Josef Aschbacher is new ESA Director General

As of today, 1 March 2021, ESA has a new Director General: Dr Josef Aschbacher, who has taken up duty at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France.

The ESA Council appointed Dr Aschbacher in December 2020 as the next Director General of ESA, for a period of four years. He succeeds Prof. Jan Wörner, whose term of office ended in February 2021. 

Dr Aschbacher was previously ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN, ESA’s centre for Earth Observation near Rome.