Message by Director Anu Noorma on her last day in office

I have been the Director of Tartu Observatory for ten years and it has certainly been much more than just one job for me. I am grateful to all the observatory staff and friends for the opportunity to develop the Estonian Space Center with you.

We have had difficult moments when the beloved offices in the old main building became ruins within a few days. However, like a fairy tale, this fashionable and comfortable science center emerged from this rubble during a year. In the new labs where air is cleaned to the highest standards of quality, many of our own well-trained young scientists and engineers, as well as foreign visitors and business partners are working.

We lost our independence and won the honor to belong to the family of the Estonian National University. We have been able to bring the subject of space exploration and technology to applied research, the Center of Excellence in Science and the Road Map of the Estonian Science Infrastructure, and have been able to advise and strongly support Estonia's participation in the European Space Agency. There are many new initiatives, opportunities and ideas in our inspiring organization.

Today's day in the world is far different than I and most people could have imagined even a few weeks ago, yet we have been able to reorganize our work and can surely manage without losing hope – the world is changing and so are we.

I wish Antti the courage to undertake activities that will help fulfill dreams and trust our strong team!

Anu Noorma
Director of Tartu Observatory (01.04.2010–31.03.2020)