Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

International Deep Space Exploration Association Officially Launched in Hefei

Monday, 07 July 2025

The International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), a global academic organization dedicated to advancing deep space exploration, was officially inaugurated on Monday in Hefei, the capital of eastern China's Anhui Province.

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The IDSEA was jointly initiated by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (based in Hefei), the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the Chinese Society of Astronautics, the Chinese Society of Space Research, and the French initiative “Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061.” The association also received co-sponsorship from 20 Chinese academicians and 31 international scientists.

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At the inauguration ceremony, Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was elected as the first chairman of the association. In his speech, Wu emphasized the significance of international collaboration in achieving breakthroughs in deep space exploration.

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Guests at the event toured the exhibition hall of the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, which showcases China's scientific progress and technological capabilities in lunar and planetary missions. A ceremonial plaque unveiling marked the official establishment of the IDSEA.

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The founding of the association is expected to foster global scientific cooperation, promote joint deep space missions, and support interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding the broader solar system and beyond.

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(Xinhua/Zhou Mu)