United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

🌌🚀 Day 2 in New York - the first-ever United Nations Space Bridge on Space Traffic Coordination (STC) took place and the UN General Assembly's Fourth Committee began discussions and negotiations on the peaceful uses of space.   🌍🛰️ UN Space Bridge on Space Traffic Coordination: With space activities increasing rapidly, global coordination on space traffic has never been more critical. Today, UNOOSA brought together experts from governments and the commercial sector to tackle the complex issues of space traffic coordination.    Broadly speaking space traffic coordination (STC) refers to systems, encompassing SSA information as well as data-sharing and possibly operational guidelines or practices, that seek to reduce the potential for collisions and other incidents in space that could create additional debris or other safety risks for space activities, and seeks to increase the safety and efficiency of space activities.   🗣️ Fourth Committee Discussions: The UN General Assembly's Fourth Committee also kicked off discussions and negotiations related to international cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space and the annual "omnibus resolution", that endorses the annual #COPUOS report. Member States shared their insights and reaffirmed the importance of space as a domain for peace, development, and multilateral collaboration. #UNOOSA was proud to contribute its expertise to advancing space governance, emphasizing how space can help address global challenges.   🏛️🌌 At the Museum: At the iconic American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, UNOOSA partnered to showcase how space activities can drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This immersive experience demonstrated to Member States and partners how satellite data, space-based technology, and collaboration can transform global development initiatives—from climate action to sustainable resource management.   Stay tuned as we continue our journey through the week’s events at the UN General Assembly, UN-Space, and more!

💧🚀 Transforming Water Management with Space Technology! The Fourth #Space4Water Stakeholder Meeting concluded last week. Here are some key highlights ⤵️ 🔹Country case studies by Brazil 🇧🇷 and The Gambia 🇬🇲 on mapping actors and space-technology initiatives for water management and hydrology aiming at an improved inter-agency collaboration. 🔹Addressing challenges like rainwater harvesting in Ghana 🇬🇭, Kenya 🇰🇪 and North Madagascar 🇲🇬, sea-level rise in the Nile Delta 🇪🇬, hydrocarbon contamination in the Niger Delta and wetland extent mapping in Nigeria 🇳🇬. 🔹Hands-on sessions led to the co-design of actionable solutions using satellite technology 🛰️. 🔹A focus on capacity building for Indigenous communities in Costa Rica 🇨🇷, enhancing their role in sustainable water management. 🌐 Space technology has become an indispensable tool in addressing global water challenges. From satellite monitoring to early warning systems, space-based solutions are critical for safeguarding water resources and promoting sustainability in regions facing scarcity or water-related threats. The #Space4Water project continues to push for innovation, ensuring that space contributes meaningfully to a water-secure future. Thank you to all stakeholders, speakers, and participants for your dedication and contributions. Together, we’re leveraging space technology to solve global water challenges and promote sustainable water management! 💧🚀 💡 Are you a practitioner or decision-maker in your country? Do you have expertise in the use of space data, services or technology for water management? Join our community of practice where you will get to harness the knowledge and support from a network of experts in the use of space technology for water to tackle your water challenges. 🔗 Link to join our community  ➡️ for stakeholders (institutions): https://lnkd.in/gdjzkXe4  ➡️ for individual experts: https://lnkd.in/ejDt-J6S 👉 Check out our Space4Water portal for more space solutions: https://lnkd.in/dtnrsRE Finally, a special thanks goes to the event's co-organisers, the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water! Without this continued support, we wouldn't be able to bring together stakeholders from government, intergovernmental organisations, academia, the private sector, and civil society voices to tackle water-related challenges with space-based solutions. 

🚀🇺🇳 UNOOSA touched down in New York City. Day 1 addressed space applications for sustainable development and multilateral cooperation on space governance.   🛰️ UN-Space Training: Together with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites), and the Capacity Development and Operational Training Service (CDOTS) of the Department of Operation Support, #UNOOSA hosted a hands-on training for 21 UN staff, equipping them with Earth observation skills to inform policy and decision-making on the ground. Participants explored NASA tools to visualize remote sensing data for societal impact.   🌍🗣️ Director Aarti Holla-Maini briefed the Forum of Small States (FOSS) and shared how space technology supports sustainable development and opens new opportunities for smaller nations to enhance their connectivity.   📄🌌 Follow-up on the Pact for the Future: The Permanent Mission of Austria convened Member State representatives to discuss UNOOSA’s and COPUOS' role in advancing the Pact for the Future which called for the implementation of existing space governance and called on COPUOS to address space traffic, debris removal, and space resources.   Stay tuned for more updates as we dive deeper into the UN General Assembly, the UN Space Bridge on space traffic coordination, and UN-Space!

🍎🇺🇳🇺🇲🌇 #UNOOSA goes to the Big Apple this week to the United Nations General Assembly. But that’s not all... Here's what’s on the agenda:    1️⃣9️⃣3️⃣ Member States will negotiate and adopt the annual “Omnibus Resolution on International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space”, which approves June’s report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.    🌐 Director Aarti Holla-Maini will convene the first United Nations Space Bridge on the margins of the UN General Assembly, which will build on the space outcome of the Pact for the Future and bring together key stakeholders from within the space sector to discuss Global Space Traffic Coordination and space situational awareness.   🇺🇳 #UNOOSA, in our capacity as chair of UN-SPACE, will:    1️⃣ host an annual meeting of UN entities, focusing on space sustainability, satellite imagery and radio frequency spectrum issues; and    2️⃣ partner with CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites); NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Capacity Development and Operational Training Service (CDOTS) of the Department of Operation Support, to deliver hands-on training for UN personnel on how remote sensing observations can inform decision-making and policy.   🖼📷🌍🌌 We will (re-)host two inspiring and successful exhibitions - “Our Fragile Space” by Max Alexander in the United Nations Headquarters, and “A Night at the Museum: Space for the Sustainable Development Goals” at the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History.    👥 There will be a joint meeting of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) and the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization). It will bring together nations, chairs of various UN working groups, and diplomats to discuss “possible challenges to space security and sustainability”.    Finally, our agenda will be full with bilateral meetings. 🤝 Stay tuned for our daily updates.

🌱🚀 Empowering Global Food Security Through Space Technology! Last week, the Group of Friends of Food Security was launched in Vienna! Co-chaired by 🇮🇹 Italy and 🇸🇩 Sudan, this initiative brings together States and Vienna-based Organizations to address one of the world’s most pressing issues—food security.    🗣️ At the kick-off event, our Deputy Director Driss El Hadani emphasized the critical role of space in tackling this challenge: " In a world increasingly impacted by climate change, resource scarcity, and natural disasters, space-based technology provides indispensable tools for shaping resilient agricultural and fishing policies.”    🇺🇳🌽💧 #UNOOSA remains focused on advancing space’s contribution to global food security. Through programs like #Space4Water, #Space4ClimateAction, and UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), we use space technology to enhance agricultural resilience, optimize water usage, support disaster response, and prevent crop loss.    🐟🇫🇷 UNOOSA will be convening stakeholders on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing at the upcoming 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France in June 2025. It’s been proven that a combination of space data & imagery, transponders on shipping vessels, and engagement with local law enforcement can cut instances of illegal fishing in national waters.    🛰️🌍 The Group of Friends of Food Security will strengthen global cooperation, combining space solutions with on-the-ground expertise to make a lasting impact in the fight against hunger. Together, through innovation and collaboration, we can create a more sustainable and food-secure world. 🤝   UNODC International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) UNIDO UNESCO Ocean CNES

✈️ Next stop: Chile 🇨🇱 and the Philippines 🇵🇭! UNOOSA’s #SpaceLawProject is gearing up for two crucial space law technical advisory missions next week. 🚀   ⚖️ In Chile (29-31 Oct), UNOOSA will lend support in addressing legal aspects of establishing a national space agency.   ⚖️ In the Philippines (4-6 Nov), UNOOSA will assist in developing key elements of its national space law.   Tremendous thanks to the Governments of Chile, the Philippines, and Japan, as well as all the experts joining us — we can’t wait to get started and work together! 🌌 Stay tuned for updates once we’re on the ground 🔜 To get a better understanding of what international space law entails, see the Outer Space Treaties (yes plural) below 📜 Hernán Tello Sepulveda Olavo Bittencourt Neto Fatheya Al sharji Ilgar Abdullayev Michelle L.D. Hanlon Ruth Pritchard-Kelly Bianca Lins Rafael Moro Aguilar Philippine Space Agency Steven Freeland Donna Lawler Joanne Wheeler MBE Jean-François Mayence Martin Reynders Philippe Achilleas JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

🇺🇳✨ Marking United Nations Day with reflections from our Director on a transformative first year at #UNOOSA. From kickstarting space economies to promoting global space governance and advancing space sustainability, we’re committed to shaping the future of space for the benefit of all. #UNDay

🚀✨ Want to learn how to build a satellite and boost your space career? Here’s your chance… Registration is now OPEN for the KiboCUBE Academy on-site workshop at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, using the HETPA-sat training kit. 🗓️ Date: Saturday, 30 November 2024 📍 Location: Stellenbosch University, near Cape Town 👨🏫 Lecturer: Dr. Masahiko Yamazaki, Associate Professor, Nihon University 🌍 Who can join? University students and graduates from developing economies or economies in transition. 💡 What you’ll learn: Build and operate CubeSats by understanding subsystems like structure, power supply, communication, and sensors! 🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/ed9JkmhP ⚠️ Only 40 spots available! First-come, first-served—secure your spot today! #KiboCUBE #SpaceForAll #CubeSat #STEM

🚀 Opening the doors to space! #UNOOSA and Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre are thrilled to announce the winners of the second round of the Payload Hosting Initiative (PHI) 🎉. Two innovative projects from the Universitatea Tehnică a Moldovei 🇲🇩 and Madari Space 🇦🇪 have been selected to launch their payloads into orbit aboard the PHI-2 mission. The PHI, part of UNOOSA’s Access to Space for All Initiative, provides nations with access to satellite platforms, focusing on payload development and data analysis. Past awardees have been catalysts for the creation of national space agencies and space laws, promoted the uptake of #STEM education, and developed space solutions regionally and internationally—making space more accessible to emerging players. 🌍 🇲🇩 The team from Moldova will test new satellite positioning technologies and explore how nanosensors endure space radiation— a leap forward in space navigation and sensor applications. 🇦🇪 The UAE start-up will explore AI-powered data storage and debris detection systems, pioneering the future of data management in space. 🔗 Read our press release to learn more about the projects and the PHI mission: https://lnkd.in/dJmA_Agf

🚀✨ UNOOSA’s landmark #Space4Women study on #GenderEquality in the space sector is here! 👩🚀 Presented at IAC2024, this is the largest study of its kind, gathering insights from 53 space agencies and public space organizations globally to assess gender representation and policy in the space sector. Key findings include: 📊 Women make up 30% of public sector space organizations. 👩💼 Women hold only 19% of board roles and 21% of leadership positions. 🔬 Women are under-represented in technical, astronaut, and policy roles. 📚 Over-representation of women in education, outreach, HR, and admin roles. 🌍 Out of the world regions, African states are closest to gender parity in space. This report marks a significant step toward closing the gender gap in space and beyond! 📖 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dWngkxW9 🇰🇷 A special thanks to the Government of the Republic of Korea for their support in making this important study possible. It becomes apparent that more needs to be done to mainstream gender across the space sector - and #UNOOSA is taking concrete steps. With the generous support of the Government of Canada and valuable input from the Canadian Space Agency | Agence spatiale canadienne, our 'Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit for the Space Sector' addresses challenges and provides practical solutions for member states to promote gender equality and mainstream a gender perspective into space policies and the space sector. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/ddgW6b4e Together, we are committed to fostering equality and making space accessible to all. 🌌 #WomenInSpace #Space4Women #WomenInSTEM #SpaceForAll #SDGs #Equality #STEM #Diversity Dr. Elise Stephenson GAICD