by Yuri MARKOV, test engineer Russia's space science has been keeping its leading positions in the country's scientific complex for the last ten years too - this conclusion was made at the conference of scientists, which took place on October 2 - 4, 2004, in Moscow, at the RAS Institute of Space Research (IKI). "This has become possible," pointed out Academician Yuri Osipov, RAS President, in his speech at the forum, "due to the concentration of limited financial resources for minimal number of priority projects, that have guaranteed to the Russian scientists the unique results at the world level and allowed to carry out mutually advantageous cooperation and exchange of scientific information with foreign colleagues." Many outstanding scientists of the country took part in the conference: Efraim Akim, Dr. Sc. (Phys. & Math.), who has made a great contribution to the elaboration and implementation of the project of soft landing of space apparatuses on the Moon's surface in 1966; Mikhail Marov, RAS Corresponding Member, who was at the forefront of studies of Venus and Mars with the help of interplanetary stations; Academician Alexander Boyarchuk, scientific head of the Astron project (1983), which supplied extremely important data on stars and galaxies in ultraviolet spectrum; Academician Rashid Syunyaev, who in the 1990s made sensational discoveries in the sphere of gamma - and x-ray astronomy, etc. The participants and guests of the conference were interested in the exhibition "Projects of Space Research Today and Tomorrow" opened in the conference-hall of the Institute. Over 50 artistically designed stands, many models of flying devices, natural scientific instruments told much about the most significant experiments, that are in progress now or are being prepared to be implemented in future, dealing with problems of astrophysics, studies of planets, physics of cosmic plasma, sun-earth links, modern technology and instrument-making, information technologies. ... Читать далее