ESA and Swatch: A stellar partnership

The night sky, full of stars and planets, has captivated the human imagination since ancient times. Today’s space technology allows us to study space at greater depths than ancient astronomers ever dreamed of. ESA’s science and exploration programs take incredibly detailed images from satellites and space observatories such as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Apart from providing valuable information to space scientists, these images are beautiful.

Now, space fans can unleash their creativity with some of these iconic space images to design their own personalized space watch, thanks to ESA’s collaboration with Swatch. For a limited time, Swatch is offering a collection of images taken by the ESA space telescopes to customize its range of Swatch X U watches. As such, six new Swatch X U designs will be available, each with a space image taken by the world’s most advanced space telescope.

Thanks to the “virtual configurator” on the Swatch X U website, creating and ordering a unique design is very easy. After ordering, the ESA Space Watch will be shipped with an ESA loop on the strap, a special box and a postcard with a picture of the space telescope used in the design. The designs will be available between October 4 and December 17, 2023, coinciding with the start of World Space Week, an international celebration of the contribution of space science and technology to improving the everyday lives of people around the world.

Measuring time is an essential part of space science and exploration, so it’s only fitting that ESA partnered with Swatch to create a watch aimed at space enthusiasts. In addition to allowing people of all ages to express their passion for space on their watches, this collaboration helps spread some of the most inspiring images taken by ESA’s space programs. Images like the gigantic star nurseries revealed by the Webb and Hubble telescopes help fuel interest in space science and ESA’s space ambitions.

Professor Carol Mundel, ESA’s Chief Science Officer and Director of the European Space Astronomy Center (ESAC), was enthusiastic about this new partnership between ESA and Swatch: “This is a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for space and science through these beautiful and inspiring designs. Originally, astronomers were the keepers of date and time. Today, our telescopes are capable of going back thousands, millions, and billions of years. “Every time you check the time, these clocks give you time and space on a cosmic scale.”

To learn more about this exciting new collection, visit Swatch website.