Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO)

#MoU 📑 As the international community comes together to celebrate #WorldSpaceWeek, the Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) is delighted to announce the signing of a #MemorandumofUnderstanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence, Maldives (MoD), marking a historic step forward in #space and #maritimesecurity for our nation. 🌊   This agreement highlights the critical role of space in national security, especially as our country faces increasing vulnerability to climate-related disasters and the challenges of managing an Exclusive Economic Zone of nearly 1 million square kilometers. Space-based technologies will be vital for enhancing #disasterresponse, #environmentalmonitoring, and #maritimedomainawareness (MDA). 🛥   This partnership will provide crucial support to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), particularly in bolstering #maritimesecurity, #searchandrescue operations, and #environmentalprotection — essential for a nation of 1,192 islands and a territory that is 99% ocean.🏝 The #MoU also sets the stage for expanded collaboration in key areas, including #spaceexploration, the development of #groundstations, #spacesustainability and #spacesecurity, and #spaceapplications. 🛰 Most importantly, with this milestone, MSRO, with the support of the MoD, will represent the Maldives in global space matters and, as an immediate next step, work closely with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) towards attaining #UNCOPUOS membership. 🌐 Thank you to Minister of Defence Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Brigadier General Hussain Ibrahim, Brigadier General Mohamed Saleem, and Colonel Ibrahim Shaan Shakir for their unwavering support throughout this process.   As we gear up for the International Astronautical Federation's #IAC2024 in Milan next week, we look forward to strengthening our relationships within the international space community and supporting the government of Maldives with its strategic goals of #economicdiversification, #foodsecurity, and safeguarding #nationalsovereignty. Pictured here: MSRO President Madin Maseeh and Deputy Minister of Defence Fathimath Mizna Ali.

🌍✨ Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) Americas Regional Lead, Leonard de Guzman Visits CONTEC! We had the pleasure of welcoming a key representative from the Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) to CONTEC. Through this partnership, we are excited to contribute to strengthening the Maldives' space capabilities and advancing global collaboration in the space industry.🚀

MSRO is teaming up with Villa College to empower Maldivians 🇲🇻 with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the space sector. Let’s reach for the starts together. 💫 #MSRO #VillaCollege #spaceexploration #stem

🚀 Day 4️⃣ of IAC2024 and our rocket fuel (coffee ☕️) is starting to run low. 🇰🇪🇲🇻🇵🇪 #UNOOSA met the Kenya Space Agency, Redwire Space, Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO), and Agencia Espacial del Perú - CONIDA. 🇨🇳🇪🇺 The team (Aarti Holla-Maini, Matthew Miller, Andrew Peebles and Mami Sasamura) delivered keynotes and speeches with the: 1️⃣ China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on human spaceflight and joint experiments onboard the China Space Station; 2️⃣ European Commission on a joint 🇺🇳/EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme study on how space supports a world of 8 billion people. 3️⃣ Redwire on 'Achieving Unified Global Norms of Behaviour for Civil Space Exploration'. 🌚♻️🌌 Director Aarti Holla-Maini led discussions with Sustainable Markets Initiative on implementation of the Astra Carta and attended Open Lunar Foundation's workshop on 'Responsible and coordinated operations in the lunar and cislunar environment'. 💪

🚀 Day 4️⃣ of IAC2024 and our rocket fuel (coffee ☕️) is starting to run low. 🇰🇪🇲🇻🇵🇪 #UNOOSA met the Kenya Space Agency, Redwire Space, Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO), and Agencia Espacial del Perú - CONIDA. 🇨🇳🇪🇺 The team (Aarti Holla-Maini, Matthew Miller, Andrew Peebles and Mami Sasamura) delivered keynotes and speeches with the: 1️⃣ China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on human spaceflight and joint experiments onboard the China Space Station; 2️⃣ European Commission on a joint 🇺🇳/EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme study on how space supports a world of 8 billion people. 3️⃣ Redwire on 'Achieving Unified Global Norms of Behaviour for Civil Space Exploration'. 🌚♻️🌌 Director Aarti Holla-Maini led discussions with Sustainable Markets Initiative on implementation of the Astra Carta and attended Open Lunar Foundation's workshop on 'Responsible and coordinated operations in the lunar and cislunar environment'. 💪

Eartheye Space makes #space accessible, affordable, and usable to all nations, including small island nations like the #Maldives. Eartheye Space's direct (aka self-service) multi-sensor tasking and information feeds platform, which hosts over 475 satellites with imaging and non-imaging sensors, will be used by the Ministry of Defence to keep the maritime borders safe and by other stakeholders to help manage climate risk. Thank you for this partnership, Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO). #spacetech #satellites #sensors #tasking #maritimedomainawareness #MDA #climatechange #defence #intelligence #illegalfishing

🚨 The Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) is excited to share our work on advancing operational benthic habitat classification across the #Maldives 🌊 #Maldives is spread over 800+ km and much of our ecosystems are left unmapped. We need to understand where they are and how they are changing, to care for them effectively! With support from the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP), MSRO has developed and piloted a system to classify benthic habitats in Meemu Atoll. The research lays the groundwork for the development of a system that could be expanded to the entire Maldivian archipelago. While there is much work to be done to improve accuracy and usability, the pilot system is a step towards better understanding our #marine #ecosystems, improving #oceangovernance, and guiding #sustainabledevelopment. 📊 Dive into the details and explore how #satellite and in-situ data can enhance #conservation efforts: Link: https://shorter.me/sagw7 A report on the pilot study including findings, lessons learnt, and identified areas for improvement: Link: https://shorter.me/BPdw- The pilot benthic habitat classification system is supported by three key works: 📝 A #review of existing benthic classification work which has been carried out in the Maldives and a proposed #roadmap for developing a full-scale benthic classification system. Link: https://shorter.me/b5pat The roadmap is a live document and we welcome feedback and comments on it to help improve it and ensure it covers all necessary aspects. 📝 A study on cloud-native data architecture that could support #NaturalCapitalAccounting ☁️. This was developed to understand the infrastructure and data formats necessary for a benthic classification system which is implemented at an operational capacity. Link: https://shorter.me/qCsrY 📝 A policy brief on environmental #data #sovereignty in Maldives, aimed at understanding the challenges in Maldives when it comes to managing datasets, and understanding how best to overcome them. Link: https://shorter.me/YAu8T #MSROmv #EarthObservation #SpaceForExploration #SustainableDevelopment

#Publication ‘Innovative Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction for Small Island Nations’ 🌊 🏝 The Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) is pleased to share a summary and reference document from the closed-door, roundtable discussion hosted at the second Space for Island Nations Conference (SINC). Aim: To develop, coordinate, and advocate new common understandings on #earlywarningsystems (EWS) and more efficient and innovative practices amidst shared logistical challenges and increasing climatic and anthropogenic risks. Key Challenges: - Disaster Financing Access and Delays - Data Relevance, Access, and Distribution - Capacity Development - National Political Support Key Recommendations: 1. Streamline Access to Disaster Financing 2. Develop a Standardised Framework for Risk Assessment and EWS Implementation 3. Enhance Data Relevance, Access, and Distribution 4. Invest in Capacity Development and Community Engagement 5. Strengthen National Political Support and Legislative Frameworks The workshop was organised by MSRO in coordination with the Pacific Disaster Center - PDC Global and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). It brought together 26 representatives from SIDS national disaster management authorities (NDMA), space agencies, multilateral organisations, and private sector entities. Our heartfelt thanks to Dr Sara Venturini of GEO, Ray Shirkhodai of PDC, Dr Erin Hughey, PhD of PDC, as well as the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Ministry of Defence, Maldives, and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Maldives for their unwavering support and cooperation. This workshop was made possible thanks to the generous support of the sponsors for the SINC 2024. In particular, we would like to thank the Crossroads Maldives events team for their tireless ground support, and the Secure World Foundation and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) for the provision of sponsored travel support to roundtable delegates which made their participation at this event possible. We would also like to thank MSRO’s Raushan Ali Firaq and Mohamed Muazzaz Mausoom for their assistance with the organisation of this workshop. Nashwan Matheen, PhD, Tom Gardner #climatediplomacy #politicaleconomy #naturaldisasters #SIDS #capacitybuilding #spacetechnologies #satellites #climate #resilience #UnitedNations #digitalskills #spaceweather