posted 04-24-2024 11:04 AM               

Joos Ockels donates the Wubbo Ockels collection to Space Expo

On Tuesday, April 23, Joos Ockels donated her husband Wubbo Ockels' collection to Space Expo. This took place at Space Expo in the presence of family and various relations. The donation consists of the astronaut's personal archive and various belongings.

Above: Joos Ockels symbolically hands over Columbus' "golden egg" that her late husband, astronaut Wubbo Ockels, took with him on his space journey. (Space Expo)

Joos Ockels: "The space travel period in Wubbo's life was intense. The collection reflects the global attention and personal experiences surrounding his space journey. This belongs in the Space Expo collection."

The donation consists of more than 100 objects, including certificates and clothing worn in space. Two of Wubbo's inventions are special: the sleeping bag he designed for space and a gravity experiment. The personal archive consists of 30 folders containing memorabilia from the time of Wubbo's space journey in 1985, such as newspaper articles, photos and DVDs. Some of the objects can be admired in the current exhibition.

Enrichment for the collection

Joos Ockels has been closely involved as a volunteer in the collection management of Space Expo from the start and has a warm heart for the museum.

Space Expo director Barbara Hoppel: "We are very grateful to Joos for this donation, it is a great honor. The objects are an enrichment for the collection and we are happy to continue Wubbo's ideas. We do this in the areas of space exploration, innovation and of course sustainability."

Above: Columbus' "golden egg" among the Wubbo Ockels collection. (Space Expo)

About Wubbo Ockels

Wubbo Ockels (1946-2014) is the first astronaut with a Dutch passport. On October 30, 1985, he traveled into space on the Space Shuttle Challenger. In Spacelab he was partly responsible for the scientific experiments. He returned to Earth on November 6. In addition to being a physicist, space explorer and pilot, Wubbo was also a fervent advocate of sustainability. Wubbo died in 2014 from renal cell cancer.