NeurAstra
Space Rendezvous
NeurAstra
Space Rendezvous
Space Rendezvous is NeurAstra’s dedicated page for sharing updates on past and upcoming events, bringing together science, nature, and space enthusiasts through both NeurAstra-organised events and those we participate in worldwide.
La Semaine du Cerveau
La Semaine du Cerveau
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28th Edition
Place: France
Date: 16.03.2026 - 22.03.2026
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
From 16 to 22 March 2026, the Semaine du Cerveau will celebrate its 28th edition. This annual initiative, coordinated by the Société des Neurosciences across France, is part of an international campaign that has taken place each March since 1999.
It now involves around 100 countries and more than 120 towns and cities in France. The programme offers a wide range of activities designed to make neuroscience accessible to everyone. These include lectures, round-table discussions, laboratory visits, hands-on experiments, and interactive formats such as podcasts and livestreams. Each edition highlights recent scientific breakthroughs, invites the public to explore the complexities of the brain, and shows how advances in neuroscience resonate with everyday life and society at large.
The events are aimed at general audiences as well as schools, with special sessions dedicated to pupils and students alongside activities for adults. A number of conferences and discussions are also made available online, extending the reach of the initiative beyond local venues.
The Day of the Map
The Day of the Map
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La République des Cartes
Place: France
Date: 04.02.2026
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
On 4 February 2026, Jour de la Carte will bring together a decentralised, international movement dedicated to unveiling the democratic potential of maps and transforming how we relate to our territories. Across France and around the world, citizens, collectives, institutions and cultural organisations will synchronise activities — from participatory mapping workshops to curated exhibitions, performances and bespoke local actions — all spotlighting the power and politics of cartography.
Whether you’re part of a neighbourhood group, a cultural centre, a school, a research institution or a business, you can join in by hosting an “Atelier : Les cartes qu’il nous faut”, building a map-based exhibition from open collections, or imagining your own map-centred event. Materials and facilitation kits are made available to participants, enabling you to organise a meaningful action tailored to your community.
Through this collective mobilisation, La République des Cartes aims to make visible what is often invisible: the ways maps shape decision-making, resource access, territory and power. By turning maps into tools of engagement and dialogue, this initiative seeks to empower citizens to reimagine, debate and influence the futures of their regions.
Participation is free and open, and organisers can register their events to join the broader map day network.
Swiss Innovation for Astrophysics and Planetary Science
Swiss Innovation for Astrophysics and Planetary Science
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How to shape the future of astronomical instrumentation
Place: Universal Postal Union, Bern, Switzerland
Date: 20.01.2026 - 22.01.2026
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
Drawing on Switzerland’s leadership in astrophysics and engineering, the event brings together scientists, engineers and industry from across national and international programmes to align research needs and technical solutions for both ground-based and space instrumentation.
Over three days the programme spans big-data, AI and automation; opto-mechanical systems, vacuum & cryogenics, robotics; and photonics, sensing and detectors. This gathering marks a pivotal moment for the Swiss exo-planetary community, strengthening the bridge between scientific challenge and engineering innovation.
Neurophysiological Bases of Human Movement 2025
Neurophysiological Bases of Human Movement 2025
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Current Aspects of Human Motor Neurophysiology
Place: King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
Date: 16.12.2025 - 17.12.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
Taking place on 16 and 17 December 2025 at King’s College London, this advanced meeting explores the intricate neurophysiology of human movement. The programme delves into how motor behaviour illuminates underlying neurophysiological principles and enhances our understanding of movement disorders. It also showcases the latest neurotechnology innovations transforming both basic and clinical research.
A standout feature is the point-counterpoint workshop, where high-impact debates will shape consensus papers envisaged for publication in a Physiological Society journal.
23rd Swiss Geoscience Meeting
Realigning within Planetary Boundaries
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Equity an Sustainability in Resource Exploration
Place: Bern, Switzerland
Date: 05.12.2025 - 06.12.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The 23rd Swiss Geoscience Meeting, combined with the 7th Swiss Geologists Day, will take place on 5–6 December 2025 in Bern, hosted by the University of Bern in collaboration with the Swiss Academy of Sciences and the Swiss Geologists Association.
The gathering opens with workshops—such as GEODES on “How language influences perception” and ASG's “Collective Action for Better Science”—followed by plenary lectures centred on the theme “Realigning within Planetary Boundaries: Equity and Sustainability in Resource Exploration” featuring experts like Anouk Borst, Jakub Ciazela, Jens Leifeld and Viola Beccantini.
On the second day, attendees can engage in 31 scientific symposia spanning all sectors of the geosciences, supported by ~30 exhibitors and networking opportunities, including speed‑interviews with young professionals.
28th AIDAA International Congress & 10th CEAS Aerospace Europe Conference
CEAS‑AIDAA Joint Conference 2025
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Exploring Cutting-Edge Research and Emerging Aerospace Technologies
Place: Turin, Italy
Date: 01.12.2025 - 04.12.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The CEAS‑AIDAA Joint Conference 2025, taking place from 1st to 4th December at the Centro Congressi Lingotto in Turin, Italy, is a major international event uniting the 28th AIDAA International Congress, the 10th CEAS Aerospace Europe Conference, and the 10th Aerospace & Defence Meetings. Organised by the Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIDAA) in collaboration with the Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS), the conference aims to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration across academia, industry, and policy. Featuring thematic sessions, workshops, and the 9th Moon Village Association Symposium, it offers a unique platform to explore cutting-edge research, emerging aerospace technologies, and strategic developments in both aviation and space.
European Mars Conference 2025
European Mars Conference 2025
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Planète Mars
Place: Paris, France
Date: 28.11.2025 - 29.11.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The European Mars Conference 2025 will be hosted at the Sarrailh Centre de Conférence. Organised by the French Mars Society (Association Planète Mars), this two‑day event brings together experts in astrophysics, astronautics, robotics, life‑support, analog mission simulation and space advocacy. Attendees will hear from speakers including Robert Zubrin, and representatives of European Mars Society chapters, on science and exploration, robotic missions and potential human journeys to Mars, with sessions across diverse thematic strands.
Swiss Polar Festival
Swiss Polar Festival
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An Educational Festival on Polar Science and Exploration
Place: Sion, Switzerland
Date: 26.11.2025 - 29.11.2025
Open to: Public / NeurAstra Members
ABOUT THE EVENT
The Swiss Polar Festival (formerly Swiss Polar Class) is an engaging and multifaceted celebration of polar worlds, bringing together science, culture, and community in Sion. Over several days, the festival presents a rich programme of lectures, exhibitions, family workshops, school events, and public talks , all centred on the polar regions, climate change, ice, polar wildlife, human presence at the poles, and related expeditions.
Beginning mid-week with thought-provoking lectures and roundtables, the festival expands into school-oriented activities and culminates in a full day of family-friendly events and experiential exhibitions. It is open to all ages, with many activities free of charge, and seeks to inspire, educate, and spark curiosity about the polar realms and their global significance.
Space4All Community Meeting
Space4All Community Meeting
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The Future of Inclusive Space Exploration
Place: Aerobility, Blackbushe Airport, Camberley, GU17 9LQ, UK / Online
Date: 25.11.2025 (11:30 AM – 5:00 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
Experience a transformative workshop dedicated to shaping the future of inclusive space exploration. Set at the renowned accessible-aviation hub of Aerobility, Blackbushe Airport, alongside a seamless online stream, this event brings together forward-thinking minds from academia, advocacy and the broader community.
Over a full day of talks, discussions and hands-on sessions you will hear from leading scientists on the physiology of extreme environments, explore how accessibility can be built into sport, exercise and space programmes, and participate in collaborative workshops that challenge conventional ideas.
Whether you join in-person or online, the event offers an inspiring opportunity to connect, co-design and advocate for a future where “space is for everyone”.
RAeS Aerospace Medicine Symposium
RAeS Aerospace Medicine Symposium
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2025 Annual Symposium
Place: Royal Aeronautical Society Headquarters, 4 Hamilton Place, London, UK
Date: 24.11.2025 (8:30 AM – 8:00 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The RAeS Aerospace Medicine Group Annual Symposium 2025 will take place on 24 November 2025 at the Royal Aeronautical Society.
This flagship one-day meeting brings together the UK civilian and military aerospace-medicine community for sessions on physiology, case studies, aeromedical extraction, a panel discussion, and the Next-Generation Aerospace Medicine (NGAM) student competition.
Invisible in the Cosmos...
Invisible in the Cosmos...
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and Invisible in Science
Place: Auditorio Santiago Grisolía, Museu de les Ciències, Valencia, Spain
Date: 20.11.2025 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
This event explores themes of invisibility both across the cosmos and within the scientific enterprise. It invites reflection on phenomena that escape detection—from dark matter and unseen cosmic structures to the under-recognised voices and processes within science—as well as how these hidden elements challenge our understanding of reality and knowledge.
The Living in Space - LIS Initiative
The Living in Space - LIS Initiative
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Science and Technology for the Era of LIFE
Place: Online
Date: 13.11.2025 (5:00 PM – 9:00 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The Living-in-Space initiative aspires to chart a future where humans not only visit, but live beyond Earth. Through a mix of interactive workshops, conferences, and multimedia outreach, LIS brings together experts in life-support, space medicine, habitat design, and more to address the challenges of off-world habitation. Their upcoming virtual workshop on 13 November 2025 will feature leading figures from NASA, space policy, and engineering, all sharing insights on topics from artificial gravity to space economics.
Life Conference 2025
LIFE Conference 2025
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Science and Technology for the Era of LIFE
Place: Museu de la Ciència, Barcelona, Spain
Date: 10.11.2025 - 14.11.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
Held at CosmoCaixa (Museu de la Ciència), Barcelona on 10–14 November 2025, this first LIFE-centred meeting brings together scientists and engineers from academia and industry to advance the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE), a European-led, space-based mid-infrared nulling interferometer concept. Themes include precursor science, terrestrial exoplanets and biosignatures, mission design and operations, and enabling technologies such as detectors, photonics, cryogenic optics and formation flying, with synergies to JWST, Roman, Ariel, PLATO, ELTs and HWO.
Open to researchers at all career stages, the conference offers in-person and streamed participation and is free to attend with registration required; abstract submissions close 31 August, with programme details announced in mid-September.
Astronauts of the Future
Astronauts of the Future
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The future through science
Place: Auditorio Santiago Grisolía, Museu de les Ciències, Valencia, Spain
Date: 06.11.2025 (6:30 PM – 8:30 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The event features aerospace engineer and NASA researcher Ana Díaz, Head of the Bioastronautics & Human Performance Laboratory at Texas A&M University.
The talk will explore the evolving role of astronauts in future missions: the technological, physiological and human-factors challenges posed by space travel, advanced mobility systems and spacesuit innovations.
Apéro Science
Apéro Science
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On the Margins of Glaciers: Life to Protect – A Fresh Perspective
Place: Observatoire du Mont-Blanc (CREA), 67 lacets du Belvédère, Chamonix, France
Date: 06.11.2025 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
As glaciers recede, they expose new ground. On these freshly revealed surfaces, mosses, lichens and other pioneering plants begin to take hold, showing how resilient life can be in harsh alpine conditions.
In this talk, ecologist and glacier-margin specialist Brad Carlson will explain how these young ecosystems form, how glacial retreat shapes their development, and what the changes mean for biodiversity and conservation.
Free entry, but registration is required.
Trésors et secrets d’écriture
Trésors et secrets d’écriture
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Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, du Moyen Âge à nos jours
Place: Cité internationale de la langue française - Château de Villers-Cotterêts, Villers-Cotterêts, France
Date: 05.11.2025 - 01.03.2026
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
This exhibition invites visitors on a journey through ten centuries of french literary and linguistic history. Drawing on over 100 exceptional manuscripts, the exhibition spans from medieval texts to modern works, showcasing how the written word has evolved in form, style, use and expression. Parchement and paper, elegant and unruly scripts alike, illustrations, revisions and marginalia all reveal the physicality and individuality of each document.
Highlights include scholarly manuscripts, autograph drafts, intimate journals, and correspondence from celebrated authors such as Mme de Sévigné, George Sand, Simone de Beauvoir, Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo and others. More than a display of texts, the show explores how manuscripts are both vessels of knowledge and living traces of personal, cultural and creative identity, reminding us of the value in handwriting, mistakes, revisions and the quiet spaces between the lines.
COSPAR 2025 Scientific Symposium
COSPAR 2025 Scientific Symposium
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Space Exploration 2025: A Symposium on Humanity’s Challenges and Celestial Solutions
Place: Nicosia, Cyprus
Date: 03.11.2025 - 07.11.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), in collaboration with the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO), is organising the COSPAR 2025 Scientific Symposium from November 3 to 7, 2025, in Nicosia, Cyprus. The symposium, themed "Space Exploration 2025: A Symposium on Humanity’s Challenges and Celestial Solutions," will address pressing global issues such as climate change, resource depletion, and space weather, exploring how space exploration and technology can provide solutions. Discussions will also cover ongoing and planned space programmes, international collaboration, ethical considerations, and the role of emerging nations in space exploration.
Challenging Maps and Exploration Symposium
THE EVENT IS NOW FINISHED
Challenging Maps and Exploration Symposium
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Rethinking Maps, Power and Exploration
Place: Education Centre and Main Hall at Royal Geographical Society, London, United Kingdom / Online
Date: 30.10.2025 (10:30 AM – 5:00 PM)
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
On 30 October 2025, the Royal Geographical Society will host a free, hybrid Challenging Maps and Exploration Symposium in London and online. Across three chaired panels, historians, geographers and explorers examine how maps shape exploration, past and present, through themes of empire, Indigeneity and contemporary practice, with audience Q&A and a lunchtime table-top display in the Foyle Reading Room.
Co-organised with the Sunderland Collection, the day will be recorded and made available online; advance booking is required.
Co-organised with the Sunderland Collection, the day will be recorded and made available online; advance booking is required.
HAPTICA TERRA: Exploring the Tactile Connection Between Humans and Environments
HAPTICA TERRA
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2025 Exploration Grant (Bourse de l’Exploration)
Place: Online
Date: 25.10.2025 - 02.11.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Haptica Terra, a project developed by NeurAstra, has been selected by the Fondation Paul-Émile Victor as one of ten finalists for the 2025 Bourse de l’Exploration.
Established in 2021, the foundation’s Exploration Grant supports bold scientific, artistic and sporting expeditions that reflect Paul-Émile Victor’s humanist values and care for people and nature.
Led by NeurAstra co-founder Clara Richard, this science–art expedition explores the role of touch in the relationship between humans and nature. Across Senegal, Ethiopia and Kenya, it examines how gestures, materials and traditions reveal deep sensory connections, mapping the factors that link people and their environments through haptic experience.
🗳️ Votes are now open to support this project.
Please vote before Sunday, 2 November, 11:59 PM:
How We Evolved to Die in Good Health
How We Evolved to Die in Good Health
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A four-part exploration of evolutionary medicine with Daniel Lieberman
Place: Amphithéâtre Guillaume Budé, Site Marcelin Berthelot, Paris, France
Date: 03.10.2025 - 31.10.2025
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EVENT
During October 2025 (on the 3rd, 10th, 24th and 31st) from 14:30 to 15:30, the Collège de France will host a compelling four-part lecture series by Harvard University professor Daniel Lieberman, entitled “How We Evolved to Die in Good Health.” Set in the storied halls of the Collège, this series explores the burgeoning field of evolutionary medicine and examines how evolutionary theory and empirical evidence help us understand human ageing, disease, and longevity.
Each session delves into the paradoxical question of how human bodies, shaped by millions of years of adaptation, sometimes seem to falter in modern environments. Professor Lieberman will chart the tension between evolved traits once beneficial in ancestral settings and the challenges we now face in contemporary societies. He will explore how mismatches between our evolutionary heritage and current lifestyles contribute to chronic disease, and discuss strategies grounded in evolutionary insight that may help us live—and die—better.
These lectures offer a rare opportunity to engage with cutting-edge thinking on evolution, health and mortality, in a public forum that welcomes curious minds. The series is free and open to the public, taking place at Collège de France (11 Place Marcelin-Berthelot, Paris).
Reading the Sky
Reading the Sky
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Beneath the Stars of the Mediterranean
Place: Mucem, Marseilles, France
Date: 09.07.2025 - 05.01.2026
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
“Reading the Sky: Beneath the Stars of the Mediterranean” invites visitors on a mesmerising journey through thousands of years of astronomy, astrology, and sky‐watching across the Mediterranean. From ancient Mesopotamian texts and medieval Arab‐Muslim scholars to the Galilean revolution and today’s popular interest in astrology, the show reveals how societies have used the night sky to make sense of their lives.
Scientific artefacts, manuscripts, artworks and everyday objects—from the celestial globes and star charts to objects of folklore—intermingle to demonstrate the shared sky culture of this region. Contemporary artists contribute voice and vision, offering reflections on light pollution, cosmic connection and our evolving view of the heavens. The exhibition blends art, science and heritage, urging us to read the sky not just as distant brilliance, but as a mirror of our history, our environment, and our dreams.
Technology in Focus: From Earth to Space
Technology in Focus
— From Earth to Space
Place: ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Date: Every Sunday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Open to: Public
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Technology in Focus: From Earth to Space is an engaging exhibition at ETH Zurich that explores the innovative technologies used to study both our planet and outer space. From geophysical instruments revealing Earth's interior to satellite models and student-built rockets, the exhibition highlights how technical advancements deepen our understanding of the Earth and beyond. Held in German with English guided tours available, the exhibition is open to the public every Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00 at ETH Zurich, with free entry.