On May 29, 2014, Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of Austrian Science Fund, visited the National Space Science Center (NSSC), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

By delivering an insightful lecture entitled “Stepping Stones toward an International Space Exploration Program", Dr. Ehrenfreund stressed the importance of Mars missions, the Worldwide Small Sat Program and showed in front of the audience the roadmap of human space exploration.

Dr. Mu Rongping, Director of Institute of Policy and Management, CAS, and Birgit Murr, the Science and Technology Councilor from Austria Embassy, China, joined the following discussion. The discussion was chaired by Dr. Wu Ji, Director General of NSSC.

Dr. Ehrenfreund is currently a research professor at the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. She has made important scientific contributions in topics such as interstellar chemistry (galactic and extragalactic), organic molecules in interstellar space, planetary surfaces, comets and meteorites as well as life detection on Mars and the origin of life.