A global conference on space research kicked off in Busan on Monday with the aim of fostering international scientific research in space, officials said.

About 3,000 space scientists and industry officials from some 60 nations are attending the 45th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research, according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA).

The attendees include Pam Melroy, deputy administrator of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Hitoshi Kuninaka, director general of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science.

It marks the first time that South Korea is hosting the biennial global conference.

On the sidelines of the conference, KASA held bilateral meetings with its counterparts from the U.S., Japan, the United Arab Emirates, China and other countries as part of efforts to expand its global network in the space sector and discover new joint research projects.

In the opening ceremony, Yoon Young-bin, head of KASA, said So
uth Korea will continue to invest in innovative space research projects to expand its capabilities in space exploration and contribute to peaceful space cooperation between different nations.

Source: Yonhap News Agency