International astronautical congress kicks off in Washington

Washington: The 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), a five-day conference devoted to discussing innovation and advances in the space industry, began in Washington DC on Monday.

The congress, which runs until Friday, has drawn more than 6,000 industry delegates from around the world to discuss the space industry growth, solar and deep space exploration, liquid water search on Mars, defence against asteroids and space transportation management.

Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), put emphasis on collaboration in space exploration.

He said at the opening ceremony that no one can alone achieve what they want nowadays and he urged all players to work together, "not letting anything standing in the way."

This year's congress theme is "Space: The Power of the Past, The Promise of the Future."

The IAC is the world's largest annual gathering of space professionals and its parent organisation is the Paris-based IAF.

The International Aeronautical Congress has been held every year since 1950. The five themes of IAC are Science and Exploration, Applications and Operations, Technology, Infrastructure, and Space and Society.