GMV has participated in the 66th International Astronautical Congress, an annual event organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and its partner organizations: the International Academy of Aeronautics (IAA) and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), in collaboration with the Israel Space Agency. Comprising plenary sessions, lectures and meetings, this event, one of the world’s top annual space congresses, was held this year in Jerusalem from 12 to 16 October.

During IAC week Jerusalem became the meeting point for the main stakeholders of the space sector, ranging from politicians, career professionals and academics to representatives of research centers and universities, the industry, the media and the public at large.

The watchword for this year’s congress was "Space – The Gateway for Mankind’s Future". It advocated the importance of Space as an instrument for international cooperation and partnership, for peaceful purposes, boosting education and increasing diplomatic ties and political benefits.

IAC 2015 was a splendid chance for participants from all around the world to make contacts, present future plans and projects, pinpoint collaboration opportunities and swap notes. Many delegates from various countries participated in the Congress with their articles and presentations.

Special mention must go to the planetary exploration activities targeting Mars and Phobos (bringing back soil samples to the Earth) and the Moon, including the creation of a permanent human settlement on its dark side. Along these lines the ESA Director General, Jan Woerner, defended the creation of the #MoonVillage as a clear source of inspiration for the post-Apollo generation of engineers and a natural continuation of the international community’s scientific work in the International Space Station (ISS).

GMV’s head of robotics, Alberto Medina, presented some of GMV’S current work in projects like ASSIST, for in-orbit refueling of satellites and active landing for low-gravity environments; PATENDER, space-debris collection; or IXV, in the development of autonomous onboard software for the re-entry vehicle.

Adrian Danciu, from GMV-Romania, also presented papers on Hardware and Software co-design for visual navigation in Moon landing scenarios and an analysis and identification of the model of the experimental vehicle ESA IXV for future Earth-atmosphere reentry activities by space vehicles.