Press Release: 2020 Asteroid Day TV

ASTEROID DAY TV LAUNCHES IN ADVANCE OF UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL ASTEROID DAY 30 JUNE 2020

LUXEMBOURG, 29 May 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Asteroid Foundation will launch Asteroid Day TV 2020 on 1 June 2020 with digital video content from Discovery Science, TED, IMAX, BBC, CNN, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other educational content producers.  In addition, ESA will feature new, multi-language asteroid programming on Asteroid Day TV leading up to 30 June. The programming will cover themes such as asteroid discovery, planetary defense, space resources, asteroid space missions and more.  Asteroid Day, the official United Nations’ day of global awareness about the opportunities and challenges that asteroids present, is a programme of the Asteroid Foundation.

Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group QUEEN; Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart; Filmmaker Grig Richters; and B612 President Danica Remy to promote awareness and provide knowledge to the public about the importance of asteroids in our history, and the role they play in our solar system. 

“We have all seen how unprepared the human race was, faced with a pandemic.  An asteroid strike is just as real.  The consequences could be as serious. We regard it as our duty to make sure we are prepared to deal with the consequences, on an international level, and also to do our utmost to learn how to prevent such an event, by finding and deflecting potential impactors.  That is what Asteroid Day is all about,” says Dr Brian May.

Asteroid Day TV is being launched with content partners providing asteroid related content and exclusive live programmes in multiple languages produced in partnership with the European Space Agency. Asteroid Day TV will stream 34 days of programming featuring international experts, astronauts and cosmonauts, scientists, engineers, physicists, educators and policymakers, as well as special guests who serve as ‘Asteroid Day ambassadors’. The Asteroid Day TV schedule will be  updated weekly  with new program additions. 

Due to COVID19, the official 2020 Asteroid Day programmes will be all digital. In prior years, thousands of independent events were organized around the world. This year local independent programming happens based upon local governmental guidance. 

ASTEROID DAY PROGRAMS PRODUCED IN LUXEMBOURG

Asteroid Day TV will stream through the month of June in addition to Asteroid Day LIVE Digital from Luxembourg on 30 June 2020. Both programmes are produced in partnership with Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) at RTL City in Luxembourg. Another Asteroid Day partner, Luxembourg-based SES, a global leader in content connectivity solutions, will broadcast Asteroid Day TV to bring the programming to millions of viewers thanks to the unparalleled reach of its satellites. Asteroid Day LIVE guests will be announced in June. The 2017, 2018 and 2019 LIVE programmes can be found here.

About Asteroid Day: 

Asteroid Day is held on 30 June each year to mark the date of Earth’s largest asteroid impact in recorded history, the Siberia Tunguska event. Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group QUEEN; Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart; Filmmaker Grig Richters; and B612 President Danica Remy, to educate the public about the importance of asteroids in our history, and the role they play in the solar system. In 2016, with the leadership of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), the United Nations declared Asteroid Day to be a global day of education to raise awareness and promote knowledge in the general public about asteroids. Major events in past years have taken place in London; San Francisco; Washington, DC; Tanzania; Milan and Rimini, Italy; Garching, Germany; Santiago; Chile; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; in addition to thousands of events worldwide.

Asteroid Day’s major partners include: Association of Space Explorers(ASE), B612 Foundation, Broadcasting Center Europe(BCE), EC GROUP, ESA, Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), OHB SE, and SES. Asteroid Day, Asteroid Day LIVE, Asteroid Day TV and SpaceConnectsUs are all programmes of Asteroid Foundation, a Luxembourg based non-profit.

Join in the Asteroid Day conversation on Social Media!

• Hashtags:  #AsteroidDay  #AsteroidDayLIVE  #AsteroidDayTV #Luxembourg
• Website: AsteroidDay.org
• Twitter: @asteroidday
• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/asteroidday 
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AsteroidDay
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/asteroidday 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asteroidday  

A Media Kit including quotes, photos, video, and B-Roll video is available in the Asteroid Day Newsroom.  Photos from 2019 Asteroid Day Luxembourg activities are available. 

Media Contact:
Asteroid Day Katie Young  press@asteroidday.org
ESA Ninja Menning media@esa.int
SES Suzanne Ong  suzanne.ong@ses.com
BCE Laurent Seve laurent_seve@bce.lu
LSA Lynn Robbroeckx lynn.robbroeckx@space-agency.lu

Asteroid Day TV is broadcast courtesy of SES:

Europe

Service Name: Asteroid Day 2020 HD
Service ID:5711
Transponder:1.068
Satellite: Astra 1M
Orbital Pos:19.2 East
Downlink Frequency: 11778.00 MHz
Polarization: Vertical
Modulation: DVB-S2 QPSK
FEC: 9/10
SR: 29.5 MSym/s

Africa

Service Name: Asteroid Day 2020 HD 
Service ID:2000
Transponder:4.951
Satellite: SES-5
Orbital Pos:5.0 East
Downlink Frequency: 11919.28 MHz
Polarization: Horizontal
Modulation: DVB-S QPSK
FEC: 3/4
SR: 27.5 MSym/s