In his weekly radio address President Bush said, “On the Fourth of July we celebrate the courage and convictions of America’s founders. We remember the spirit of liberty that led men from 13 different colonies to gather in Philadelphia and pen the Declaration of Independence. In that revolutionary document, they proclaimed our independence based on the belief that freedom was God’s gift to all mankind. To defend that freedom, the 56 signers of the Declaration pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Their sacrifices built a new Nation and created a future of freedom for millions yet to be born.”

In his weekly radio address President Bush said, “This bill provides an historic opportunity to uphold America’s tradition of welcoming and assimilating immigrants and honoring our heritage as a Nation built on the rule of law. We have an obligation to solve problems that have been piling up for decades. The status quo is unacceptable. We must summon the political courage to move forward with a comprehensive reform bill. By acting now, we can ensure that our laws are respected, that the needs of our economy are met, and that our Nation treats newcomers with dignity and helps them assimilate.”

As part of the Astrolab Mission post-flight tour, ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter is joined by his ISS Expedition 13 and 14 colleagues, Pavel Vinogradov (Russia), Jeffrey Williams (NASA), Michael Lopez-Alegria (NASA) and Mikail Tyurin (Russia), for a lively discussion on the future direction of human exploration in our Solar System. The session took place 22 June 2007 at ESA’s Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, and included Bob Chesson, ESA’s manager for Human Spaceflight and Exploration Operations. As part of the Aurora exploration strategy, ESA is planning to create, and then implement, a European long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system, with Mars, the Moon and the asteroids as the most likely targets. Planned missions include the ExoMars robotic rover and Mars Sample Return.
ESApod audio programme

ESAPod reports from Le Bourget, near Paris, home of the biannual Paris International Air Show, now in its 47th edition. European space achievements are on display at the “Space Pavilion,” which aims to promote space as an essential activity for European science, industry and competitiveness. ESA is highlighting projects and programmes related to human spaceflight, environmental and security monitoring, space science and launcher technology.
ESApod video programme

In May 2007, more than 17 years after the launch of Hubble, European Hubble scientists met in The Netherlands to discuss and share their achievements. This gathering took place just a few weeks before the signature of the official agreement between ESA and NASA on the James Webb Space Telescope, considered by many as the successor of Hubble.
Today, we have the pleasure of talking to ESA’s Dr Duccio Macchetto, Associate Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute.
ESApod video programme