Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) - The 31st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers will be an important stage in the development of international space cooperation, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Vladimir Gusakov said at the opening ceremony of the congress, BelTA has learned.

"Attending the opening ceremony are the legendary cosmonauts and astronauts from all over the world, foreign dignitaries, representatives of the diplomatic corps, national space agencies, Belarusian scientists, engineers and students. We hope that the 31st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers will be an important stage in the development of scientific and innovative cooperation between countries and will contribute to new mutually beneficial space programs and projects, " Vladimir Gusakov said.

The topic of the congress is "We Create Space Future". The opening ceremony is running in the the BelExpo center on 10 September. The pavilion will host an exhibition themed around space exploration. The guests will have an opportunity to learn more about the history of Belarus, its achievements in the field of space research.

Belarus' initiative to hold the planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers 2018 in Minsk was approved at a meeting of the Association's Executive Committee in Toulouse, France on March 25-27 in 2017.

The Association of Space Explorers is an international not-for-profit organization that unites cosmonauts and astronauts from many countries. It was established in 1985 to share the best practices in the area of manned space flights. The Planetary Congress of the Association of Space Explorers gathers cosmonauts and representatives of scientific research institutions and national space agencies on an annual basis.