Int'l Deep Space Exploration Association launched in Hefei

This photo taken on July 7, 2025 shows an exterior view of the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, east China'a Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

HEFEI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), an international academic organization dedicated to deep space exploration, was officially launched on Monday in Hefei.

This association was jointly initiated by the Hefei-based Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration, the Chinese Society of Astronautics, the Chinese Society of Space Research and the French initiative "Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061." The founding of the IDSEA was also co-sponsored by 20 academicians from China and 31 international scientists.

Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, who was elected as the International Deep Space Exploration Association's first chairman, speaks during the inauguration ceremony of the association in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, July 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

Guests attend the inauguration ceremony of the International Deep Space Exploration Association in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, July 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

Guests attend the inauguration ceremony of the International Deep Space Exploration Association in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, July 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

Guests visit the show room of the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, July 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This photo taken on July 7, 2025 shows an exterior view of the International Deep Space Exploration Association in Hefei, east China'a Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

Guests unveil the plaque of the International Deep Space Exploration Association during the inauguration ceremony of the association in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, July 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

Guests visit the show room of the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, July 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)