CFMUNESCO 2020 COMMITTEE: UNOOSA TOPIC: Space4peace: The Question of peacekeeping and international cooperation through space activities (SDGs) CHAIRS: Elisa Modonutti, Anastasia Tullio “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” -Neil Armstrong, first man to land on the Moon in 1969 INTRODUCTION Humans have always looked up into the night sky and dreamed about space. Since ancient times, people around the world have studied the Universe and used their observations and explanations of astronomical phenomena for both religious and practical purposes. But it is just in the second half of the 20th century that space technology developed, making outer space exploration possible. In fact, it is in the 20s that rockets were able to overcome the force of gravity to reach orbital velocities. But soon after World War II space would have been used as an arena for a new conflict: the Cold War. This battle pitted the world’s two great powers–the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union–against each other. Space would have been used as an arena for this competition as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man- made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. The Soviet Union used this fact as an evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of communism. Although firstly U.S.A. had decided not to compete for prestige with the Soviet Union in a space race, in a second moment, it decided to identify a “space program” which could lead the USA to a victory. In fact, in 1958 the U.S. established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA started its activity by the launch of its own satellite, Explorer I in 1958. That same year a national security-oriented space programme was created with the aim of exploiting the military potential of space and the use of orbiting satellites to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and its allies. In April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth. The USA, in order to win the competition against the Soviet Union for the space race, launched in 1969 a mission, Apollo 11, aimed at reaching the Moon. The mission landed successfully on July 20, and the US astronaut Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon’s surface; he famously called that moment “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” After the landing on the moon, space race changed from an outer space race to a research of the interior supremacy (orbit) for military purposes, launching in orbit of many secret satellites that still nowadays continue to be dangerous as they are unknown. As a matter of fact, still today many military and spy satellites are present in space. They just increase tensions among the various States, instead of knocking them down. Moreover, during the 1980s, the US President Ronald Reagan initiated the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), an anti-ballistic missile program that was designed to shoot down nuclear missiles in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative was ultimately most effective not as an anti-ballistic missile defense system, but as a propaganda tool which put military and economic pressure on the Soviet Union to create their own anti-ballistic missile system. But this possibility was particularly insignificant because, during the 1980s, the Soviet economy was teetering on the brink of disaster. As a matter of fact, the SDI was one of the causes of the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, which marked also the end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the USA. Nowadays, it is estimated that there are 950 satellites of different types in Earth’s orbit. The total number of military satellites in the world is approximated at 320, nearly one third of the total. But space satellites have also a positive impact as in the last years they have often helped humanity to deal with many problems on the Earth. With satellites orbiting in the space, a big step ahead has been made in the improvement of the state of life, giving us useful data for the most various fields. For example, satellites provide predictions on upcoming rainfalls and temperature variations, as well as land degradation, illegal resource extraction, epidemiology, or crop yields, among other areas. Space technologies play also an important role inside the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), issued by the UN in September 2015, which provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. In particular, cooperation among States in the outer space will have a high impact on goal 17, “Partnership for Goals”, as peacekeeping in space has a positive influence on the international cooperation on Earth. But the most important fact is that peaceful collaboration in the outer space plays a key role for the sustainable development on Earth, since space science and technology give the first data needed for the global development. For this reason, is fundamental to enhance the collaboration between Member States, in order to achieve the full potential of space for sustainable development. KEY TERMS Outer space: Outer space, also simply called space, refers to the area outside the earth's atmosphere where the other planets and stars are situated. Outer space contains a low density of particles, predominantly hydrogen gas, as well as electromagnetic radiation. Peacekeeping: the maintenance of peace, especially the prevention of further fighting among hostile forces in an area or the international enforcement and supervision of a truce between hostile states or communities. Space race: the space race is the competition among nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration. More specifically it was the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the superior power in outer space, in terms of exploration, manned space flights, and lunar landings; it is generally considered as beginning in 1957 and ending in the mid-1970s. Cold war: The expression is usually used to indicate the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union after the Second World War consisting in a state of extreme rivalry between two blocks of countries, with opposing political and social systems. Cold War expressed itself not through direct fighting but through political pressure and threats. Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): strategic defensive system proposed by the US president Ronald Reagan against potential nuclear attacks from the Soviet Union. Satellite: A satellite is an object which has been sent into space in order to collect information or to be part of a communications system. These objects are also called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth's Moon. Military satellite: Military satellites are satellites used for military purposes, such as armed satellites but also for telecommunications, for navigation aid and for electronic warfare. In the last case, satellites allow, for example, to intercept the radar driving emissions of missiles or communications among land, ships and airplanes to discover their location and frequencies, to capture their communications and to disturb them. Spy satellite: an artificial satellite equipped with photographic and electronic instruments for military reconnaissance. Space technology: Space technology is the result of the application of engineering and scientific disciplines to the exploration and utilization of outer space. It includes spacecraft, satellites, space stations, and support infrastructure, equipment, and procedures. EXPLANATION OF THE TOPIC Since the second half of the 20th century, space has been used for military purposes, increasing division and conflicts among States. As a matter of fact, the Cold War was the main cause that forbade peacekeeping in space. After its ending, it left in orbit many military satellites too. Moreover, nowadays peacekeeping is obstructed by nations which collaborate together but with space plans that are not always clear or well known. Furthermore, there is a new access to space of States and some private organizations which are not well known too. Nevertheless, there have been some positive aspects. For example, in January 1967 the Outer Space Treaty was signed by 102 States (including the bitter enemies of that time, United States and Soviet Union), and it entered into force in October 1967. This Treaty formed the basis of the outer space law. Among other things, the treaty established that the exploration of space would be open to all people, would not be subject to national sovereignty or claims by any state, and that the exploration of space should be for the benefit of all humanity. The main points of the Outer Space Treaty include the prohibition against the placing of nuclear weapons in space, the use of the Moon and all other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes, and establishes that space shall be free for exploration and use by all nations. However, the Outer Space Treaty did not ban all military activities in space, the creation of military space forces, or the weaponization of space. With the exception of weapons of mass destruction, nations could deploy military assets to space without incurring any sanctions. All the States recognized the common interest of all mankind in the progress of the exploration and the use of outer space for peaceful purposes. But, it is just in the first years of the 21st century, after the end of the Cold War, that it is possible to talk about peacekeeping and collaboration among States in the outer space.