FinCOSPAR meeting in Luosto

This week, the XVth meeting of the Finnish space research community, also known as FinCOSPAR, was held in Luosto, about 40 km south from Sodankylä. It was organised jointly by Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the Finnish National Committee.

Over 50 scientists attended the event, coming from the main Finnish universities involved in space research (University of Helsinki, Aalto University, University of Oulu) and from several space research institutes (Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, EISCAT). Two Japanese scientists, Prof. Y. Miyoshi from Nagoya University and Prof. T. Tanimori from Kyoto University, also took part in the meeting and presented their work, giving hope for further collaboration.

Motivated and talented Finnish scientists. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow for an outdoor picture.
Photo by T. Ulich.

Some 40 exciting talks enabled to draw a quite broad picture of the current space research in Finland. The presentations were divided into three sessions: 

 1. Earth Observation from Space and Ground – Science and Applications;

 2. Geospace Environment from Space and Ground – Physics and Space Weather;

 3. Solar System and Astrophysics.

The programme also included a panel discussion regarding the future of space research in Finland, involving speakers from the Academy of Finland, Tekes and the National Space Committee.

Thanks to the organising committee for a fruitful meeting!