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The sixth Starmus, one of the world-scale science and art festivals will take place in September 2021 in Yerevan, Armenia, to celebrate science communication with world-class scientists, artists and astronauts.

Ahead of the official event a video conference was organised on Wednesday attended by President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan, the author and the main organizer of the Garik Israelyan, board members of the festival astrophysicist Jill Tarter, Editor-in-Chief of Astronomy Journal David Eicherand and astronomer Michel Mayor.

President Sarkissian attached importance to the festival which is significant not only for Armenia people but also humanity. The Minister of High-Tech Industry pointed that Armenia is a country of opportunities not only for giving renowned scientists, authors, and art workers to the world, but also for the fact that the government has declared IT is a priority sphere.

Director at the Festival, and board member Garik Israelyan informed that the festival will feature a reach programme. It was noted that the sixth Starmus will be dedicated to Mars, from the very first Soviet MARS 3 to the ambitious manned landing plans and spectacular NASA missions. It has been 50 years since MARS 3 performed the first soft landing on the Red Planet and sent back to the Earth the first image of its surface.

This milestone was followed by dozens of successful missions by NASA providing us with more accurate images and information from our neighbour in the Solar System. Following the established tradition, the Festival will address pressing issues and screen films about the exploration of Mars. Previous film screenings included the documentary Apollo 11 and The Spacewalker, a film about the legendary Russian astronaut and Starmus Board Member Alexei Leonov.