According to Parque Explora, “this is the first time that the international conference of the IAU will take place in South America.”

Delegates include astronomical researchers, space-agency officials, planetarium directors, journalists and communications specialists.

Guest speakers at the event include:

• Amanda Bauer, researcher at the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO);
• Roger Malina, professor of physics at the University of Texas at Dallas and CEO of Leornardo Publications, MIT Press;
• Claudia Mignone, science writer European Space Agency, who will describe the complex communication campaign for the Rosetta mission of ESA;
• Christina Richey, senior scientist at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); 
• Mark Subbarao, director of the Space Visualization Laboratory at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago; 
• Silvia Torres, president of the IAU.

Delegates to the congress can attend 30 conferences and more than 100 short presentations on topics including “useful tools for communicating astronomy” and “collaboration with journalists” in explaining astronomy and astronomical events, according to the event organizers.