YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. One of the most brilliant minds on the planet will gather in Armenia to celebrate science communication within the framework of the 6th Edition of STARMUS in September.

The global festival of science communication, founded by astrophysicist Garik Israelian will take place 5-10 September, 2022 in Yerevan.

The program of Starmus VI is filled with science and technology, music and arts, presents world-class artists and prominent scientists. Conferences, speeches, presentations, and other events are a part of the program.

Starmus VI festival features presentations by legendary Astronauts, Nobel Prize Winners, prominent figures of science, technology, culture and arts. 

Every edition of the festival is organized around a particular theme related to space exploration, and this year’s topic is 50 Years on Mars.

Ahead of the launch of STARMUS VI, it is a good idea to look back at some of the highlights from the previous festivals.

STARMUS I: 50 YEARS OF MAN IN SPACE

The first Starmus Festival took place in 2011, on Tenerife and La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. The primary site of the event was the Ritz-Carlton Abama Hotel in Tenerife. The theme was “50 Years of Man in Space,” and featured as speakers a blend of astronaut-explorers, astronomers, biologists, chemists, and artists. Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Bill Anders and Charlie Duke appeared on stage with soviet space era cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Victor Gorbatko. The Festival presented the rare opportunity for delegates, as the attendees were called, to share time, speak with, share refreshments, and converse with the speakers. Events generally began in the afternoon through the early evening, so that delegates had plenty of time to also enjoy the volcanic beauty of the islands, which featured beaches, geological wonders, and — on La Palma — the largest optical telescope in the world, the 10.2-m Gran Telescopio Canarias, as well as other instruments.

Photo: Participants of STARMUS I

The last public speech by the first man to walk on the Moon

After the first edition of the festival, STARMUS Founding Director Garik Israelian often recalled that many people did not believe that the first man to walk on the Moon, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong himself would participate in the event because his rare public appearances.

“When we announced Neil Armstrong was coming,” Israelian recalls, “we completely lost our credibility because no one believed he was going to be there. People said we were crazy. It was the worst thing we could do. And then he came!”

Armstrong concluded his speech at STARMUS I with the following remarks at the event:

“Let us hope that our grandchildren at our age can look back and say, “The 20th century was a century of advancement and improvement in technology, and the 21st century was a century of advancement and improvement in human character. And that may just qualify us as humans from Earth to sally forth and expand the human presence beyond Earth not to take with us our worst behavior, but rather to be accompanied by our best behavior.”

Photo: Soviet space era cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and American astronaut Neil Armstrong

This was Armstrong’s last public statement. He died a year later, on August 25 in 2012.

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin concluded his remarks by stressing that space exploration helps humans to learn more about themselves, to inspire youth.

Aldrin highlighted that space exploration enables people to improve their life here on Earth.  He said that by living on the Moon and Mars, people will learn how to preserve and recycle, and “will have a backup in case disaster hits Earth”.

Soviet cosmonaut who became the first person to conduct a spacewalk.  

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first person to conduct a spacewalk by exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission in 1965, was also among the speakers.

Leonov praised the festival for its uniqueness, noting that it was the first time that such an event was being organized.

The talks were many: Armstrong talked about Starmus and our future on Earth; Aldrin spoke about possible future missions to Mars; Leonov described the early days of the Soviet space program, in addition to his historic first spacewalk; Musician and astrophysicist Brian May asked about future human exploration in space and whether humans should first clean up their act here on Earth. Further exploring themes of space exploration, Cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko recalled early Soviet missions; Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders related details of the early American space program; Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell described the harrowing mission he endured returning that crippled spacecraft to Earth; and Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke described his adventures in the Apollo program.

Covering themes of life in the universe, Nobel Prize winning chemist Jack Szostak outlined the origin of life on Earth; Richard Dawkins described evolution and exobiology; astronomer Michel Mayor recalled extrasolar planets including his own first discovery; and Jill Tarter explored extraterrestrial intelligence in the universe.

Photo: STARMUS I participants hold discussion under Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC)

The event’s highlights were featured in Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space, a book by Garik Israelian, with an introduction by renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

Hawking said that the book is a “historic document” because it includes Armstrong’s last lecture, as well as the lectures of the Soviet cosmonauts and other Apollo astronauts.

Photo: Stephen Hawking and Garik Israelian present  Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space