The International Space University’s annual graduate-level Space Studies Program (SSP) launched in Israel on Tuesday, marking the first time that the program is being held in the Middle East.
The two-month program is taking place at the Technion Institute in Haifa, where guest lectures and panels are expected through September 1.
Among those scheduled to lead sessions are U.S. astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Hoffman, and Jessica Meir; Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon’s widow, Rona Ramon; Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev; Canadian astronomer David Levy, who discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9; and aerospace engineer and science-fiction writer Eric Choi.
Now in its 28th year, the France-based International Space University provides graduate-level training in all disciplines related to space programs and enterprises, such as space science, space engineering, systems engineering, space medicine, space policy and law, business and management, and space and society.
The program includes public lectures in English and events such as a robotics competition on July 28, a rocket launch on August 19 at Kibbutz Gal’ed, and the first SpaceUp Unconference in the Middle East, on July 22.
International Space University (ISU) President Prof. Walter Peeters attended the opening ceremony Tuesday night along with John Connolly, SSP director and senior NASA engineer; Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav; Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie; Israel Space Agency Director Avi Blasberger; and other dignitaries.
For more information on public events, click here.
(via Israel21c)
[Photo: Technion Institute]