As it does every two years, Berlin will soon be showcasing European and international space activities at the ILA2008 Air Show from Tuesday 27 May to Sunday 1 June. In Hall 9, an International Space Village spanning a large area will be exclusively devoted to space, presenting the entire range of activities, products and services available in Europe and elsewhere.

Inside a joint Space Pavilion, the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) will present ongoing and future European and German space projects in a lively exhibition area open to trade visitors/the press from 10:00 to 18:00 hours daily and to the general public from Friday 30 May through to Sunday 1 June.

The Pavilion inauguration ceremony will be held on the afternoon of Tuesday 27 May in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The exhibition features a large central area where special multimedia projections will enable visitors to discover or re-discover the beauty our changing planet and its fragile environment.

From this central area, they will have an opportunity to learn more about the terrestrial benefits of space systems, focussing on the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative, space telecommunications and their applications, satellite navigation with Europe's Galileo system and the space sciences unveiling the secrets of the universe.

This central area is also the gateway to other larger areas. One features future Mars missions and related robotics technology on a mock rocky Martian landscape, with a full-scale model of Europe's ExoMars and a spectacular 3D flight over the Red Planet.

The EXOMArs DEmonstration Rover (Exomader) will be on display, a half-scale engineering model of one of the possible configurations, featuring a special chassis with extremely advanced cross-country ability. Another exhibition area focuses on the Moon, with a lunar lander concept proposed by Astrium on display.

The next area highlights the International Space Station, with a full-size model of ESA's Columbus laboratory and a large-scale model of ESA's recently launched Automated Transfer Vehicle. The achievements of ESA astronauts are also highlighted here. Launchers giving Europe independent access to space are featured next to this, with a 1:10 scale Ariane 5 model and several graphics and video presentations of Vega and Soyuz, together with an overview of Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana and related operations.

This year in particular, a very substantial programme of conferences will target specialist audiences and the Media at the new Space Conference Centre adjacent to Hall 9. One of the highlights of this will be 'ILA Space Day' organised by ESA, the DLR and the BDLI under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Economics & Technology on Wednesday 28 May from 13:30 to 16:30 hours.

Panels featuring heads of space agencies and high-ranking international experts from government, research institutes and industry will present and discuss national and international space developments.

An international conference on 'Earth observation: solutions for decision-making' under the aegis of ESA, the DLR and the BDLI, on 27 May (14:00 to 18:00 hours) and 28 May (09:30 to 12:30 hours), will provide an overview of existing applications in the areas of climate/environmental management and civil security. Panellists will discuss solutions in the light of the future needs expressed by international decision-makers and government authorities.

On 29 May, the BDLI together with the German Air Force will be staging a symposium on 'The uses of space for security and defence' (Space Conference Centre, Hall 9, 10:00 to 14:00 hours).

Further information can be found in the full programme linked on the right. ESA Directors, specialists and project managers will be on hand each day to provide background information and give interviews to the Media. ESA Media Relations Office representatives will be available to receive and handle interview requests.