The 71st annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC), held this year from 12 to 14 October, chose an online format for the first time. IAC is a yearly congress organized by International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and its partners.

GMV is a member of IAF, which was set up in 1951 to serve as an international cooperation platform for space expertise. Over the years it has played a crucial role in bringing astronautical matters to a wider audience and stands today as a worldwide network of space experts.

As in previous years, the IAC was divided up into various plenary sessions, networking forums plus a wide-ranging program of papers together with a virtual space given over to exhibitions and the mentoring program for students and young space professionals.

GMV took part in several paper presentations this year, sharing its insights and expertise in the various thematic areas like space debris, orbit determination and space transport technology. Mariella Graziano, moreover, GMV’s Robotics and Flight Segment Manager and a member of IAF’s Planetary Defense and Exploration Committee, chaired the session presenting the annual advances in solar system exploration.

But for the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 host was due to be Dubai. Under the current circumstances, however, it was decided to hold this year’s congress online and without any registration fee, encouraging a much bigger turnout than in previous years.