United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Vienna International Centre, P. O. Box 500, Wien (2025)

12/12/2025

🌌✨ Touchdown after an inspiring four days at the UN/SKAO Workshop on Dark & Quiet Skies for Science and Society.

Top takeaways:

💡 With a booming space sector, the impacts are growing. Satellite constellations are now visibly and measurably affecting both optical and radio astronomy. This challenges our ability to run wide-field surveys, spot transient astronomical events, and observe radio signals from the universe.

🛠️ Mitigation measures are under way: materials reducing satellite brightness, attitude maneuvers, radio boresight avoidance, data-sharing protocols— the sector is innovating. The progress is encouraging, but mitigation standards need to be defined, and the cumulative effects of increasing numbers of satellites remain a concern.

⚖️ Governance is evolving, with COPUOS at the centre of efforts to translate treaty principles like due regard and harmful interference into practical guidance. Through its workstreams and expert discussions, and with UNOOSA supporting implementation and capacity-building, momentum is building toward clearer, more operational international guidance.

🌍 Above all, Dark and Quiet Skies are bigger than science: indigenous traditions, astrotourism, education and cultural heritage all depend on them. This is a societal issue, not just a scientific one.

🙏 A sincere thank you to SKAO for co-hosting and helping make this multistakeholder dialogue possible. Onward to STSC 2026— the work continues!

11/12/2025

UN Champion for Space Brian Cox reminds us that the night sky is a shared natural resource, a source of wonder, inspiration, and scientific discovery for humanity since the beginning. Astronomy laid the foundations of modern science and continues to shape our understanding of the universe and ourselves.

🏛️ UNOOSA plays a key role in safeguarding this resource. After years of collaboration with Member States, astronomers, and the wider space sector, COPUOS has added “Dark and Quiet Skies, astronomy and large constellations” to the STSC agenda through 2029, ensuring the issue receives sustained global attention.

🔭 This week, these themes have taken center stage at the UN/SKAO Workshop on Dark and Quiet Skies in Vienna, where experts from industry, government, and astronomy are examining impacts, sharing solutions, and advancing responsible practices to preserve the night sky for future generations.

✨ Stay tuned for more on the workshop here at UNOOSA!

09/12/2025

🌌 How do we balance the needs of astronomy with those of humanity?

Can our night sky remain dark and quiet in an era of large constellations of satellites?

These questions launched Day 1 of the UN/SKA Observatory (SKAO) Workshop on Dark and Quiet Skies for Science & Society in Vienna. Some highlights:

🇺🇳In her opening remarks, UNOOSA Director Aarti Holla-Maini reflected on the critical step of COPUOS adding Dark and Quiet Skies to the STSC agenda through 2029. She noted that the rapidly increasing number of satellites and their reflected light and radio emissions pose mounting challenges for astronomy, science and society.

🔭SKAO Director-General Philip Diamond underlined how astronomy is the world’s oldest science – “You can use the Moon, Sun and stars to locate yourself anywhere in the world” – and that SKAO remained committed to balancing the needs of astronomy with the needs of humanity, as “the sky is for sharing.”

📡 Experts from different observatories (Rubin, Caltech, NAOC, SAASST) showcased how satellite trails and radio interference are increasingly affecting wide-field, time-sensitive observations. IAU President W***y Benz called safeguarding dark and quiet skies “essential for the future of astronomy.”

🛠️ Astronomers showcased mitigation actions like brightness-reduction techniques, new data-sharing tools and Telescope Boresight Avoidance. They noted that deeper cooperation with satellite operators and access to operational data remain critical.

🌍A powerful panel highlighted the cultural and social dimensions of dark skies. Speakers from New Zealand, South Africa, Indonesia and Thailand stressed that brightening skies threaten indigenous knowledge, cultural practices and astrotourism, particularly in developing countries.

💡This workshop is more than a technical exchange—it’s a reminder that preserving dark and quiet skies is a shared responsibility.

Stay tuned for more insights over the next three days of dialogue here in Vienna!

08/12/2025

🌱🛰️ How can we better use space to feed the world?

UNOOSA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are teaming up to bridge the gap between the space and agriculture sectors.

Our new survey aims to help countries identify suitable Earth Observation (EO) resources for agricultural applications and improve access to space-based information for food security.

We're mapping EO satellite products related to sustainable agricultural monitoring. To do this, we're asking EO data providers to share details on current missions, data products, access options, and licensing models.

📊 Why it matters: This assessment will help countries and partners identify the right EO tools for their agricultural applications. Monitoring these resources is vital for food security and climate resilience.

📣 Are you a satellite operator or EO data provider?�We want to hear from you! Your input will shape a global assessment of EO tools for sustainable agriculture.

🔗 Learn more and contribute to the questionnaire by December 19th: https://forms.office.com/e/Z33VaBknzC

👉 Explore our joint UNOOSA–FAO publication, “Leveraging Space Technology for Agricultural Development and Food Security”: https://shorturl.at/yUKV7

04/12/2025

✨Comet 3I/ATLAS: IAWN kicks off its observing exercise!

While posing no threat to Earth, interstellar 3I/ATLAS presents a valuable scientific opportunity. The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) is now conducting an observing exercise during the comet’s visibility window: 27 November 2025-27 January 2026.

📡From Earth orbit to Mars, spacecraft across the solar system have already been capturing the journey of 3I/ATLAS. Here are a few of the images so far. 📸✨

In recent weeks, public interest in 3I/ATLAS has grown, alongside some confusion about the nature of global activities surrounding it. To clarify:
✅ Yes, this is an official planetary defence observing exercise coordinated under the established UN-endorsed framework.
❌ No, the comet poses no threat to us, and observation activity is part of routine preparedness efforts.

Coordinated by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), IAWN is a global network of observatories established in 2013 by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), alongside the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG). UNOOSA works with both IAWN and SMPAG to enhance global readiness and information-sharing. 🌍🛰️

This observing campaign helps astronomers practice how to accurately determine comet positions. This is a challenge given that comets appear as diffuse, extended objects rather than point-like asteroids seen in telescope images. Exercises like this are essential components of global planetary-defence preparedness. 🔭

🎥 See our YouTube explainer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw9mUqYeHgY

03/12/2025

🛰️ On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we celebrate the role that persons with disabilities play in shaping the future of human space exploration.

Humanity’s journey to space must represent the diversity of planet Earth. Organizations such as AstroAccess, who we had the pleasure of meeting at the IAC Sydney 2025, are demonstrating this vision in action. Their teams have conducted five microgravity flights to study how different disabilities can become strengths in space, from unique sensory awareness to the ability to work effectively in reduced-gravity environments.

🤝We are proud to collaborate with communities advancing Human Spaceflight 2.0, ensuring that the next generation of explorers reflects all of humanity.

UNOOSA continues to support inclusive space science through projects on sonification, accessibility, and STEM engagement. Learn more about our work here: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/de/ourwork/space4personswithdisabilites/index.html

On this International , let’s champion accessible solutions for everyone, everywhere. 🌍💙

03/12/2025

🌍 How is agriculture reshaping water and food security in Pakistan’s Indus Plain? Find out in our next webinar!

🗓 10 December 2024
⏰ 13:00-14:00 CET

We’ll explore how unsustainable farming practices and climate change are reshaping Pakistan’s agro-ecological landscape and influencing long-term water and food security. 💧🌾

Our discussion will highlight:
✅ How changing crop patterns and rising food demand affect water availability
✅ Environmental impacts of inefficient water use
✅ How remote sensing, GIS, and land-use modeling can support sustainable agriculture
✅ Strategies for optimizing cropping patterns and improving water-use efficiency
✅ The importance of data-driven, climate-smart policy planning

🎙 Speaker: Dr. Sawaid Abbas (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) — Spatial data scientist specializing in remote sensing, land-use modeling, and climate-ecology interactions.

👉 Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding of the water–agriculture nexus and the role of space-based solutions in supporting resilient food systems.

🔗 Register now: https://shorturl.at/CbVct

02/12/2025

🛰️ Ready to learn from real CubeSat missions?

Join us for the next KiboCUBE Academy live webinar on Monday, 8 December 2025, from 12:00–13:30 CET.

In this session, “Lessons Learned from CubeSat Missions”, we will explore what makes a small satellite mission succeed or fail. Learn directly from expert analysis of past missions, and bring your questions for a live Q&A with the lecturer!

Register now: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/access2space4all/KiboCUBE_Academy_Webinars.html

And that’s not all!

🌍 Applications are open for the 9th round of the KiboCUBE programme, brought to you by UNOOSA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)!

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to design, build and deploy a 1U CubeSat from the International Space Station.

📅 Apply by 31 December 2025: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/access2space4all/KiboCUBE/KiboCUBE_Rounds.html

📸: CubeSats for the BIRDS-2, BHUTAN-1 (Bhutan), MAYA-1 (Philippines), and UiTMSAT-1 (Malaysia) deployed from the Kibo module in 2018.

01/12/2025

🚀 PHI-1 is officially in orbit!

On 28 November, the first Payload Hosting Initiative mission was launched aboard a 🇦🇪 UAE satellite (PHI-1) via SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

This milestone was made possible through UNOOSA’s Access to Space for All initiative, in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء (MBRSC).

🌍 PHI provides hosted-payload flight opportunities that build hands-on space engineering and mission operations skills, especially in developing countries.

🛰️ This satellite hosts technology demonstrations from Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal and the Bahrain Space Agency, selected via a competitive process in 2022.

🤝 Let’s open space to more nations, together.

🔗 Learn more in our press release: https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/pressrels/2025/unisos608.html

27/11/2025

🌍 Climate change and biodiversity loss are increasingly visible from space.

From shrinking glaciers to bleaching coral reefs and vanishing forests, satellite data now provides an unprecedented view of the Earth’s changing systems.

The challenge is to now go beyond observation to understand, predict, and respond. Advances in Earth observation (EO) technologies, coupled with artificial intelligence, digital twins, and edge computing, are rapidly reshaping how nations, governments, and businesses translate space solutions into meaningful climate and biodiversity action.

In a new article for the COP30 Brasil Climate Action 2025 edition, UNOOSA's Jumpei Takami, remote sensing for disaster management expert at UN-SPIDER, explores how EO and AI are revolutionizing climate action for ocean health and life on land.

📖 Read "Intelligence from Above": https://shorturl.at/GkXBu
(via UN SDG Action Campaign)

📸: The Branco River and surrounding forests in Brazil, captured by IRIDE’s Hawk for Earth Observation (HEO) satellite constellation. With a near-infrared sensor, water appears dark blue or black, while healthy vegetation shows up in bright red, making it easier to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated land. Brown patches on the left show areas where vegetation has been cleared.

20/11/2025

🌌⚖️ We’ve landed back down on Planet Earth, as we conclude the United Nations Conference on Space Law and Policy: Operationalising Space Sustainability. 🔑 highlights:

💥🌍 Space Debris Re-entry: With more States reporting space objects landing on their territory, experts discussed how the Rescue and Return Agreement, negotiated in the 1960s, is coming to life in the 21st century; with an increasing number of space debris re-entries occurring.

🛰Technical advancements will define the coming decade, from: active debris removal, on-orbit servicing, autonomous operations, and AI-enabled decision-making. We need to ensure that the regulatory and policy architectures can keep pace by fostering innovation while ensuring that every new capability strengthens, rather than undermines sustainability.

👍Our discussions over the two days confirmed some simple truths:

1️⃣ The sustainability of outer space is no longer a theoretical goal but a daily operational necessity. There is a no Plan B if we get things wrong in space. The Earth’s orbit will become inoperable. The path from principles to practice is complex, but it is essential, time-critical, and demands collective determination.

2️⃣ International cooperation remains indispensable. No single actor - government, operator, or manufacturer - can ensure sustainability alone. We need shared data, shared standards, shared expectations, and shared responsibility.

19/11/2025

🚀 How do you operationalise space sustainability through law? We found out in Day 1 of the UNOOSA Space Law & Policy Conference 2025! Here are some highlights:

✅ In her opening remarks, Director Aarti Holla-Maini stressed that rising congestion and debris risks are a very present challenge, which calls for embedding sustainability by design across the full lifecycle of space activities.

✅ States, operators and international organisations showcased their implementation of the COPUOS Guidelines on 1) Space Debris Mitigation and 2) the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities. Panellists highlighted the importance of coherent national rules, data-sharing, space situational awareness, and avoiding regulatory fragmentation that allows “forum shopping” by operators.

While technology is advancing rapidly, operational sustainability depends on better sharing of manoeuvre data, zero-debris design, and regulatory frameworks that enable innovation in debris removal and in-orbit servicing.

✅ UNOOSA launched its Registration Toolkit! The Toolkit empowers States in strengthening registration practices, as the number of space objects continues to rises (1150% increase in the number of launches per year from 2015 to 2024). You can check out the toolkit here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/united-nations-office-for-outer-space-affairs_registration-toolkit-activity-7396858287859867648-R2Rf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAxjRMcBdeucZugE5vjj57nuRWPBEe6V96Q.

Thank you to World Intellectual Property Organization for facilitating the panel on patents in outer space, highlighting the intersection of IP and space and stressing that national and international patent and space frameworks need clearer alignment.

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

12/12/2025

11/12/2025

09/12/2025

08/12/2025

04/12/2025

03/12/2025

03/12/2025

02/12/2025

01/12/2025

27/11/2025

20/11/2025

19/11/2025

Adresse

Telefon

Webseite

Benachrichtigungen

Verknüpfungen

Teilen