The future of space activities, focus of COPUOS Subcommittee

“The importance attached by the international community to cooperation in the area of peaceful uses of outer space is increasing” said Ms. Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), at the opening of the 52nd session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee meeting of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) today.

“This cooperation is a necessary driver for bringing the growing number of benefits derived from space science and technology applications to both developing and developed countries in their common pursuit of attaining the objectives of the global development agenda beyond 2015,” said Ms. Di Pippo.

The long-term sustainability of outer space activities will be one of the key topics at this 52nd session, running from 2 to 13 February. Space activities play a vital role in contributing to the post-2015 development agenda process and their future use requires international cooperation.  Other key items for discussion include mitigation of space debris, use of space tools for disaster management and space weather research. Recent developments in the use of remote sensing of the Earth by satellites for devolvement goals as well as the safe use of nuclear power sources in outer space, the use of the geostationary orbit and global navigation satellite systems will be discussed. 

The Subcommittee will mark the historic milestones in space, including the 50th anniversary of the first space walk performed by a human, cosmonaut Alexey A. Leonov of the Russian Federation, and the 40th anniversary of the “Apollo-Soyuz Test Project”, the first international space cooperation project developed by the United States and the former Soviet Union. 

The Steering Committee of the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group will meet 5-6 February to continue to prepare for an international response to a Near-Earth Object impact threat (further details at http://cosmos.esa.int/web/smpag/home).

The full agenda can be found at http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/COPUOS/stsc/2015/index.html 

The extensive agenda is supplemented by a variety of side events, open to persons accredited to the VIC:

– Monday, 2 February, 13:00, Coffee Corner, 7th floor, C building, VIC, ceremony and display of the Argentine ARSAT 1 satellite and Tronador rocket, with speeches by Matías Bianchi Villelli, President of ARSAT, and Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA. 

– Monday, 2 February, 15:00,  Boardroom D, C Building, VIC, COSPAR Symposium, “Measuring the Universe – Looking Back in Time with Modern Astronomy”

– Wednesday, 4 February, 13:15, UNOOSA Permanent Space Exhibit, DOE Corridor, VIC, donation of the Mars Orbiter Mission by India. Speeches by Mr. V.K. DADHWAL, Director, National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC), ISRO and Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA. 

– Wednesday, 4 February, 14:00, Boardroom D, C Building, VIC, Screening of movie about the Japanese Hayabusa 2 mission

– Thursday, 5 February, 12:30, Room C6, VIC, Press Conference with NASA’S Chief Scientist for the International Space Station, Julie Robinson, and UNOOSA Director, Simonetta Di Pippo on the Joint US-Russian One-Year Mission to the International Space Station. Webcast – http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/webcast.html

– Thursday, 5 February, 13:00, Board Room D, VIC, Mark McCaughrean, Senior Scientific Advisor, ESA, will deliver a presentation on “Rosetta’s journey – unlocking the origins of life”, followed by a reception.

– Monday, 9 February, 13:00, Rotunda, VIC, Inauguration ceremony and reception for the European Commission Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System interactive exhibition, followed by reception. Speeches by Ambassador Györgyi Martin Zanathy and Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA.

– Monday, 9 February, 13:00, Board Room D, 4th Floor of C Building, VIC “Space and Sustainable Development: The Role of Space-based Applications in Disaster Risk Reduction in the context of the 3rd WCDRR”, hosted by Japan, followed by reception.

The UNOOSA permanent space exhibit is open to the public as part of the VIC tours.

Media representatives who wish to attend the side events and who are not accredited to the VIC should contact press@unvienna.org