Komvos-Node initiates a debate on Space Science and Industry in Greece. Does the country have a strategy for space? And if the answer is yes, what needed in order to achieve it? Also, what is the importance and value of the country’s presence in the area of the already established space programmes? 

Generally, the objective is, during the conference, to signify Greece’s position in the space scientific and industrial world, both in terms of human resources and in terms of scientific research and evolution, as well as its contribution to the global scene. 

Based on this subject, in the near future, we should be extending our discussion to the ways in which Greece can become a more active participant from now on. Furthermore, the dialogue opened by Komvos-Node is setting the ground for answering basic questions such as how space research leads to applications with a huge social and economic impact, and what the prospects are for the development of the space industry in Greece. 

Discussions then took place on alternate ideas for the role of Komvos-Node’s activities, with the aim of upgrading Greece’s international position in the space sector: 

Α. With an increasing need for cooperation among Greek scientists of the diaspora and the ones based in Greece, Komvos-Node aims to contribute drastically, with the creation of links regarding the upgrading of research and related entrepreneurship.

B. There is also a need to inform young people (especially teenagers and adolescents) about the possibilities, prospects and ways of involvement in the field of space in all fields, up to how a young person can become an astronaut today, since such a thing no longer belongs to the realm of fantasy.

Purpose of the Initiative

Komvos-Node’s initiative is coordinated by: Stamatios Krimigis – President of the Academy of Athens, Honorary Head of the Space Exploration Division, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA Space Program Director Emeritus, founding member of Komvos-Node, and Athena Coustenis – Astrophysicist, Director of Research at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), at LESIA (Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique). 

The aim of the initiative is: 

1. For the country to be ahead of developments in this field and for its scientific community to be equally active, cooperating directly with organisations that are at the source of space evolution. 
2. To provide clear and spacific information to those who are looking for ways to become part of the space community and do not know the ways. 
3. To facilitate cooperation among the different space organisations globally, through a common platform where information is made known, and thus procedures work faster.