The 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), under the theme “Making Space Accessible and Affordable to All Countries” is fast approaching! Co-organised by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), it will take place, for the very first time, in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 26 – 30 September 2016. The IAC is the one time of the year when all space actors come together. Global, multidisciplinary and covering all space sectors and topics, it offers everyone the latest space information, developments but above all contacts and potential partnerships.

The Heads of Agencies plenary will take place during the first day of the IAC, bringing together the leaders of major space agencies worldwide. Following the structure of previous years, this year’s Heads of Agencies Plenary will begin with an introductory presentation on latest developments, followed by a discussion on specific topics as well as an interactive Q&A session with the audience.

Each year, the IAF confers a number of awards to individuals and groups, who have distinguished themselves in space cooperation and space activities at global level; are engaged with or participate actively in the activities of the Federation. This year, the IAC will welcome the 2016 IAF awards recipients on Friday 30 September during the Closing Ceremony. Among them will be recognized the IAF’s most prestigious award recipient, Dr. Yuri Koptev, ROSCOSMOS, for the IAF World Space Award, the Allan D. Emil Memorial Award recipient, Dr. Charles Elachi, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, the Frank J. Malina Astronautics Medal recipient, Ms. Bénédicte Escudier, ISAE-SUPAERO and the IAF Hall of Fame award recipients, Prof. U.R. Rao, Mr. Norman Crabill, Prof. Wang Xiji and Dr. Manfred Fuchs.

In addition, the IAF will also recognize its 2016 Young Space Leaders for their outstanding leadership in their academic or early careers: Ms. Jessica Culler, NASA, Ms. Victoria Alonsoperez, Chipsafer, Ms. Andrea Boyd, European Space Agency, Mr. Amalio Monzon, Airbus and Mr. Takashi Ohtani, JAXA.

IAC 2016 website

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