A total of 93 astronauts from 18 countries, including China, the United States and Russia, gathered in Beijing on September 10, 2014 for the 27th Planetary Congress of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE).

The meeting, organized by China Manned Space Agency, is themed "Cooperation: realizing humanity's space dream together."

During the six-day event, participants will share their experience from previous manned space missions and talk about the future of space programs.

The event has attracted some of the top figures in space exploration history, including Alexey Leonov, the first person to walk in space, Valentina Tereshkova, the first female astronaut, and Buzz Aldrin, the second person to land on the moon.

Astronauts will also visit schools, communities and enterprises, meeting with students, researchers and ordinary Chinese people in the cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Xiamen.

The ASE, established in 1985, is an international nonprofit professional and educational organization with 395 members, all of whom have actual experience in space.

It's the first time that the ASE hosts its annual meeting in China.

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