The Honorary President of the Hungarian Astronautical Society (MANT) has been honored by the International Astronautical Association (IAF) in recognition of his significant contribution over decades to the development of Hungarian and international space research.
MANT press release
The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is the world's largest international space research organization. The Space Research Hall of Fame (IAF Hall of Fame) was established to honor the activities of those who have made a significant contribution to the development of space science and technology. Among last year's winners we can find the name of Elon Musk, but in previous years, for example, Charles Bolden, former head of NASA, or the astronauts who visited the Apollo 11 satellite, were also included in the Hall of Fame.
“I consider it the greatest honor of my life that the Indian Air Force has deemed me worthy of this recognition.” Ivan Almar said. The professor, who celebrates his 92nd birthday this weekend, is considered one of the founders of galactic space research. For several decades, he has played a very active role in many domestic and international space organizations. During the astronomer's professional life, he was, among other things, founding director of the Cosmic Geodetic Observatory and president of the Galactic Space Research Board. He also took an active part in IAF activities. Previously, he served as Vice-President of the international organization, and at the 1983 IAAF Congress in Budapest, he was Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee.
Ivan Almar is an honorary member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and hereditary honorary president of the Hungarian Astronautical Society (MANT). During his career he published about 150 scientific papers and wrote or edited 10 books in Hungarian on the subject of space research and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). His name is well known to generations of Hungarian television viewers and newspaper readers due to his distinguished scholarly and publishing activities.
Ivan Almar's life journey was published by MANT in 2014 with the title The Birth of Science In a book Can be read. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, a video was recorded of the scientific conference held in April 2022, as a reminder of decades of galactic space activity, which here can be seen.