International space technology symposium to be held in Beijing

The 2023 International Symposium on the Peaceful Use of Space Technology - Health will take place in Beijing from Saturday to Monday, its organizing committee said.

The event, also known as IPSPACE 2023, will be hosted by bodies including the Chinese Society of Astronautics, the China High-tech Industrialization Association and the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce.

It will focus on a variety of topics, including the space industry's sustainable development, next-generation spacecraft technologies, Mars exploration, and space medicine, organizers said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Scientists, mission planners, government officials and enterprise representatives from home and abroad, including heads of multiple international space organizations and advocacy groups like the International Academy of Astronautics, the International Astronautical Federation, the Association of Space Explorers, and the International Space University, will take part in the symposium.

More than 100 participants will share their views and suggestions at the event, which will be livestreamed worldwide.

Aarti Holla-Maini, director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony on Saturday.

Wang Tianyi, executive chairman of the Beijing-based International Peace Alliance (Space) and an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics, told the news conference that the symposium would facilitate communication and cooperation among scientists around the world and also to promote the peaceful use of outer space resources.

Steve Eisenhart, a senior vice-president in charge of strategic and international affairs at the Space Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy organization in the United States, said the symposium was all about science, innovation and education, which aligned with the goals of his organization.

He said there was huge potential for the US and China to cooperate in those fields.