The opening ceremony of the World Space Week has been held in Azerbaijan.

World Space Week runs from 4 to 10 October. The local organizer is Azercosmos, the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.

The opening ceremony was attended by official representatives of the Ministry of Science and Education, National Aviation Academy, Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry, Baku State University, Baku Engineering University, Azerbaijan–French University, Khazar University, Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, Azerbaijan State University of Economics and other higher educational institutions.

The aim of the World Space Week is to raise public awareness of space and the importance of education in this field, to promote the use of Earth remote sensing satellites for sustainable economic development, and to increase the interest of young people in science, technology and engineering.

“I am confident that through the activities we hold as part of the World Space Week, our society will be more informed about the importance of space and benefits we derive from space,” said Samaddin Asadov, Chairman of the Board of Azercosmos.

Then the guests viewed the gallery of images from the Azersky satellite.

During this week, Azercosmos, with the support of higher educational institutions, the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and Tusi-Bohm Planetarium, will hold a series of events for the first time in the country. Meetings with schoolchildren will be organized, and seminars and exhibitions will be held at universities. During the events, presentations will be made on the work done in the space field in Azerbaijan, satellite projects, initiatives implemented by Azercosmos in the field of education, and the importance of the International Astronautical Congress for the country, which will be held in Baku in 2023.

The World Space Week is celebrated annually from 4 to 10 October in a number of countries around the world.

The dates for the Space Week were chosen to commemorate the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957, and entry into force of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies signed on 10 October 1967. A decision to this effect was adopted on 6 December 1999 at the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Azerbaijan joined the World Space Week initiative in 2015.

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