The 10th China-ESA Space Science Bilateral Meeting held in Beijing
On May 16th , 2014, the 10th China-ESA Space Science Bilateral Meeting opened in Beijing. The bilateral meeting with duration of two days is hosted by the National Space Science Center (NSSC), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Dr. YIN Hejun, Vice President of CAS, attended the meeting and stressed the importance of the bilateral exchange mechanism.
"Since 2004, nine bilateral meetings have been held successfully under the joint effort of ESA and CAS, which provides a solid platform for scientists from both sides", Yin said. He then introduced the current emphasis by the Chinese government for what concerns space science, the Chinese Manned Space Program and the Lunar Exploration Program, stressing the importance of international cooperation, in particular for what concerns cooperation with European countries. He also expressed his wish to engage with ESA in large scale cooperation like "Cluster" and "Double Star".
Dr. WU Ji, Director General of NSSC, CAS, delivered a progress report of the CAS Strategic Priority Program on Space Science as well as the outlook for the Chinese Space Science missions for the next few years. Dr. Alvaro Gimenez, ESA Director for Space Science and Exploration presented a report on the status of the present space science program at ESA, in particular the ExoMars mission. Dr. WANG Chi, Deputy Director General of NSSC, reviewed the actions agreed since the last bilateral meeting.
The major part of the meeting was dedicated to the intensive discussions on the Joint Mission Initiative, in particular feedback from the Chengdu meeting and preparations for the September meeting which will be held in Copenhagen 23-24 September 2014.
Both sides signed the minutes to formalize the bilateral cooperation and agreed that the 11th ESA-China Bilateral Meeting will be held in April 2015 in Europe.
Image 1: Group Photo (Image by NSSC)
Image 2: Signing Ceremony (Image by NSSC)
