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In the continuity of these activities, the team has pursued its efforts to make science accessible to a wide(r) audience.
On line space aeronomy content
On the main BIRA-IASB website, existing web sections like “About BIRA-IASB”, “Annual Report” and our educational aeronomy pages were thoroughly renewed, restructured and/or supplemented. In addition to those general webpages, the IT web development and communication teams applied a new template to a first series of a large number of subdomain sites, explaining the activities of specific science teams like Tropospheric chemistry studies or Planetary atmospheres studies in order to obtain visual and web technical uniformity.
New digital content has been developed to share scientific advances/actualities in varied and engaging formats. Researchers have been highlighted through interviews, articles and videos, illustrating their work beyond the strictly academic/institutional context.
In practice, the Institute cooperatively realised content from student-made educational interactive aeronomy tools to magazine articles about science projects in the free magazine Science Connection, which is published by the Science Policy Office. In 2023-2024, for example, we published articles on the projects A Touch of Space Weather, Duster, Vamos, and Biosphere.
A few exhibitions travelled outside our borders
Our exhibitions and educational materials have contributed to raising awareness of aeronomy and space sciences among diverse audiences. Whether addressing pupils, students, visitors at events or curious minds online, each initiative has helped strengthen the link between science and society.
Besides our activities in our own country, we are proud that in 2023, the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Madrid hosted the “RoadMap to Mars” expo, that was previously showcased at Astropolis in Oostende. Moreover, visitors appreciated the “Shine through Mars” exhibition in Edinburgh as well. The year 2024 was also an opportunity to celebrate our institute's 60th anniversary.
Welcoming all, from Royal Dignitaries to Aspiring Scholars
The team has also ensured the visibility of important institutional moments, such as the royal visit in 2024 of His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium, which represented a strong recognition of the significance of our mission. And thanks to our collaboration with ESA and several Belgian partners, students from all over the world were able to fly their own experiments to the edge of space during the12th and 13th editions of ASGARD@Space Pole project.
Communicating science is above all about sparking interest, conveying the excitement of research, and fostering dialogue with citizens. This ambition will continue to guide our actions in the years to come.
