Dubai to host 72nd International Astronautical Congress in October

Dubai is set to host the 72nd annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) from October 25-29, 2021.

The UAE is the first Arab country ever to host the event, the world’s largest space conference, which assembles leaders, and decision-makers from the global space community.

Along with space institutions, these major stakeholders meet annually to discuss and exchange ideas, developments, information, insights, and trends pertaining to space.

The conference this year is set to attract over 4,000 participants from 200 countries to Dubai. It comes on the heels of the Hope probe launched by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre successfully entered Mars’ orbit earlier this year.

The International Astronautical Foundation was first founded in 1951 to support and foster cooperation and dialogue surrounding space.

The federation has over 390 members, including all significant agencies, institutions, societies, museums and many more spanning 68 countries and six continents.

The nation has a long-standing interest in astronomy and space science since the Seventies when Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan met with the Apollo moon landing team.

The UAE has been a member of the IAF since 2012. Late last year, the UAE launched their earth-observation satellite “Falcon Eye 2” into space from the French Guiana Space Centre in South America.

Read: UAE launches satellite Falcon Eye 2 into space to mark 49th National Day