Yesterday afternoon, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi hosted a remarkable meeting between Lieutenant General Pham Tuan, Hero of the People’s Armed Forces, and Amanda Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American female astronaut to fly into space.
Lieutenant General Pham Tuan reflected on his historic 1980 mission as the first Vietnamese and Asian to journey into space under the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos program. He recounted his path from a fighter pilot confronting the US Air Force to today, engaging in peaceful exchanges with international friends. He urged young people to recognize their strengths when choosing a career path and highlighted creativity as the essential key in the age of artificial intelligence.
Amanda Nguyen, visibly moved by her return to Vietnam, shared details of her space flight, including carrying lotus seeds from the Vietnam Space Center for experiments and receiving a congratulatory letter from the President of Vietnam. She emphasized that science and technology serve as a universal language, fostering cooperation and healing among nations.
In a symbolic gesture, Nguyen presented Lieutenant General Pham Tuan with her space flight badge, while he gifted her a commemorative book documenting his historic mission, an exchange that underscored the continuity between generations of Vietnamese astronauts.
