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More than 40 teachers from all over Europe who had been selected to attend ESA’s annual Summer Teacher conference, gathered at ESTEC in Holland to participate in an intensive programme of lectures, hands-on sessions and keynotes from ESA astronauts and engineers. Chris Carr and Anu Ojha from the National Space Academy led masterclass sessions focused on the search for life on Mars and ESA’s Rosetta mission to rendezvous with – and land on – the nucleus of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Participants also met ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang, who spoke about his experiences in orbit. “I am convinced that what we do in space is extremely inspiring for young people,” he noted. The topics presented and associated materials were suitable for classes ranging from upper primary up to first-year university.

The educators, who came from 12 ESA Member States, also learned where to find and how to apply ESA online resources in their daily teaching. The workshop gave them the ability to cover sophisticated fundamental principles using very simple equipment and widely accessible resources.

To read more about the 2012 ESA Summer Teacher Conference, go here . For further information contact teachers@esa.int.