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HIS 2015 is coming

Experts on human spaceflights heading to Prague

Prague, 23 June 2015 – From June 29 to July 3, Prague will host the international Humans in Space Symposium focused on issues of human presence in space and the related research and technology. The Symposium is organized by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and the Czech Space Office (CSO).

The event is of great interest to scientists, researchers and developers, as well as graduate students from around the world who will have the opportunity to present and evaluate the latest trends in manned spaceflight. There are over 200 world experts heading to the Diplomat hotel where the Symposium is going to take place.

The event is after the International Astronautical Congress IAC 2010 another world occasion organized by CSO in the Czech Republic. Humans in Space Symposium has the tradition of forty years while it has been organised every two years. After Moscow, Houston and Cologne, Prague is though becoming another city hosting this important event during the last decade.

The Scientific Committee of the Symposium includes four decades of the world's leading scientists and specialists led by Oleg Orlov from the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Martin Zell from the European Space Agency and Iva Šolcová from the Institute of Psychology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. "The Scientific Committee has compiled a program, which includes nearly 200 scientific contributions that are going to be presented by scientists from thirty countries. Among the participants will appear significant world personalities accompanied perhaps with some astronauts. Even the Czech scientific community is relatively small, I believe the Symposium will help to establish new contacts and to asses new ideas for further research," says Michal Václavík from the Czech Space Office, who is at the same time a co-chair of the Local Organizing Committee.

The central theme of all the scientific contributions is the human, the influence of outer space on him and the technical ensurance of his survival. Significant space in program will be devoted to changes in the human body during a long stay in microgravity conditions, which results in loss of muscle mass, osteoporosis, weak immunity or changes in the cardiovascular and pulmonary system. These negative effects are subject of the research of techniques for preventing them. The knowledge gained in this research is very frequently transferred into clinical medicine. Another challenge represent planned long-term manned missions beyond low Earth orbit, during which it will be absolutely necessary to know the radiation environment and its effects on the health of the crew and to propose technical solutions to increase the safety. This topic will be discussed at Symposium in several specialized sections.

"The program of the symposium will also offer other interesting presentations reflecting the current situation in the global aerospace sector. A separate section is devoted to research on the first Chinese space station Tiangong-1, medical aspects of space tourism or the use of human spaceflights for education of the population," says Michal Václavík. On Humans in Space Symposium 2015 the Czech scientists will also present their contributions. "We look forward to final evaluation of the participation of several Czech workplaces in the international Mars500 project, research on the impact of cosmic rays on human or the technical solutions of radiation monitor utilized during a test flight of the Orion. There will be also presented the student competition Expedition Mars co-organised by CSO," sums up Michal Václavík.

At the beginning of the Humans in Space Symposium 2015, there will be a press conference held with the presence of representatives of the organizers and selected experts. Journalists have also the opportunity to attend the entire Symposium. In both cases, they must first contact the author of the article.