text: What a day to be a Danish minister for Higher Education and Science. A Danish astronaut is about to set out on his first long-duration mission.
  The mission patch is the raven Huginn with the silhouette of Denmark on its wing. This is not just another day at the office.
  This is only further underlined when I see all my excited Danish colleagues, partners and associates in this room. Thank you for being here supporting Andreas and this mission.
  I would also like to thank the European Space Agency, ESA. For inviting me and the Danish delegation to witness the launch. A once in a lifetime experience for all of us, I’m sure.
  But more importantly, thank you to Joseph and everyone in the ESA for your tireless efforts to make this mission happen.
  I think most people – myself included – find space fascinating. It must be close to a universal experience looking up at a night sky and being filled with a sense of awe of this mystical vastness.
  Most of us are never going to experience travelling out there ourselves.
  It must be a very special experience to see our blue and green planet from above.
  Fortunately for us at home Andreas and his Huginn team are going to do live broadcasts from the International Space Station. They’ll bring space directly to all of us.
  These broadcasts. The Danish experiments that Joseph and I signed off on earlier today. The research conducted along the way. The knowledge, ideas and technology that will come from this mission. It’s all going to bring space down to Earth.
  This mission will surely fuel our collective space fascination. But it will hopefully also make it clear to everyone why we invest in space missions and space research. It has certainly inspired me to look further into how we can make sure that Denmark gets even more involved in the work of the ESA.
  What a role model we have in Andreas.
  Space travel and this mission in particular is going to inspire the next generation of young women and men in science with a dream and the courage to explore.
  Maybe the next Danish astronaut is sitting out there right now waiting eagerly to watch tomorrow’s launch. I hope so.
  Because it has been clear time and time again that if we want to learn how to solve some of the big issues here on Earth, we need to look into space.
  So today is certainly not just another day at the office. Today we celebrate science. We celebrate the ESA. We celebrate Andreas. And we wish him and the Huginn Mission a safe and inspiring journey.
  Thank you.
  