MINSK, 11 September (BelTA) – Flights to the Moon and to Mars are priorities in the development of space research, BelTA learned from the Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov on the sidelines of the 31st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers on 11 September.

Pavel Vinogradov said: “Many countries have joined the space exploration effort. People already know how to do a lot of things in outer space and know where to go from now on. This is why we are very optimistic about our future in this sphere. No doubt, the Moon and Mars are top priorities for us. They are technically doable. We are getting ready for implementing these projects within the next 5-10 years.”

Pavel Vinogradov has taken spacewalks seven times. He is the oldest person to spacewalk: he took a spacewalk at the age of 59.

The 31st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers is taking place in Minsk on 9-15 September. Over 80 cosmonauts and astronauts from 17 countries are taking part in it. “We create space future” is the theme of the congress. This morning space explorers laid flowers at the Victory Monument in Minsk. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus will host two panel sessions today to discuss “Our future in outer space”.

The Association of Space Explorers is an international not-for-profit organization established in 1985 to share the best practices in the area of manned space flights. The ASE planetary congress gathers cosmonauts and representatives of scientific research institutions and national space agencies every year.