60th INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL CONGRESS HAS STARTED IN KOREA, PRAGUE IS GOING TO HOST THE NEXT YEAR
On Monday, 12 October 2009, 60th International Astronautical Congress started in Daejong, South Korea, and it is going to go on up the end of the week. The world’s biggest congress targeted on cosmonautics is attended by over 3000 representatives of space agencies, science institutions and industry. The Czech Republic as the next host of the congress is being represented by the Czech Space Office (CSO).
“We take the participation on the congress foremost as a possibility how to introduce the Czech Republic, to be more precise the city of Prague, as the host of the next congress. For the Czech cosmonautics, but also for the Czech scientific and academic community, this is the most significant event of the year 2010,” says doc. Ing. Jan Kolář, CSc., the director of the CSO.
The main motto of the Korean congress is “Space for Sustainable Peace and Progress”. During this week 10 plenary sessions are going to be held, where the head representatives of the space agencies are going to present their opinions on the current development of science and technology bound with cosmonautics or plans for a non-distant but as well as distant future. The key topics are going to be the international cooperation, space industry, climate change, the exploration of the Solar system and the use of cosmonautics for sustaining the world peace. Many leading experts from various branches of science will partake the congress, including the first South Korean astronaut (or so called “uju bihaengsa”) Yi So-yeon.
The first International Astronautical Congress took place in Paris in the year 1950. The 28th congress took place in the Czech Republic, more precisely in former Czechoslovakia, and after more than 30 years the congress is going to return to Prague. The fundamental topic of the Prague congress, under the aegis of the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, will be the view of space as a place, that brings avail to mankind, and also a place, which challenges us to try to go where no one has gone before.
More information about the 61st International Astronautical Congress, which is going to be held in Prague from September 27 till October 1, can be found on the official site of the IAC 2010.