Nicosia turns into a small space hub today as Cyprus hosts the 6th COSPAR Symposium alongside a public ‘Space Science Street Festival’, offering the public a chance to meet astronauts, scientists and global space leaders at Town Hall Square.

The festival, organised by the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) together with Cyprus Comic Con, begins at 7 pm and is free to all. It spans Town Hall square and the CSEO Space Outreach Centre, bringing space science to the public in an informal setting.

In its announcement, CSEO said that “this is your chance to discover the wonders of space in a fun, relaxed and exciting atmosphere”, adding that visitors will be able to meet Hungarian astronaut Gyula Cserenyi of the HUNOR programme, COSPAR president Pascale Ehrenfreund and CSEO president George Danos. “This is a rare opportunity to meet the people who are shaping the future of space exploration,” the organisation noted.

Experts from NASA, ESA, JAXA, the AIAA and the United Launch Alliance will be on hand to speak with visitors, while exhibits from the HUNOR astronaut programme, artworks from the Moon Gallery Foundation and a miniature display of the Cypriot installation “From Choirokitia to Mars”, first shown at the 2023 Venice Biennale, will be presented.

Live music, food trucks and a fire-dance show complete the programme, with support from the event’s Major Sponsor, the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).

The street festival complements the COSPAR Symposium taking place in Nicosia between November 3 and 7.

The event brings together delegates from more than 45 countries and 90 organisations, including NASA, ESA, JAXA and ISRO, under the theme “Space Exploration 2025: Humanity’s Challenges and Celestial Solutions”. It is held under the auspices of the Office of the Chief Scientist, with RIF as Grand National Sponsor.

Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides opened the symposium, describing Cyprus as “a crossroads of three continents”, and said that hosting one of the world’s most significant gatherings in space research reflects the island’s long-term Vision 2035 to build a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy.

He highlighted the establishment of the Cyprus Space Research and Innovation Centre (C-SpaRC), the country’s first domestically produced satellite scheduled for launch in 2026, and its deepening international cooperation through ESA and the Artemis Accords.

Skourides later joins Lockheed Martin’s Dr Eric Smith for a fireside chat on “AI: The Democratization of Discovery”, following the opening session themed “Space Exploration 2025: Humanity’s Challenges and Celestial Solutions”.

He said Cyprus is “charting its path as a regional hub for space, research, and innovation”, building advanced infrastructure through C-SpaRC, preparing its first satellite for launch and expanding cooperation with global partners.

Under Vision 2035, Cyprus is investing in science, technology and AI “to shape a resilient, knowledge-based economy, transforming the island into a bridge between Europe, the Mediterranean, and beyond”.

During the opening ceremony, officials also announced the signing of the Nicosia Space Accords, a new international agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation in space.

Representing the President of the Republic, Georgios Komodromos said Cyprus is proud to host one of the world’s leading gatherings on space research, adding that “space has become an enabler of progress for all, a strategic pillar of communication, navigation, climate monitoring, and disaster management”.

COSPAR president Pascale Ehrenfreund thanked organisers for their hospitality, saying the event marks the beginning of “a truly exciting week of scientific exchange”.

Eric Smith, representing the Grand Sponsor, noted that “without the questions posed by science, none of these missions would ever take flight”.

Throughout the week, representatives from major agencies and institutions, including NASA, ESA, JAXA, ISRO, the United Launch Alliance and leading European and Asian space bodies, are taking part in technical sessions and the Space Leaders Roundtable, where Skourides is joined by Pascale Ehrenfreund, George Danos, Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Mioara Mandea, Marco Castronuovo, Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers, Ikkoh Funaki and others.

Skourides will also attend tonight’s Space Science Street Festival, inviting the public to explore the same themes discussed during the symposium, only in a much more relaxed, open-air setting.