The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) brings together over 400 astronauts and cosmonauts from 37 nations. In 2016, the annual ASE congress – the XXIX Planetary Congress- will be held in Austria between 03-07Oct2016. During the Community Day on 05Oct2016, 100 astronauts and cosmonauts will convey the fascination of space activities  across Austria.

Since 1985, the ASE convenes for the Planetary Congress each year in a different country. This event in 2016 is scheduled for 5 days in Vienna and is a mixture of technical/scientific lectures and cultural activities. Due to their extraordinary public outreach potential, the participants will engage in education activities, meeting with opinion leaders, the media and industry as well as the general public during the Community Day. The ASE 2016 will be hosted by Austria’s cosmonaut Franz Viehböck in cooperation with the Austrian Space Forum.

The Planetary Congress is a highly renowned international event, one of its highlights is the traditional “ASE Crystal Helmet” ceremony – one of the most prestigious awards in astronautics. The congress combines the experience and results from human spaceflight activities with challenges of our society ranging from health, environmental concerns and biodiversity, future technologies to space exploration and the quest for new horizons.

A major focus is on inspiring the next generation of explorers in STEM subjects. In particular, school visits and the interaction with young professionals –which were carefully prepared by preceding projects- are a central element of the ASE 2016. Traditionally, space exploration also offers a leverage for gender topics and is known to encourage a more balanced gender diversity on the STEM fields.

During the Community Day itself, the astronauts will split into small groups and visit various locations across Austria, visiting schools and universities, encouraging representatives of the industry to consider space activities, meet and greet regional and local decision makers and opinion leaders whilst enjoying Austrian hospitality and visiting key locations.

Programme XXIX Planetary Congress

Parts of the ASE XXIX Planetary Congress in Vienna are open to the public for free thanks to our sponsors.

Monday, 03Oct2016 / House of Industry

09:30-11:30: Opening Ceremony
with ASE29 host Franz Viehboeck & ASE president Soichi Noguchi
Open to public

13:30- 15:00: Technical Session 1: Future of Space Industry
Chairs: Pascale Ehrenfreund/DLR & Franz Viehboeck. Open to public

15:30-17:00: Technical Session 2: Commercial Human  Spaceflight
Chairs: Airbus Representative & Mike Lopez-Alegria. Open to public.

Tuesday, 04Oct2016 / Technical University of Vienna

09:00-12:00: Technical session 3: International Space Programs Review
Chairs: Oleg Kotov & Christer Fuglesang. Open to public

13:00-14:30: Theme session: Born to Explore I
Chairs: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor & Alexsander Aleksandrow. Open to public.

15:00 – 16:30 Theme session: Born to Explore II
Chairs: Soichi Noguchi & Christian Feichtinger/IAF. Open to public.

Wednesday, 05Oct2016

All Day Community Day & Companion Program Nationwide. Full programme available in German.

Thursday, 06Oct2016 / Academy of Sciences

09:00-12:30: Technical session 4: Space & Enabling Future Tech
Chairs: Reinhold Ewald & Bonnie Dunbar. Open to public.

14:30 – 18:00: Astronaut and Cosmonaut City Tour (not public)

Friday, 07Oct2016

08:00 – 12:00 ASE General Assembly and Regional meetings (not public)

Participating Astronauts

The 29th ASE congress will take place in Vienna from 03-07 October 2016. Ca. 100 astronauts, cosmonauts and taikonauts from around the world will attend. This is the preliminary list of participating astronauts (subject to change.