World’s Largest Space Conference To Be Held In Dubai This October

Sky has been the limit for humankind for a long time. Dubai is one of the few which took on the challenge to build skyscrapers that go beyond the clouds. After conquering the clouds, interest in airspaces sciences has been steadily increasing in the Middle East. The UAE launched an ambitious program of reaching Mars and building settlements there, among others.

In the midst of these developments, Dubai hosts the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2021 from October 25 – 29 at the World Trade Centre. The world’s largest space conference would be the confluence of astronauts, scientists, engineers, and policymakers.

The event organized by the International Astronautical Federation will discuss the latest space exploration missions and shed some insights into the findings.

Few Highlight Events at IAC 2021

Emirate Mars Mission

Hope probe was launched in 2020 as a part of the Emirate Mars Mission to study Martian weather dynamics. On February 9, 2021, it reached Mars’ orbit and has been collecting information about its atmosphere since.

At the conference, scientists working on the mission would be conducting a workshop to discuss the probe’s findings. Also, the first set of data from the probe may get available in the first week of October.

UAE’s First Human Spaceflight

Expedition 61 to the International Space Station included Hazza Al Mansouri: the first Emirati astronaut to fly into space.

Some of the scientific discoveries Hazza made during the expedition are expected to be available to the visitors. He conducted 16 experiments and studied bone status indexes, body composition, and endocrine regulation during a short flight.

First Mars Sample

Perseverance rover, a part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, was launched to investigate the environment of Mars. The rover has been exploring the surface and searching for signs of microbial life. It is also testing new technologies ever since it landed on the planet on February 18, 2021.

The topic will be moderated by Larry James, deputy director of the NASA jet propulsion laboratory. Jennifer Trosper, the Mars 2020 project manager, and Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the science mission directorate at NASA, are the speakers planned for the topic. They are expected to discuss the process of returning samples of Mars rocks.

OSIRIS-REx

OSIRIS-REX, an asteroid study, and sample-return mission, was launched in 2016 by NASA. The objective is to obtain a sample of at least 60g from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The material would give the scientists more information about the formation and evolution of the solar system.

The explorer made its first contact with Bennu on December 3, 2018, and landed on the asteroid on October 20, 2020. It is on its way back to Earth after collecting the sample and is expected to arrive by 2023.

Expected Attendance

The organizers haven’t disclosed the participation of the major space agencies in the world. It is highly likely the representatives from NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, Japan’s Jaxa, Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, ISRO, and China’s space agency will be attending. The private space hotspots Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have been invited to the event. Musk attended the IAC 2017, and Bezos attended the IAC 2019. With their recent success in taking civilians to space, it is likely they could participate.

If you’re an Astro science enthusiast or someone with an inquisitive mind who likes to hang around cosmos discussions, IAC would be the idle conference for your appetite. Do share this article with fellow enthusiasts to let them know about the world’s largest space conference.