The 31st International Congress of the Association of Space Explorers opens today in Minsk, as reported to BELTA by the press service of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
The 31st International Congress of the Association of Space Explorers opens today in Minsk, as reported to BELTA by the press service of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
The opening ceremony of the congress will take place at the BelExpo National Exhibition Centre. An exhibition on space exploration will be set up in the pavilion. Guests will be able to learn about the history of Belarus and its achievements in space research. Cosmonauts will be demonstrated Belarusian technologies for creating high-resolution optical equipment, super-smooth space mirrors, and equipment for remote sensing of the Earth, and the results of the implementation of a series of Union State space programmes will be shown. Following the opening, two technical sessions are planned. The first of them will be dedicated to the congress theme: "We Are Creating the Space Future". During the second session, cosmonauts who have returned from orbit in the past year will report on their flights.
The congress will last until September 15. A wreath-laying ceremony at the Victory Monument is scheduled for September 11. Afterwards, two technical sessions will be organised at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. They are united by the theme "Our Future in Space". Community Day will be held on September 12. On this day, cosmonauts plan to visit Belarusian schools, universities, institutes of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Minsk Suvorov Military School. On September 13, another technical session will be held – on space and science. The association's General Assembly and business sessions will take place on September 14. Afterwards, congress participants will lay the Alley of Cosmonauts in the Botanical Garden. Each cosmonaut will plant a columnar juniper, the crown of which is shaped like a rocket. Excursions to significant places in Belarus and a cultural programme will also be organised for the guests.
More than 80 cosmonauts from 17 countries – Russia, the USA, China, Kazakhstan, European states, as well as scientists and representatives of Belarusian universities and enterprises – are taking part in the congress.
The Association of Spaceflight Participants is an international non-profit organisation uniting astronauts from many countries. It was established in 1985 to share experience in the field of manned spaceflights. The International Congress of the Association of Spaceflight Participants annually brings together astronauts, as well as representatives of research institutions and national space agencies.