It’s just T-2 weeks until the incredible work that started all the way back in 2011 comes to fruition and the International Space University’s (ISU) Space Studies Program for 2023 (SSP23) will be launched! We are eagerly waiting for your arrival in São José dos Campos Brazil for SSP23. This past week has seen the arrival of the first team members to Brazil, settling into our offices and hotels for the next few months. Our first days saw plenty of introductions, with 15 team members from 11 different countries all getting the chance to know one another.
Our first day started with introductions to the Rectors of our hosts, the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Prof. Anderson Ribeiro Correia and Dr. Clezio Marcos De Nardin.
Figure 1. The SSP Central Campus team meeting with ITA Rector Anderson Ribeiro Correia and the Local Organising Committee (LOC).
We had a tour around the campus, courtesy of the Local Organising Committee and are very excited for the participants to see the fantastic location that they will learn in and call home for the next nine weeks of SSP23! It was a lot of fun to start working in person after weeks of online Zoom calls for most of the team, including the chance to try traditional Brazilian food and drinks.
We saw the staff offices, where the ‘Mission Control Team’ will oversee, support and guide the participants, instructors, and faculty to make our lives easier to achieve a successful SSP. We also sat down during the week to check out the new 5G system installed just in time for SSP23, plus toured the classrooms, including our Core Lectures’ Hall which was having a brand-new makeover!
This week also saw the first bikes arriving for participants and team members; with our new wheels we can explore the welcome areas of the ITA Campus, including beautiful lakes and avenues.
Figure 2. The lake on the ITA Campus, a five-minute walk from the Core Lectures’ Hall.
