New Zealand's Conference Star on the Rise

22nd Oct, 2024
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New Zealand’s thriving space sector is a stellar example of how world-class innovation and natural beauty attract conferences to the country.

New Zealand is in the top four space-faring nations globally thanks to its clear starry skies, ideal launch conditions, and culture of innovation. It sits in third equal place with Russia, behind the US and China, for launches to orbit in 2024.
 
Space innovators
 
New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch, has just been announced as one of four founding members of the global Space Cities Network, a collection of convention bureaus encouraging business events to increase collaboration across the space sector.
 
Christchurch is home to a thriving network of space-adjacent businesses, including advanced aviation and electronic manufacturing. Low air traffic and favourable atmospheric conditions allow for the development and testing of new aerospace technology. 
 
Across New Zealand, a space network is growing, from rocket launch sites to research hubs in Earth Observation, space science and engineering, and health in space.
 
Conference connections
 

Tawhaki Runway Opening

Space technology is also advancing New Zealand’s other leading areas of expertise – and conference content – from applications of aerospace technology in Antarctica, to remote sensing applications in geoscience and agriculture.
 
Following a successful Machine Intelligence for GeoAnalytics and Remote Sensing (MIGARS) conference in April in Wellington, IEEE’s flagship International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) will now come to Auckland in 2028.
 
NASA experts were among the delegates attending ForestSAT 2024 in Rotorua this September, the international conference on the application of remote sensing technologies for forest monitoring and modelling.
 
Christchurch hosted Extreme Solar Systems V in March 2024, welcoming international astronomers studying exoplanets outside of our solar system, attracted by the chance to see systems that can only be viewed from the Southern Hemisphere.
 
Meanwhile, the annual New Zealand Aerospace Summit in Christchurch has more than doubled in size in three years. Its 2025 edition will be an official adjacent event to the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) taking place in Sydney.
 
 Hooker Valley track, Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park 
 
A star-studded conference programme 
 
New Zealand’s beautiful clear night skies also add unique stargazing appeal to any conference agenda. New Zealand is aiming to become the world’s first ‘Dark Sky Nation’ and is currently home to eight internationally recognised ‘Dark Sky’ sanctuaries and parks across the country. 
 
Memorable pre and post conference activities include engaging with the indigenous Māori culture via Tekapō’s Dark Sky Experience, combining tātai aroraki (Māori astronomy) and science.
Combine the restorative healing powers of Rotorua’s thermal spas with a spot of ‘spa gazing’ at Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa, which offers a stargazing pool. 
 
Or try some ‘star grazing’, dining on exceptional local cuisine under a star-studded sky. At Billion Star Dining at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, Aoraki Mount Cook, enjoy a 6-course fine dining experience at Moraine Lodge, followed by stargazing at the Pukaki Observatory
 
If you seek a destination offering out of this world thinking and experiences, it’s here to find. Launch your next conference in New Zealand.
 

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