When the European Space Agency (ESA) tried to open a Twitter account last year, the name “esa” was already taken. The ESA web team was stuck – “European Space Agency” is too long for the Twitter character limit and no other name would do.
So they did some detective work and the owner turned out to be a Finn called Esa Alanen (Esa is a common male name in Finland).
Mr Alanen agreed to give the agency his Twitter name, and in gratitude the space agency gave him and his family the VIP treatment at European Astronaut Centre in Cologne last Friday.
Social media
Mr Alanen took the Twitter account some years ago. He follows new social media channels as part of his work at Finnish telecom giant Nokia.
“I was surprised to find that no other Esa had taken the account,” he recalls. “Only later I realised that ESA existed and didn’t have that address.”
As part of the European Space Agency’s thank-you present for relinquishing the name, the whole family – Esa, his wife Katja, son Johannes and daughter Matleena – were welcomed and given a guided tour of the training facilities by former astronaut Michel Tognini, head of the space centre.
“The full-size model of the ATV cargo vehicle was impressive,” said Esa. “Visiting the Columbus module and being in the real space station module was really interesting.”
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