a leading role in advancing related research and development and supporting European industry in securing a position on the emerging value chain of Space Resources-enabled services and applications," emphasises Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration.

With the move to the European Convention Center in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, the audience will be able to discover the work of partner organisations and agencies, such as Gradel, Catapult, Astrostrom, Algoryx, OffWorld, Polimak, Ispace, Sira Space, the UK Space Agency, EURO2MOON and the University of Luxembourg's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) department.

According to the organisers, the multidisciplinary forum of Space Resources Week would be incomplete without a focus on commercial activities and business. At the end of the first day of the event, Lari Cujko, Start-up Support Programme Lead at ESRIC, will announce the details of the fifth thematic call of the ESRIC Start-up Support Programme (SSP). He will also reveal the ventures starting their pre-incubation journey in April 2024, in the context of the fourth round of the programme.

Taking into account the importance of fostering exchanges that can sustain the future lunar economy, Space Resources Week will also mark the opportunity to celebrate, on the second day, the partnership between the ESRIC and OffWorld Europe as well as, on the third day, the future collaboration with the Bocconi Space Economy Evolution Lab, with the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs).

Further information about Space Resources Week 2024 is available online at https://www.spaceresourcesweek.lu/.

UNOOSA Expert Meeting

In parallel to the Space Resources Week, Luxembourg and Belgium will be co-hosting the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Expert Meeting on Tuesday 26 March 2024, as part of COPUOS Legal Subcommittee's Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities.

This prestigious gathering is organised by the LSA in collaboration with Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, BELSPO and the UNOOSA. The expert meeting will gather more than 120 participants, including more than 85 people present in person, who will also have the opportunity to attend the Space Resources Week in order to connect and exchange informally with the community.