China is scheduled to host the Eighth International Conference on the Exploration and Utilization of the Moon in July of 2006, the Chinese Society of Astronautics said Thursday.

Sources with the society noted that the location and the host city for the 2006 meeting has yet to be decided by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG).

According to a declaration adopted at the Sixth International Conference on the Exploration and Utilization held late Nov. in India, the next International Conference on Exploration and Utilization of the Moon (ICEU) will be held in Montreal, Canada Sept. 2005, and it will be followed by a full ICEU to be held in China in July 2006.

The conference was sponsored by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), whose members are from the world's space agencies.

About 200 scientists from 17 countries, including India, China, Britain, the United States, Australia and Russia, attended the sixth ICEU meeting held from Nov. 22 to 26 in Udaipur, India, which focused on new and planned missions to the Moon as well as roadmap concepts for long-term exploration of the Moon and utilization of lunar resources.

Abdul Kalam, president of India addressed the meeting with recommendations for international activities in exploration of the Moon, "for the benefit of humankind."