Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) – The USSR pilot-cosmonaut, native of Belarus Piotr Klimuk talked about new planets, the place he grew up in, and about hospitable Belarus on the sidelines of the 31^st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers, BelTA has learned.

Piotr Klimuk thanked Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko for the invitation to host a planetary congress in Minsk. “Certainly, it is very pleasing. Belarus is at the forefront of development. Cosmonauts, who have come here, are thrilled and surprised. A small country of only 10 million people is so clean. Everything is pleasant here and everyone is welcomed well,” he said.

Asked about the future of space exploration, Piotr Klimuk said that future belongs to space exploration. “People always strive for something new. Space exploration is new. We may find some new civilization or visit some new planet. Because everything advances. Scientific and technological advance on the planet has moved so far within a short period of time,” said the cosmonaut.

Piotr Klimuk admitted he visits Belarus often and every visit is a cause for celebration. He stays in touch with his birthplace – the village of Komarovka, Brest District where his sister Antonina Klimuk lives. The pilot-cosmonaut also confessed that he remembers his native country even during space flights. “Do I feel pride because I’ve been to outer space? One doesn’t have to be proud. One has to be thankful to those, who raised one, to those, whom one lived alongside with, to one’s friends and family for everything they have done, for the chances one has been given,” he noted.