Astronaut receives first Unesco space science medal

PARiS: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has awarded the Unesco Medal on Space Science to the first Chinese national sent to space, Yang Liwei (pic), and three other prominent international space practitioners during the first edition of the award ceremony. The ceremony was held on Friday at Unesco ’s Headquarters in

Paris.

The three other scientific laureates of the 2017 edition are Valentina Tereshkova, the Russian cosmonaut and first woman in space, Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, the first Cuban in space, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese commander of International Space Station.

“I hope for you to continue on your scientific journey, and also to return to Unesco as often as possible, to reach out to younger generations, to share Unesco’s message to build peace in the minds of men and women,” said director-general of Unesco, Irina Bokova, to the laureates.

Unable to attend the ceremony himself, Yang was represented by Shen Yang, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the People’s Republic of China to Unesco at the ceremony.

The Unesco Medal on Space Science, established on June 29, 2017, is awarded to honour prominent scientists, public figures and organisations for their contributions to the development of space science in the spirit of Unesco’s priorities. — Xinhua