Cosmonauts from Russia and Brazil discussed prospects for international cooperation at the Second World Public Assembly in Moscow

The open discussion "Space is a space of peace, trust and cooperation" was held on 18 September 2026 at the World Trade Center. The event became part of the Second World Public Assembly "New World: Values That Unite", taking place in Moscow from 18 to 19 September.

The participants discussed on what principles the space future of humanity should be built, how the perception of Earth changes after a spaceflight, and what place education, culture and humanitarian values should occupy in space exploration.

Representatives of the space industry and the international expert community took part in the conversation. The focus was on the themes of human trust, responsibility for the team, as well as how space experience changes a person's view of the world and determines their further professional path.

The honored guests of the event were pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, Hero of the Russian Federation Valery Tokarev and the first Brazilian astronaut, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil (2019–2022), Senator of the Federal Senate of Brazil from the state of São Paulo Marcos Pontes. The cosmonauts recalled how 20 years ago they took part in the first Russian-Brazilian space mission, when Marcos Pontes flew to the ISS to conduct scientific experiments. Speaking about their joint work, they emphasized that international space projects have always been built on mutual respect.

— In Soviet times, many boys dreamed of the sky and space. I grew up in a remote village where there were no pilots or cosmonauts, but there were books. As soon as I learned to read, I discovered the hero pilots of the Great Patriotic War and firmly decided: I would be a military pilot. I worked toward this goal — I played sports and studied well. When you sincerely pursue your dream, the Lord sees your efforts and gives you the opportunity to fly even higher, Valery Tokarev said about his professional path. He was selected for the cosmonaut corps under the Buran program, tested winged shuttles and practiced elements of air launch, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union remained faithful to his oath and continued his work — flying on both Russian and American spacecraft.

— I like to imagine our planet as a spaceship with seven billion crew members on board. To survive, we need to learn to cooperate, think about others, and put ourselves in their place. There are plenty of problems on Earth, but we also have no shortage of strength to solve them, — shared Marcos Pontes, reflecting on what principles the space future should be built on. At the age of 14, he worked as an electrician's assistant on the railway in a small town in the state of São Paulo. A key role in the fate of Marcos Pontes was played by his mother's words: "You can become anyone in life if you study, work hard and always do more than is expected of you."

— In zero gravity, the gloves floated in front of me — the dream came true. I looked at the blue Earth through the porthole and remembered my mother: she had eyes of the same color, said Marcos Pontes.

The discussion was moderated by the founder and president of the Unity charitable foundation Alyona Kuzmenko.

The participants in the discussion also included:

• Fyodor Yurchikhin — pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, Hero of the Russian Federation;

• Sergey Volkov — pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, Hero of the Russian Federation.

The session participants agreed that peace, trust, mutual responsibility and readiness for cooperation are becoming no less significant in the modern world than technological achievements. According to them, new opportunities for space exploration pose a fundamental question to humanity: what will we carry with us into the future — competition or cooperation, responsibility or indifference.

Additional information is on the official website of the World Peoples Assembly and at media@world-assembly.org.