UNISPACE+50
- The countries are marking the 50th year of the first UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space — called UNISPACE+50, organised by UNOOSA.
- Three such conferences held earlier recognized the potential of space and laid the guidelines for human activities and international cooperation related to outer space. They were:
- UNISPACE I, Vienna, 1968
- UNISPACE II, Vienna, 1982 and
- UNISPACE III, Vienna, 1999
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
- The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) works to promote international cooperation in the peaceful use and exploration of space, and in the utilisation of space science and technology for sustainable economic and social development.
- The Office assists any United Nations Member States to establish legal and regulatory frameworks to govern space activities and strengthens the capacity of developing countries to use space science technology and applications for development by helping to integrate space capabilities into national development programmes.
Roles and Responsibilities
- The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is the United Nations office responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. UNOOSA serves as the secretariat for the General Assembly’s only committee dealing exclusively with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space: the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
- UNOOSA is also responsible for implementing the Secretary-General’s responsibilities under international space law and maintaining the United Nations Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
- Through the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, UNOOSA conducts international workshops, training courses and pilot projects on topics that include remote sensing, satellite navigation, satellite meteorology, tele-education and basic space sciences for the benefit of developing nations. It also maintains a 24-hour hotline as the United Nations focal point for satellite imagery requests during disasters and manages the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER).
- UNOOSA is the current secretariat of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG).
- UNOOSA also prepares and distributes reports, studies and publications on various fields of space science and technology applications and international space law. Documents and reports are available in all official languages of the United Nations through this website.
- UNOOSA is located at the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria.