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Nobel Committee unlikely to back idea to nominate ISS for Nobel Peace Prize -opinion

“I am skeptical about the Nobel Committee supporting this proposal," academician Aleksandr Zheleznyakov said

MOSCOW, January 22,  /ITAR-TASS/. The proposal to nominate the international space station (ISS) for the Nobel Peace Prize can well be made but it can hardly be approved by the Nobel Committee, holds Aleksandr Zheleznyakov, academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky.

“I am skeptical about the Nobel Committee supporting this proposal. As far as I remember, there are certain reservations in the provision about the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize,” the scientist told ltar-Tass on Tuesday. “The prize is awarded not just for any work but for activity toward settling military conflicts and ensuring security of nations,” he said.

A technological project, such as the ISS, can hardly be regarded as being in the sphere of the Nobel Peace Prize, Zheleznyakov added.

What is more, he said, the ISS was created by large groups of people in Russia, United States, Europe, Canada and Japan, so it will be difficult to establish who were involved in the project and can be regarded as the Nobel Peace Prize winners.

“But if this proposal is made to the Nobel Committee, this will mean popularization of the idea of space studies and will emphasize the importance of the ISS, also for the public. And whether or not the project gets the prize is of secondary importance,” the academician said.

The Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences at its meeting on Tuesday endorsed the proposal of the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos to nominate the ISS project for the Nobel Peace Prize.