Stamp of approval for ESA at AMPHILEX 2002
26 August 2002
In the same way as you had the great explorers of the past, ESA's pioneering activities in space make it today's new pioneer. To celebrate this European spirit of adventure, which goes back centuries, ESA is there at this year's international philatelic fair, AMPHILEX 2002. Its large stand will carry the banner 'Discovering The New Frontier'.More than 100 000 visitors may come to visit the show, taking place in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, from 30 August to
3 September 2002.
Many visitors will discover for the first time the amazing achievements that ESA has accomplished in space. Make a date to see ESA at this year's AMPHILEX!
By sending satellites to explore our Solar System and beyond, ESA is constantly advancing the boundaries of our scientific knowledge. Doing this helps us to understand our Universe better and, importantly, the role Earth plays within it. Over the next 12 months, ESA is launching four exciting new space science missions that will ultimately increase our knowledge even further, making space history in the process.
They are the INTEGRAL mission, which will track extreme radiation from space; Rosetta, which will start its eight-year journey to study the Comet Wirtanen at close range; SMART-1, which will travel to the Moon, testing new technology on the way; and Mars Express, the first European mission to the Red Planet.
Stamp enthusiasts at AMPHILEX 2002 can take part in celebrating these momentous space science launches by collecting four specially designed envelopes representing each of the missions. These limited edition envelopes, showing images of the spacecraft along with the ESA logo, will be available at the ESA stand at the show.
Stamp collectors also have the opportunity to make their ESA envelope collection even more exclusive. All they have to do is return each envelope to ESA before the launch date of each mission. ESA will then postmark each one on the exact date of the launch and send it back to the owner.
