UNISPACE+50 Symposium, Outreach, Awareness-Raising and Related Side-Events
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A/AC.105/2018/CRP.19/Rev.1 27 June 2018 English only Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Sixty-first session Vienna, 20–29 June 2018 UNISPACE+50 Symposium, outreach, awareness-raising and related side-events 1. In accordance with the plan of work for UNISPACE+50, as agreed by the Committee (A/AC.105/L.297 and A/71/20), two days prior to the sixty-first session, 18 and 19 June 2018, had been allocated to symposium and outreach activities. 2. The UNISPACE+50 Symposium benefitted from the participation of more than four hundred participants from government agencies, space agencies, private companies, universities research centres and civil society. Experts from the entire spectrum of the space sector addressed the role of space science and technology in fostering global development and cooperation from various perspectives and subjects. 3. The two days Symposium opened with a special session on ‘Past, Present and Future of Outer Space Activities’ and was followed by dedicated panel sessions on ‘Space and Industry’, ‘Space for Women’ including a Special Advanced Screening of ‘Madam Mars: Women and the quest for the worlds beyond’, ‘Space for Civil Society’ and ‘Space for Youth’. 4. The Symposium concluded with a historic gathering of Heads of Space Agencies in the Panel held on 19 June. Twenty-nine national and regional Space Agencies participated and underscored the broad global interest to contribute towards the Space2030 Agenda. 5. The present conference room paper, prepared by the Office for Outer Space Affairs, outlines in more detail the diversity of the panels and related outreach and side-events that highlighted the actual pace the space arena was currently developing and the importance for the international community to stand together to address the future challenges in outer space, and underlined the importance for the United Nations to stand at the forefront of these developments. 18 June “Past, Present and Future of Outer Space Activities” Opening Panel 6. The opening panel, entitled “Past, Present and Future of the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space”, addressed the growing complexity of outer space activities in a timely manner. Moderated by the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), statements were made by the incoming Chair of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the President of the International Academy of Astronautics, the Vice-President of the Sierra Nevada Corporation, the President of the International Institute of Space Law and the Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs. V.18-04546 (E) *1804546* A/AC.105/2018/CRP.19/Rev.1 7. The panellists presented their views on the past, present and future of outer space activities. Some panellists reminded the audience of historical developments, including the view that although the aim of the Apollo missions was to reach the moon, such missions allowed us to gain a new, global perspective of planet Earth. Furthermore, some panellists noted that since 1984 Arianespace emerged as a private company focusing on launch capabilities in Europe. 8. Panellists indicated that the larger involvement of the private sector in space activities is an issue that needs to be addressed in national and international policies. In addition, there is a need to ensure coherence between national and international policies when considering how best to address this private sector. An example of a specific need is space traffic management. This includes re-entry of commercial vessels from outer space into the atmosphere and subsequently landing in commercial runways for example. 9. On the topic of international cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space, panellists reiterated the benefits of existing international space law as a way to keep checks and balances and the usefulness of addressing issues related to liability, the registry of objects launched into outer space, and confidence building measures. 10. The panellists identified the following topics to be addressed further: long-term sustainability of outer space activities, disarmament, the needs of the private sector and the need to facilitate access to and use of outer space by new actors. “Space and Industries” Panel 11. The panel “Space and Industries” was moderated by the Office for Outer Space Affairs and included panellists from the Space Commercial Services (SCS) Aerospace Group, Green Spin GmbH, Planet Labs, Astroscale, and China HEAD Aerospace. The panel aimed at strengthening cooperation with industry and the private sector in light of the importance of global partnership for the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development. 12. Some panellists commented on the approach to set up successful companies dedicated to outer space activities, including the manufacture, launch and operation of satellites for a variety of purposes. As in the case of any private company, those dedicated to outer space activities need to start by establishing financial and human capital in order to begin technological developments including the design, construction and launch of satellites; the subsequent commercialization of services or products that such satellites may offer; and how those services could help in monitoring and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 13. Participants noted how advances regarding miniaturization of electronic components, advances in information and communication technologies and the incorporation of the use of machine learning have allowed services and infrastructure that were not possible a few years ago, such as the launching of a constellation of satellites to image the entire planet on a daily basis and to monitor changes in the environment, or the use of artificial intelligence to process satellite imagery which is used to generate faster and more precise information on crop yields. 14. Taking note of the deployment of satellite constellations by the public and private sectors, participants took note that in the future, commercial start-ups could focus on value-added services. “Space for Women” Panel 15. The Panel “Space for Women” was moderated by the Office for Outer Space Affairs and benefitted from the participation of panellists from Secure World Foundation, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations, OSCE and Other International Organizations in Vienna, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the University of Pavia and the European Space Agency. 2/7 V.18-04546 A/AC.105/2018/CRP.19/Rev.1 16. The special focus of this panel was on the empowerment of women in developed and developing countries. Participants took note of the difficulties and challenges faced by women when trying to incorporate themselves into the space sector; and were presented with statistics on gender distribution in the European space industry in recent years, the gender equality paradox in STEM education, and percentages of women engaged in astronomy in several countries. 17. The following suggestions were presented to address this gender imbalance: (a) Specifically address women in job advertisements; (b) Increase the sensitization of managers on the gender issue; (c) More balanced participation (what does this mean?) (f/m) during personnel selection procedures; (d) New, flexible career models; (e) Proactively addressing women to submit their applications in appointment procedures; (f) Special training offers for women and calls for more female role models; and (g) Support the reconciliation of work and family life. 19 June Keynote address by the United Nations Champion for Space, Scott Kelly 18. In his keynote address, Scott Kelly, the United Nations Champion for Space, highlighted the necessity for global teamwork to make the dream work and underlined the importance of Space in reaching towards the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda. Astronaut Kelly also reminded the audience of the fact that space flight is risky, but the space community cannot be scared of failure. “Space and Civil Society” Panel 19. The “Space and Civil Society” Panel was moderated by the Office for Outer Space Affairs and benefitted from inputs by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Space Trust, the Centre for Research in Air and Space Law at the McGill University in Canada, the Technical University of Vienna, and Secure World Foundation. 20. The participants were made aware of the efforts conducted by the International Charter Space and Major Disasters since it was established 18 years ago. Information was provided on the number of activations and that the Charter has been activated nearly 600 times since it was launched into operation, and shared additional information with participants on the Universal Access Policy incorporated by the Charter to facilitate its activation by national civil protection agencies in case of disasters, and future outlook. 21. Participants were also made aware of the efforts of to carry out a Zero-G summit as a way to facilitate synergies among government agencies, the private sector and civil society in the context of outer space activities. 22. Efforts undertaken on the topics of space law and global space governance, in particular regarding the role of civil society institutions in facilitating international dialogue and collaboration to address pressing issues of global governance, and the sustainability and security of outer space, and by experts on space architecture regarding the design of infrastructure which could be used in outer space or on the Moon were shared with participants. 23. The panel concluded with a presentation regarding