The visit was part of the anniversary program celebrating 45 years since the first spaceflight of a Romanian citizen, cosmonaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, the first Romanian to travel into space.
The international delegation was welcomed by ELI-NP representatives, who presented the technological and scientific capabilities of the Magurele facility, including the 10 PW dual-arm laser system - one of the most powerful laser systems in the world - and the Gamma Beam System, designed to generate highly intense gamma beams with exceptional energy precision.
The international delegation included prominent personalities from the fields of astronautics and space research: Ms. Julie Payette - Canadian astronaut and former Governor General of Canada; Ms. Claudie Haignere - the first French woman and the first European woman to visit the International Space Station;
Mr. Jean-Pierre Haignere - ESA/CNES astronaut and General of the French Air Force; Ulrich Walter - physicist, astronaut, and professor of astronautics at the Technical University of Munich; Paolo Nespoli - Italian ESA astronaut and veteran of several space missions;
Jannicke Jane Mikkelsen - the first Norwegian woman to travel into space; Pedro Duque - the first Spanish astronaut and former Minister of Science and Innovation of Spain; Ivan Bella - the first Slovak cosmonaut; Alper Gezeravci - the first Turkish astronaut; Prof. Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund -President of COSPAR (Committee on Space Research); Prof. Bernard Foing - renowned scientist and former ESA/ESTEC Chief Scientist; Dr. Jean-Michel Contant - Secretary General of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA); Ada Samuelsson - international expert in economic policy and international development; and Andy Turnage - Executive Director of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE).
