ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will be launched to the International Space Station tonight and on Thursday he will help ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli to launch the League of Young Voters.
The European Youth Forum organises the annual YO!Fest to bring youngsters in touch with European politics, and this year’s festival will be held on Thursday and Friday at the European Parliament Esplanade in Brussels, Belgium.
This fourth YO!Fest will inaugurate the League of Young Voters to raise political awareness among young people in time for next year’s European elections. Paolo will be Brussels on stage before President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso formally launches the League. Luca will share his support in a message he recorded during his busy training schedule in the runup to launch.
Paolo in space
The festival will include debates, workshops and live music. Created in 2010 and growing each year, this year’s festivities take place during European Youth Week.
Luca will board the International Space Station early on Wednesday morning for six months of research, together with two spacewalks. Paolo conducted a wide range of experiments on the orbital outpost during his 159 days in space in 2011.’