Artemis II astronauts honoured as science festival Starmus opens in the Canary Islands
The eighth Starmus festival opens in Tenerife and runs to La Palma until 22 October. Climate diplomat Christiana Figueres receives the first Jane Goodall Earth Medal.
Science and music are back under the Canary Islands’ famously dark skies. Starmus, the festival co-founded by astrophysicist Garik Israelian and Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, holds its eighth edition from 17 to 22 October in Tenerife and La Palma.
The opening night in Santa Cruz de Tenerife honours the four astronauts of the Artemis II lunar mission – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – with the Stephen Hawking Medal for science communication, which turns ten this year.
Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres, who led the UN talks that produced the Paris climate agreement, receives the first Jane Goodall Earth Medal, created to honour people protecting the planet and its biodiversity. Brian May, Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman then open the festival with a concert alongside the Las Palmas Symphony Orchestra.
