Two asteroids named after Romanian personalities

Two new asteroids have received Romanian names. The asteroid number 10466 received the name Marius-Ioan, after Marius-Ioan Piso, who is the president of the Romanian Space Agency and asteroid 10707 was named Prunariu, after Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, who was the first Romanian cosmonaut.Both asteroids were discovered in 1981.

Marius-Ioan Piso has founded the Romanian Space Agency in 1991 and also the Institute of Space Science and he has managed to create a working relationship between the Romanian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Thanks to his hard work in regards to the development of space research, Romania became a part of the European Space Agency in 2011. Marius-Ioan Piso is now a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and member of the NATO Science Committee.

According to Romania Insider, the names were suggested by the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy.

source:romania insider