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

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.

19/11/2025

🇺🇳🚀🛰 UNOOSA Toolkit on Good Practices for Objects Launched into Outer Space is now OUT! What does it hope to achieve? 👇

✅ Harmonise international registration practices in line with the Registration Convention, UNGA Res. 1721 B, the Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities, UNGA Res 62/101.

✅ Offer a range of good practices and implementation strategies.

✅ Promote new ratifications of the Registration Convention.

✅ Encourage States, who have not yet registered space objects, to do so.

✅ Complement ongoing efforts by UNOOSA to maintain and enhance the UN Register(s).

👀 Check out the carousel in the post and the full toolkit here: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/documents-and-resolutions/search.jspx?view=documents&match=ST/SPACE

🛰 Check out the UN Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space here: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/osoindex/search-ng.jspx?lf_id=

19/11/2025

🚽 World Toilet Day – November 19 ✨🚀 Did you know astronauts use specially designed toilets that rely on airflow instead of gravity? Suction pulls waste safely away, so nothing floats around the spacecraft. Solid waste gets compressed and stored, while liquids are filtered and recycled back into clean water. Astronauts even use straps or footrests to stay perfectly in place! 🧑‍🚀🔧

Interestingly, NASA’s search for safe water systems in space led to a powerful purification technology now used here on Earth. 🌍💧The same system that cleans recycled water aboard spacecraft is helping villages, remote communities, and disaster zones access safe drinking water.

A reminder that “space spin-offs” or innovation from space can change lives everywhere on Earth. 💙🌱

18/11/2025

🌕 Yesterday we hear how the UN supports international cooperation on the Moon; today, we here direct from industry on their planned activities. Day 2 of the Conference on the Commercial Lunar Landscape and Policy Needs is underway, here are some highlights:

✅ Industry operators explained that the growing number of spacecraft and the lack of a shared tracking system increase collision risks. They highlighted need for coordinated lunar traffic management and reliable communications infrastructure
✅ Companies working on the lunar surface highlighted the challenges of lunar dust, exhaust, mobility conflicts, and overlapping areas of interest. They stressed the importance of open architectures, where assets from different actors can work together seamlessly.
✅ When identifying the main priorities for safe and sustainable conduct on the Moon, panellists emphasised the need for reliable lunar power and relay infrastructure with common standards; the urgency of interoperable systems and space traffic coordination; and the importance of deepening international public–private partnerships as lunar activity accelerates.
✅ Panellists also underlined that industry is ready to follow rules but highlighted the need for policymakers to invite companies into the process early, so that regulations reflect real operational challenges and support long-term sustainability.

✨ Director Aarti-Holla-Maini flagged that the next steps are to keep bridging gaps between the UN and industry, bring these conversations to major industry forums, continue deep dives on key topics like power, and use the “One Moon for All” program to help industry engage with COPUOS processes.

👉 Follow UNOOSA for updates as we move straight into the United Nations Space Law & Policy Conference 2025 tomorrow!

17/11/2025

🌕 Why does the Moon matter for our future? Professor Brian Cox and Director Aarti Holla-Maini remind us that the Moon is the gateway to the stars and that the UN has played, and does play, a significant role in promoting international cooperation.
👉 Follow UNOOSA for updates throughout the Conference on the Commercial Lunar Landscape and Policy Needs, happening today and tomorrow at the Vienna International Centre!

17/11/2025

🌕 What’s the role of the UN when it comes to the Moon? Day 1 of the Conference on the Commercial Lunar Landscape and Policy Needs answered that question and informed industry.

Some highlights from today’s sessions drew on the multiple workstreams of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space as well as the work of the Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG), ITU , and World Intellectual Property Organization.

✅ Director Aarti Holla-Maini said “it is reassuring to see so much work is going on, at so many levels of the United Nations. Informal dialogues like this will help build on the good work that the UN is doing and assure greater safety and sustainability for the 100+ Missions planned to the Moon in the coming decade.”

✅ The Action Team on Lunar Activities Consultation (ATLAC) will deliver recommendations for an international mechanism to strengthen coordination and consultation as more States and their commercial actors prepare lunar missions.

✅ The Working Group on the Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities is making progress on a set of recommended international principles, with convergence emerging, laying the groundwork for a common understanding of how space resource activities can be carried out safely, sustainably and in accordance with international law.

✅ The Working Group on Nuclear Power Sources highlighted how the NPS Principles from 1992 and 2009 Safety Framework, developed jointly with the IAEA, are relevant in the context of lunar Missions, and asked if there are any gaps.

✅ The International Committee on GNSS showcased efforts to enhance interoperable lunar Positioning, Navigation, Timing and communications systems, signal compatibility, applications, flight experiments, and international cooperation models.

✅ ITU-R WP7B shared how frequency coordination and continued cooperation with the SFCG will be key to avoiding interference on and around the Moon - “Getting the spectrum question right is one of the earliest and most consequential steps we can take”.

✅ World Intellectual Property Organization highlighted the growing prominence of intellectual property (IP) issues in outer space, driven by the shift from state-owned to private commercial endeavours.

👉 Follow UNOOSA for updates on Day 2, when commercial lunar operators take the floor. 🌍🚀

14/11/2025

👨‍🎓👩‍🎓Apply now for a Graduate Programme in Space Technology at Beihang University, 🇨🇳

The Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (RCSSTEAP), affiliated to the UN, are offering a Master’s (MASTA) or Doctorate (DOCSTA) in Space Technology at the University of Beihang, China. This international programme offers recently graduated students with a passion for space science a unique opportunity to:

1️⃣ Earn a Master’s (MASTA) or Doctorate (DOCSTA) in Space Technology Applications - Study at one of China’s leading aerospace universities (Beihang University)

2️⃣ Gain advanced knowledge in satellite applications, space engineering, and emerging space technologies

3️⃣ Broaden your expertise through hands-on experience, practical training, on-site launch visits, and international workshops

4️⃣ Learn from internationally qualified professors and develop cross-cultural communication skills in a global academic environment

📅 Application deadline: 30 June 2026. If you’re eager to gain advanced technical skills and work on real space technology projects — apply now!

👉 For more info: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/regional-centres/rcssteap-china/Graduate-Programs.html

13/11/2025

🌌🚢🌊The Space4Ocean Alliance has set sail! UNOOSA participated in the first global steering committee of the Space4Ocean Alliance at NOSA HQ in Oslo, 🇳🇴. The meeting of 28 Alliance members saw the steering committee:

1️⃣ Elect UNOOSA Director Aarti Holla-Maini as Chair of the Steering Committee and Madin Maseh, President of MSRO, and Eric Banel, Director of DGAMPA as Vice-Chairs.

2️⃣ Adopt the governance charter of the Alliance

3️⃣ Discuss the initial Alliance's pillars: identification of end users needs, identification of operational services and capacity building targets.

4️⃣ Welcome 2️⃣ new members: Blue Justice and Faculty of Maritime Studies in Split

🇺🇳📢 Director Aarti Holla-Maini said: "after 11 months working hand in hand, we reach a new milestone: this first Steering Committee meeting is more than a formality, it is our opportunity to make important decisions on the shape and direction of the Alliance. It is a moment to ensure that our collective efforts respond to the real needs of our members and to chart a course that is both ambitious and grounded in impact."

Officially launched at the UNOC in June, the Space4Ocean Alliance is an international action-driven coalition connecting the space sector with marine and maritime actors ensuring that satellite data delivers on its full potential: for the protection, preservation, and sustainable use of the ocean, and for the livelihoods that depend on it.

👀 More about Space4Ocean and the Alliance: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/topics/space4ocean.html

12/11/2025

🌕✨ Next week, UNOOSA will host two major conferences on operationalising and the commercial lunar landscape. Details below:

🚀 17-18 Nov: Conference on the Commercial Lunar Landscape and Policy Needs -
exploring the surge in lunar missions and how commercial operators and policymakers can build a safe, sustainable lunar future.

🔗 Check-out the programme: https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/moon-mars-and-beyond/LunarConf2025/Draft_Program_-_Conference_…

🛰️ 19-20 Nov: United Nations Space Law and Policy Conference 2025 -
Focusing on “Operationalising Space Sustainability”.

🔗 See the programme here: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/2025-un-conference-on-space-law-and-policy.html

11/11/2025

🚀🛰️ Just like you register a car with your local driving authority, countries also register their satellites and “space objects” – here’s how it works, and the role of the United Nations.

Stay tuned for a big announcement on registration during next week’s ‘UNOOSA Space Law Conference: Operationalizing Space Sustainability’, to be held in Vienna on 19-20 November.

Want some more reading? 👇 Explore the resources below:�
1️⃣ UN Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space, Online Index: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/osoindex/search-ng.jspx?lf_id=�
2️⃣ The Registration Convention: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introregistration-convention.html�
3️⃣ Model Registration Form: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/spaceobjectregister/resources/index.html�
4️⃣ The Registration Project: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/capacitybuilding/registrationproject/index.html

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

27/11/2025

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