ESA and the EU partner with Museo Galileo on new exhibition

What happened

On 25 June 2026, Javier Benedicto, ESA Director of Navigation at the time, and Roberto Ferrari, Museo Galileo Director, signed an agreement to develop the exhibition, which is set to open in December 2027. Galileo Galilei’s discoveries in astronomy, physics and time measurements fundamentally influenced the development of navigation.

His observations of Jupiter’s four largest moons ultimately inspired a technique used by cartographers to determine longitude while his advancements in physics, timekeeping and scientific instrumentation laid the groundwork for more accurate navigation. Galilei’s impact continues to this day, with modern satellite navigation science and technology resting on this foundation.

In tribute to the famous Italian scientist, the European Union named its satellite navigation system Galileo . ESA and Museo Galileo teams About Galileo Galileo is currently the world’s most precise satellite navigation system, serving billions of users around the globe since entering Open Service in 2016.