【September 14, 2014, CMSP News】On September 14, the third technical session of 27th Planetary Congress of ASE took place in Beijing. The conference was hosted by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli and China’s first female astronaut Liu Yang. During the conference, astronauts held an open discussion on the prospect of international cooperation and expanding cooperation fields.

Figure: Third Technical Session of 27th Planetary Congress of ASE (Taken by Ding Ying)

Mr Dorin, President of ASE, introduced ASE’s international cooperation background, mechanism and relevant programs. He believed that today’s accomplishments in human space would never be possible without all nations’ sincere cooperation in space technology.

Astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who has carried out Apollo 9 mission, highlighted the importance of international cooperation with the example of how to respond to an asteroid threat on Febuary, 2013. 

In astronaut Hadfield's speech, he talked about the question of how to share spaceflight experience. He suggested that astronauts should share the valuable videos and photos in space via network technology and social media, which can bring human space and the public closer.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi  mentioned the milestones in the development of human space. He appealed the whole Asia and even the whole world to unite in space exploration for the benefits of mankind. 

During the conference, in order to encourage more astronauts to learn Chinese, China’s first female astronaut Liu Yang interacted with them through a game, in which astronauts need to guess the meaning of Chinese technology terms on space. Chinese first astronaut Yang Liwei also invited other countries to get involved in China’s human space missions. (By Yu Yanjuan)