Minister Bruins at MOONSHOTS ’24

On Wednesday, October 2, the Minister of Education, Culture, and Science, Eppo Bruins, will attend the final of NL MOONSHOTS ’24, a large-scale project in which students from vocational schools (mbo), universities of applied sciences (hbo), and universities pitch their innovative ideas for the future of space exploration to astronauts. The event will take place at mbo Rijnland in Leiden, as well as at eight other locations across the Netherlands.

Moonshots

During this special event, three student teams will present their so-called ‘moonshots’ – groundbreaking proposals with applications both in space and on Earth – to astronauts Pedro Duque and Julie Payette.

The project was established by the Dutch Space Office (NSO), with funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, and the final is part of the XXXV Planetary Congress of the Association of Space Explorers, which is being held in the Netherlands this year.

Moonshots, which began nine months ago, demonstrates, according to the organizers, that space exploration is not exclusively for scientists. The students’ initiatives focus on various fields, including engineering, ICT, water management, and logistics.

This week marks the conclusion of MOONSHOTS ’24, but also the launch of the campaign ‘Space for Talent,’ a multi-year initiative that encourages young talent from all educational levels to engage with the space sector.