Topic 6
Artemis: Fortifying our outpost in space
2 October, 2024 at 15:00 - 17:00
Egmont Palace, Brussels
Recently, with the growth of NewSpace, we see interest from the private sector in space exploration and returning to the Moon. This has led to a new approach which is covered under the Artemis Accords with amongst others the inclusion of 14 commercial Starship flights.
A large number of countries have signed the Accords (at present 42 countries, including Belgium), with the short-term aim to have humans returning to the Moon by 2026. These efforts will ultimately lead to the human presence on Mars based upon the Artemis experience gained.
Speakers & Presentations
Jean-François Mayence
Senior Legal Advisor - BELSPO
Frank Preud'homme
Sales and Business Development Director and a Board Member -Redwire
Silvana Miranda
PhD Student - SCK CEN | Radiation Biology, Immunology, Space Researcher
René Oosterlinck
Professor of Space Law - University of Ghent
Belgium to the Moon? Between Reality, Law and Ethics
IBDM: Connecting Europe to the Moon
Moondust Matters: Exploring the Health Implications of Lunar Dust Exposure for Astronauts
Some legal and philosophical thoughts on the exploration and exploitation of lunar
resources
Speakers
Belgium to the Moon? Between Reality, Law and Ethics
Jean-François Mayence
Senior Legal Advisor - BELSPO
Jean François holds a Master in Law and a Special Master in Air and Sea Law from the Free University of Brussels (ULB). He has served as a legal advisor with BELSPO since January 1, 1999. He is a member of the Belgian Delegation in several international organizations and fora, among which ESA and UNCOPUOS. He is also the representative and contact point of Belgium for the Artemis Accords. Jean François is the author of the text of the Belgian space law (2005) and the co-author of the Belgian Antarctic law (2017).
IBDM: Connecting Europe to the Moon
Frank Preud'homme
Sales and Business Development Director and a Board Member - Redwire
Frank Preud'homme holds a Master's in Engineering and has been active in the space sector for almost 35 years. He has experience in project management and has held several management positions at Redwire. Currently, he is the Sales and Business Development Director and a board member, with additional responsibilities for communications, external relations, and strategy. He was in charge of setting up and creating a new space company in Belgium, Redu. Frank has been part of different advisory groups for exploration and space technical infrastructure and he has supported numerous outreach, educational, and inspirational events.
He is a member of the board of the Vlaamse Ruimtevaartindustrie, Belgospace, and FLAG.
Moondust Matters: Exploring the Health Implications of Lunar Dust Exposure for Astronauts
Silvana Miranda
PhD Student - SCK CEN | Radiation Biology, Immunology, Space Researcher
PhD candidate in Space Immunology, currently working at the Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK CEN) in collaboration with the Faculty of Biosciences and Engineering at Ghent University.
Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms induced by radiation, with a special interest in Space Biology, aiming to improve the health and safety of astronauts on long-duration missions.
Some legal and philosophical thoughts on the exploration and exploitation of lunar resources
René Oosterlinck
Professor of Space Law - University of Ghent
Degree in Engineering – University of Leuven, Degree in Law – University of Leiden, Teaching qualification in Public Economics – University of Leiden. Former Director of the Galileo programme and navigation related activities at the European Space Agency, Professor of Space Law UGent.
Chairs
Walter Peeters
Prof. Walter Peeters is the President-Emeritus of the International Space University (ISU), Strasbourg, France. In his career he initially covered management positions in the construction and petrochemical industries, joining in 1983 the European Space Agency (ESA) where he became a.o. Head of the Coordination Office of the European Astronaut Center in Cologne.
He joined ISU in 2000 as professor in Space Business and Management, nominated Dean in 2005 and became President in 2011, then President Emeritus since 2018.
He advises government organizations on space activities and creation of national space agencies. He is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics and is member of the editorial board of several space journals.
He obtained degrees in engineering and applied economics (Catholic University of Louvain), an MBA (Louvain, Cornell University) and a Ph.D. in Engineering (TU Delft, Aerospace Faculty). He authored over 90 articles on space commercialization and NewSpace Economy, the book Space Marketing (Kluwer, 2000) and an IAA Report on Suborbital Spaceflight (IAA, 2014).
His present focus is on NewSpace research and entrepreneurship amongst others leading a space incubator at ISU and supporting space start-ups.
For detailed information see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Peeters
Vladimir Pletser
Vladimir Pletser is currently Director of Space Training Operations at Blue Abyss, a company based in UK and the US, proposing a new approach for astronaut training.
He was previously (2016-18) Visiting Professor – Scientific Adviser at the Technology and Engineering Centre for Space Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, supporting microgravity research for parabolic flights and the Chinese Tiangong Station; and Senior Physicist – Engineer (1985-16) at the European Space Research and Technology Centre of ESA, developing scientific instruments for microgravity research in fluid physics, crystallisation of proteins and zeolites and neurophysiology on Spacelab and ISS.
Responsible of the ESA aircraft parabolic flight programme, he logged 7389 parabolas, totalling more than 39h 30m of weightlessness, equivalent to 26 Earth orbits, and 53 and 50 minutes at Mars and Moon g’s, during which he participated in several hundred experiments. He holds a world record for the number of airplanes (14) on which he flew parabolas.
Astronaut Candidate for Belgium since 1991, he was Payload Specialist candidate for several Spacelab missions, spending several months in training at NASA-JSC, Houston. He trained NASA and European astronauts during parabolic flights for several Spacelab and ISS missions.
Selected by The Mars Society, a private organisation promoting the human exploration of Mars, he participated in three international Mars mission simulation campaigns in the Arctic (2001), in the Desert of Utah (2002) and as Crew Commander (2009).
He is visiting Professor in 20 universities in Europe, USA, Canada, Africa, Israel, and China. He has more than 800 publications, including 6 books, 18 chapters, 70 articles in refereed journals and 154 articles in international conferences proceedings.
He is member of the International Astronautical Academy and of several other academies and scientific organizations. He holds a Master of Engineering in Mechanics (1979), a Master of Sciences in Geophysics (1980) and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics (1990) from the University of Louvain, Belgium.
