Looking at the way we live our daily lives at present, it is obvious that COVID-19 occupies a great deal of space in our minds. Yet just as we are fighting the virus – or trying to – all around we see conflicts breaking out between people, whether it be wars over land and ownership or terrorist attacks. These man-made problems make me sad, even furious, and I would like to offer my sincere condolences and solidarity to our French and Austrian colleagues faced with the deeply troubling events of these last few weeks. These targeted terrorist attacks are particularly awful. We know that liberty must continue to be the bedrock of everything we do.

Thankfully, however, there continues to be some positive news to report these days: despite the many challenges we all face at the present time, ESA continues to perform very well, securing not only our fantastic current missions but also helping bring much-needed stability to Europe’s space industry, facing stresses like all sectors. We have been able to proceed with the MoU with NASA for Mars Sample Return and the Lunar Gateway. The recent launches of Vega and Ariane have shown our continuing ability to act. Bepi Colombo and Solar Orbiter are on their way and have been delivering interesting science about Venus and the Sun. Our Space Safety programme is taking shape with contracts issued for HERA and ADRIOS, while Phi-Sat-1 is bringing artificial intelligence to bear for Earth observation and, with the Moonlight initiative, several directorates are joining forces to support commercial activities on the Moon. Finally, we continue to make important contributions towards satellite navigation, most notably with Galileo and EGNOS, and are busy negotiating ESA’s future role of in EU space activities. Through all these difficult times, teleworking has become the new normal, with activities such as testing and satellite operations, however, requiring people to be on site.

COVID-19, at the same time, is still omnipresent, with news of the pandemic filling the airwaves, social media and news bulletins round the clock. I can’t help but draw parallels in my mind between this scourge of our times and the biblical story of the Great Flood. Without attempting any religious interpretation, it is obvious that COVID-19 is a danger to people across all continents and that its recent development has more in common with a flood than with a single wave.

A recent investigation of the behaviour of the general public during natural disasters showed that in response to official announcements for people to abandon their homes, about 10% simply do as directed, 80% wait to see what the 10% are going to do and the remaining 10% stay at home…possibly to die.

Now let us make a comparison with the coronavirus crisis.

Those who believe the corona crisis is no more than a political conspiracy being used by our political leaders to limit our freedoms, and consequently do not follow clear official advice, belong to the 10% that stay at home in a natural disaster,  by not following clear advice to stay at home during confinement and limit social contact to an absolute minimum. The major, crucial difference between the two situations is that those who during the coronavirus crisis don’t follow advice are not only risking their own lives but are also helping the virus to spread and infect others!

I hope this short comparison make clear my own personal view: that we should all follow clear official advice and protect ourselves so as to protect others.

As always, there is the important question of balance. With COVID-19 there is a balance to be struck between economic health, physical health and individual freedom. Simple answers quickly prove elusive if one considers the consequences in detail. I frequently notice that people look for simple answers even in response to complex and difficult everyday questions, in the process ignoring overarching responsibilities and the possible negative consequences.

If an alien were to see what we are currently engaged in doing to our fantastic spacecraft – the Pale Blue Dot – he, she or it would surely be astonished to discover that we are destroying the very basis of our life on Earth, that we are not doing enough to fight our common coronavirus enemy and that we are killing each other for diverse reasons of doubtful significance.

Coming back to my analogy of the Great Flood, what are our chances of finding a Noah’s Ark? In the present situation, help is at hand but it will come from our ability to join forces in a positive way to bring our individual abilities to bear to safeguard the lives of all.