Hefei: The International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), an international academic organisation dedicated to deep space exploration, was officially launched on Monday in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
According to Emirates News Agency, the move marks a key step in global collaboration to advance space technology and build a community with a shared future for humanity in outer space.
This association was jointly initiated by the Hefei-based Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, the Lunar Exploration and Space Programme Centre of the China National Space Administration, the Chinese Society of Astronautics, the Chinese Society of Space Research, and the French initiative "Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061".
The founding of the IDSEA was also co-sponsored by 20 academicians from China and 31 international scientists. Wu Weiren, Chief Designer of China's Lunar Exploration Programme, was elected as the association's first chairman.
Wu stated that the association aims to attract 500 international scientific research members and 100,000 individual scientist members within a decade, to contribute actively to the joint exploration of the universe and the mission of advancing human civilisation.
The association will focus on lunar exploration, planetary exploration, and asteroid defence among its different initiatives. It plans to study trends in international deep space exploration, host international academic events, train global talent in space science and technology, participate in making standards and rules concerning outer space, and advance the peaceful and sustainable use of outer space.
Many space exploration experts who contributed to the founding of the IDSEA expressed that the association is expected to help connect member countries in an attempt to unleash their unique advantages while seeking to deepen multilateral cooperation.