06/10/2026
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International cooperation remained at the heart of ESA’s participation in the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Antalya, Türkiye, as ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher held a series of high-level meetings with partners from around the world. The exchanges reflected ESA’s commitment to strengthening existing partnerships while broadening cooperation with both established and emerging space actors.
The second day of IAC 2026 underscored the importance of international cooperation as a cornerstone of ESA’s approach to the future of space.
Among the day’s key engagements was a bilateral meeting with NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson. On this occasion, Josef Aschbacher received a commemorative plaque containing Zinnia elegans and Capsicum annuum seeds flown around the Moon aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission.
Another important engagement brought together the leadership teams of ESA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). “Following an extension of our cooperation agreement signed a couple weeks ago, ESA and ISRO took the first steps to discuss what an expanded cooperation in space could look like between the two agencies. From human spaceflight and lunar exploration to climate and science missions, Europe and India are turning long-standing partnership into concrete opportunities for the future of space”, said Josef Aschbacher.
ESA’s delegation, led by the Director General, also held a bilateral meeting with representatives of the United Arab Emirates space sector.
At the end of the first day, meetings were also held with Acting President of the Canadian Space Agency Jean-Claude Piedboeuf and Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency.
In parallel, the ESA booth continued to host discussions on key issues shaping the future of space. Among the highlights was the panel discussion on Large Constellations in LEO: Balancing Market Growth, Legal Governance and the Sustainable Use of Orbit, moderated by the Head of ESA’s Legal Department Gisela Süss and the Head of ESA’s Space Economy and Industrial Policy Division Charlotte Mathieu. It brought together representatives from the UK Space Agency, the German Space Agency at DLR, the Portuguese Space Agency and Novaspace.
See more of ESA’s IAC 2026 exhibition in the photo gallery below: