‘Any plans for a manned space program?’

Moon Hong-kyu
The author is the head of the Exploration Science Project Group at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.

Last month, I attended the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. The IAC is an annual gathering of space experts from around the world, often attracting as many as 9,000 participants. This year’s event drew less than 3,000 due to the armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

As we landed at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport, I could immediately see how much effort the Azerbaijani government had been putting into the event. The monitors at check-in counters, taxis waiting outside the government building and banners on the main streets were all featuring the IAC. This year’s event kicked off with an opening speech by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, followed by an opening lecture by Yuval Harari, the renowned author of “Sapiens.”

The booths on the exhibition center played a role as venues for business meetings. The IAC is not only a political stage but also a place of goodwill and exchange, offering a rare opportunity where the heads of space agencies of major countries are gathering in one place. After attending a high-level meeting hosted by NASA, we met with key officials from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The MBRSC has set up a booth to help three teams have a meeting simultaneously. The spaces were decorated with large and small tables, chairs and Middle Eastern-style carpets. The head of the space center and his two deputies were busy welcoming international guests.

Salem Humaid Al Marri, the director-general of the MBRSC, introduced me to Hazza Al Mansoori, the first Arab astronaut. The director general joked that being with Al Mansouri guaranteed him more photo opportunities. Al Mansouri, a former air force pilot, was selected from more than 4,000 applicants. On the International Space Station (ISS), he had conducted 15 experiments selected from a UAE student competition. In 2017, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, posted on Twitter that he hoped many children will enroll in the UAE’s astronaut program.

The IAC was also a diplomatic stage for astronauts from many countries. Unlike retired astronauts like Rusty Schweickart, active astronauts wore spacesuits during the gathering. The annual event allowed us to have a glimpse of other countries’ space programs, including manned exploration plans. Despite brisk discussions back in Korea about its first homegrown space launch vehicle Nuri, lunar mission and space agency issues, Korea’s presence in Baku was hardly felt.

The China National Space Administration sponsored the IAC at its highest prime ministerial level. Platinum sponsors included the Saudi Space Agency, SpaceX and the Turkish Space Agency. As a result, NASA, the European Space Agency, the National Centre for Space Studies of France and the German Aerospace Center were off the list of sponsors. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the United Kingdom Space Agency barely made sponsors. It was extremely shocking to see more than 10 Chinese organizations and companies taking up one-seventh of the entire exhibition space.

A Chinese student presented a robot that mimics the human cerebellum. The idea was to recognize, track and control objects in a spacecraft. A fellow student from the same university’s lab demonstrated a similar algorithm to control a caterpillar-shaped space robot. Participants applauded another Chinese student who demonstrated a technology that detects the origin of a fire on a spacecraft by smell. China was no longer a chaser in the space race.

Meanwhile, a biologist explained how fungi can be used to reduce deadly radiation at future lunar bases. Research on the value chain of lunar base construction and operation, on-site resource utilization, energy production, transportation and long-term stay after landing on the moon also attracted attention. German undergraduates were recognized for their research on using artificial intelligence and ChatGPT to help astronauts living on lunar bases.

During the event, a high-level meeting between Korea and NASA officials took place. NASA asked a bold question: Does Korea have any plan for a manned space program? They weren’t asking because they didn’t know the answer. The 2023 congress ended with a teleconference with Elon Musk. After I boarded my flight home at 5 a.m., I could not fall asleep.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.