European Lunar Symposium Comes to Dumfries and Galloway

That the Parliament congratulates the Open University (OU) in Scotland on successfully bidding to bring the 12th edition of the European Lunar Symposium to Dumfries and Galloway for the first time, and notes that it was held at the Crichton Campus in Dumfries; understands that the symposium, chaired by Professor Mahesh Anand from the OU and NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), had more than 150 members of the international lunar science and exploration community taking part, and that this included representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and UK Space Agency; considers that Dumfries and Galloway has a long-standing lunar connection through the much-celebrated Langholm ancestry of Neil Armstrong, the first human to step on the moon, and Dumfries’s Roland Walland, the astronomer who compiled the atlas of the moon surface used for the Apollo mission landings; understands that the Dark Skies status of the Galloway Forest means that the region is a hotspot for stargazers, and that the region also boasts the solar system-inspired Crawick Multiverse near the town of Sanquhar; further understands that, in addition to the symposium, which took place from 15 to 21 June 2024, other events were scheduled in local schools, and that Dr Fujimoto Masaki, director general of JAXA, gave a public talk in Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries, on 20 June, which was the evening of the summer solstice, about Japan’s recent moon landing; agrees with Professor Anand’s statement that "there needs to be a legacy from this event and by inspiring young people to get involved in the space economy", and wishes the event, and its legacy, every success.