Call made for third UN space conference

UN Chronicle, Sept, 1994

A third UN conference on the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space (UNISPACE III) could be convened in the near future. So agreed the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at its thirty-seventh session (6-16 June, Vienna).

In that regard, the Committee--the UN body responsible for promoting international cooperation to use and maintain outer space for peaceful purposes--asked its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee to discuss a possible agenda and other issues related to the event.

Agenda topics might include: the future of planetary exploration; use of microwave systems and microsatellites for oceanographic and space research; the safety of future space activities with regard to space debris; space-based environmental monitoring; and uses of mobile satellite communications and other new technologies. Workshops on remote sensing, navigation, meteorology and astronomy were also proposed.

The second conference--UNISPACE II--held in Vienna in August 1982, sought to promote international cooperation in helping developing countries to use space technology for development. It had resulted in strengthening and reorientation of the UN Space Applications Programme to promote indigenous capabilities in those countries, as well as in creating, under the auspices of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, an international space information service.

The Committee also recommended increasing its membership by eight, to 61. Each of the interested regional groups should be allotted not more than two of the new seats

Brazil and Mexico agreed to co-host a centre for space science and technology education for the Latin American and Caribbean region, the first such regional centre to be established by the UN. To be located initially at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, the Centre's secretariat would rotate every four years between the two countries, with its Secretary-General being a national of Mexico.

In a closing statement, Committee Chairman Peter Hohenfellner of Austria said the body this year had been "much more creative in finding new approaches to new ideas". In particular, it had found a sound basis for a compromise solution on the proposed enlargement of its membership.

Debate highlights

In debate, delegates summarized national accomplishments in space, including the use of satellite and remote sensing data for telecommunications, weather forecasts, disaster prevention and monitoring natural resources, and gave examples of how those accomplishments were being made available to other countries.

New international activities, such as monitoring the environmental impact of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, were also proposed, and some upcoming ventures, including the first launch of the Ariane V launcher of the European Space Agency, were announced.

Space technology was becoming a product in itself, the Committee was told, and its spin-off benefits included temperature sensors, the use on earth of a space-derived food processing control systems, clean-up of nuclear-contaminated sites and development of artificial hearts.

In taking up the reports of its subsidiary bodies--the Scientific and Technical and Legal Subcommittees, which met in Vienna from 21 February to 3 March and from 21 March to 5 April, respectively--the Committee discussed new space technology applications, namely: creation of training courses for distance learning via satellite; two-way video and voice teleconferencing; and such image-processing techniques as the remote printing of newspapers.

The need for international legal regulation of the geostationary orbit, in accordance with the principle of equitable access by all nations, particularly the needs of developing countries, was stressed.

Among other topics discussed were: problems related to space debris: the use of nuclear power sources in outer space; and the establishment of a legal framework for sharing the benefits of space exploration by all countries.