Space travelers from around the world are headed to China this month for an international Planetary Congress, which will explore the possibilities for expanding human spaceflight cooperation among different countries.
China's Manned Space Agency is a key organizer and official host of the landmark gathering in Beijing. In a first, the Chinese space agency is working on the event with the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), an international nonprofit organization of over 395 astronauts and cosmonauts from 35 nations.
The conference's theme is "Cooperation: To Realize Humanity's Space Dream Together," and will take place from Sept. 10 to 15 in Beijing. The goal, according to congress organizers, is to encourage an open discussion about international cooperation in the future development and planning of human spaceflight.
During the Planetary Congress, Chinese space programofficials are expected to invite astronauts from all over the world to engage in efforts to internationalize China's planned space station. China aims to attract more countries and organizations with its space station program, bolstering international cooperation.
Yang Liwei, vice director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSE), and China's first astronaut, will spotlight the invitation during the congress. Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who became the second man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, joins Liwei on the invite list.
Chinese astronauts are also expected to present information regarding their spacewalking skills and the flight ofChina's first female astronaut on the country's Shenzhou spacecraft last year. They will also outline future space station construction plans.
Hollywood is expected to make an appearance at the 2014 Planetary Congress, with a viewing of a clip from last year's hit space film "Gravity." The showing will be part of a discussion on rescuing astronauts in peril between space stations. In the fictional film, star Sandra Bullock takes a harrowing journey between the International Space Station and a Chinese space outpost.
More than 30 space travelers from the United States will attend next week's Planetary Congress, including active NASA astronauts. However, those American astronauts will attend as private citizens and ASE members, not as official representatives of NASA.
"This is our first ASE Congress in China and our fourth in Asia," said Andrew Turnage, executive director of ASE–USA. "We have been working with China for some years now on hosting a congress, and we are excited to have the opportunity to visit China and learn more about their space program and plans for exploration, in low-Earth orbit and beyond."
The American astronauts in attendance will join astronauts and cosmonauts from 16 other countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The congress demonstrates that the Chinese are clearly enthusiastic about cooperative activities in space, Turnage said.
"We hope that the ASE visit and congress in Beijing can broaden perspectives and open doors for all spacefaring nations to work together on exploration, asteroid defense and planetary stewardship," he said.
The ASE has a long track record of encouraging international space efforts. In the 1980s, the organization was instrumental in building the foundations for cooperation in space that is in evidence today with the United States, Russia, Europe and other international partners, Turnage said.
"Now, ASE has a new opportunity to build a foundation for cooperative efforts in space that include China as a major contributor and partner," he added.
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