Budapest hosted the 33rd Congress of the Association of Space Explorers between November 1 and November 5. Dozens of astronauts who have already been in space have arrived for the programs held in Budapest and various Hungarian cities, including Miskolc. The annual astronaut congress was organized by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), which currently has about 400 astronauts from 38 countries.
Their aim is to promote space science and exploration with the help of trained professionals who have traveled through space. The congress targets university students, high school students and those interested in the sector. The current president of the ASE is Russian Oleg Kotov, the 100th Russian astronaut who has spent more than half a year at the International Space Station. During the week, the astronauts took part in professional and educational programs in Budapest, as well as in Debrecen, Győr, Kecskemét and Miskolc, where they met students interested in space science and space exploration. Hungarian firms with interests in space industry and exploration also met the astronauts, both in an official and informal way. Admatis Kft. also took part in the event organized at the University of Miskolc, where Tamás Bárczy, managing director, presented the company’s activities, and the company’s employees presented the results of some successful projects to the astronauts visiting Miskolc.