Space Rocks: The event for art and science returns in September 2019
The award-winning event returns to the indigo at The O2 in London for more space exploration and musical entertainment
The award-winning Space Rocks returns to the indigo at The O2 for its second year on the 21 September 2019. The all-day festival celebrating space exploration is presented in association with the European Space Agency (ESA). It will once again be hosted by renowned science broadcaster Dallas Campbell, who will be introducing the star-studded group of influential and intelligent people from the worlds of space exploration, art, music and film to discuss and marvel at the wonderful world of space.
Tickets are available now by clicking here.
Space Rocks’ inaugural bash saw it winning Event Of The Year at the Prog Music Awards and was also nominated by the British Interplanetary Society for a Sir Arthur Clarke award – both hugely prestigious honours. 2019 is an incredibly important year in exploration; everyone can be excited by the events of the past and the future. Space Rocks will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first-ever Moon landing, Apollo 11, as well as looking onward to humans’ return to the Moon, a first-time human visit to Mars and what is beyond the Solar System. The panel will also contemplate what space science can do in tackling the problems on Earth, such as the climate crisis.
Space Rocks is an event that will last all day long and consists of three separate sessions. These sessions will feature lively talks and presentations for kids of all ages in the Space Academy, thought-provoking debate in Space Lab and conclude with Space Rocks Live – a very special live gig of cosmic proportions, with further details to be announced nearer the time.
A returning cast member from 2018, Tim Peake, is back to share his unique experiences in space exploration with the crowd. In 2015 Tim became the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station, where he spent six months. Upon his return he inspired a whole new generation of potential space engineers and explorers. However, there are also new names added to the panel for 2019, ready to bring their engrossing knowledge and intriguing insights to the event.
Suzie Imber was the winner of the BBC2’s Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? and is associate professor of planetary science at the University of Leicester. She has held posts at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and is currently involved in instrument design and science operations for ESA’s current BepiColombo mission to Mercury.
Kate Underhill is a rocket propulsion engineer at the ESA. An expert in both physics and space engineering, Kate’s work focuses on liquid propulsion and getting rockets off the ground and into orbit. In high demand, Kate has previously worked for Arianespace, as well as the French space agency CNES.
Alexander Milas, Twin V Ltd. director and Space Rocks co-founder, says: “The response to our first event last year really blew our minds. There’s never been a more exciting time for space exploration, or greater speculation as to what the next 50 years may bring. With Space Rocks, we’re giving space fans and the sci-curious a front-row seat to it all with an event that’ll bring a unique mix of art, music and science under one roof.”
Mark McCaughrean, co-founder of Space Rocks and senior science advisor for science and exploration at ESA, says: “As we wonder at the marvels of the universe and take our first steps out into it, we’re also prompted to look inwards and ask ourselves where we fit in the vast spans of time and space, and what the destiny of our species might be. Space exploration is a profoundly human endeavour, tensioning our hopes against our fears, our far-reaching dreams against practical realities, our survival against the odds. Space Rocks brings together people from music, film, fiction, art, science and engineering to examine the outer limits of what we humans have discovered so far and what may come next.”
Space Rocks takes place at the indigo at The O2 in London on Saturday 21 September 2019. Book your tickets now! For updates follow Space Rocks on Twitter and Facebook