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Astronauts Invite You on Space Safari to Inspire Faster Climate Action

US and EU astronauts team up with renewable energy company Ørsted to create the Space Safari project that sends earthlings on a virtual reality space mission. They aim to speed up climate action by changing our perception of ourselves and our planet.

Astronauts Invite You on Space Safari to Inspire Faster Climate Action

US and EU astronauts team up with renewable energy company Ørsted to create the Space Safari project that sends earthlings on a virtual reality space mission. They aim to speed up climate action by changing our perception of ourselves and our planet.

Published 09-24-19

Submitted by Ørsted

US and European astronauts take you on a journey through space to inspire action on climate.

Astronauts Mike Massimino (USA), Helen Sharman (UK), Andreas Mogensen (Denmark), and Reinhold Ewald (Germany) have joined forces with Ørsted, the world’s most sustainable energy company* to create the Space Safari project. Space Safari is a free virtual reality experience that sends people on a space mission to see Earth as astronauts do.

“When I saw the Earth from space, it was just a small blue drop of water in the vast universe. That view changed my perception of myself and the world. I returned to Earth with a newfound love for this home of ours and all living creatures on it – but also with genuine concern for the future of our planet,” says Mike Massimino, one of the four astronauts guiding the virtual reality Space Safari.

With the help of a virtual reality headset, Space Safari creates the experience of lifting-off and orbiting the Earth as it floats in space in all its fragile beauty. The virtual reality experience seeks to imitate what astronauts call the ‘overview effect’, a perspective and sense of belonging that occurs when the planet is viewed from hundreds of miles away.

“We believe that if more people experience Earth like astronauts do, it will create a greater sense of responsibility of our shared home and speed up climate action – and that’s much needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. In collaboration with the astronauts, we’ve created the Space Safari project to make their view of planet Earth available to everyone. Our hope is to inspire people to demand faster green action,” says Jakob Askou Bøss, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Stakeholder Relations at Ørsted.

Carbon emissions from human activity is the primary cause of global warming. Fossil fuels cause 75% of global carbon emissions, predominantly in the global energy system. Scientists tell us that the world needs to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 to keep global warming within 1.5°C and limit the impacts of climate change.

Space Safari at Climate Week

Space Safari premieres on 24 September at Climate Week NYC where political leaders, business organisations and green NGOs from all over the world gather to discuss how the world can speed up climate action and reduce projected carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

Space Safari will kick off ‘The Climate Decade’ opening event where 200 participants will embark on the virtual space safari simultaneously. Watch the live stream on YouTube.

Space Safari will be available to all free of charge on virtual reality platforms. It is also available on YouTube, where it even can be experienced without a virtual reality headset.

Read more: www.orsted.com/spacesafari.

Watch on YouTube: USA, United Kingdom, Denmark (in Danish), Germany (in German)

Contact Ørsted Media Relations:

At Climate Week NYC: Martin Barlebo, +45 99 55 91 00, mabar@orsted.dk 

Global: Anders Stougaard, +45 99 55 67 39, astou@orsted.dk 

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About the astronauts 

  • Mike Massimino of the US is a former NASA astronaut and the first person to tweet from space, where he spent 23 days, 19 hours and 48 minutes.

  • Helen Sharman was the first UK citizen in space. She visited space station Mir in 1991 and spent seven days, 21 hours and three minutes in space.

  • Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency is the first Dane to travel into space, where he spent nine days, 20 hours and 14 minutes.

  • Reinhold Ewald is a German physicist and cosmonaut who visited space station Mir, and spent 19 days, 16 hours and 34 minutes.

About Ørsted

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and provides energy products to its customers. Over the past ten years, Ørsted has gone from being one of the most fossil-intensive utilities in Europe to become the world’s most sustainable energy company.

Ørsted has reduced the carbon intensity of its energy generation by 83% since 2006 and will generate essentially carbon free energy by 2025, which put the company 27 years ahead of the necessary carbon emission reduction trajectory of the energy sector.

Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,300 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (ORSTED). In 2018, the group’s revenue was DKK 76.9 billion (EUR 10.3 billion). For more information on Ørsted, visit orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

* In January 2019, Corporate Knights’ Global 100 index listed Ørsted as the world’s most sustainable energy company and the fourth most sustainable company in the world, among companies with an annual turnover of more than $1 billion. 

Orsted

Ørsted

Ørsted

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted ranks #1 in Corporate Knights' 2020 index of the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,600 people. Ørsted's shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2019, the group's revenue was DKK 67.8 billion (EUR 9.1 billion).

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