UNOOSA United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

1. Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, has the governing body of your organization taken (or will it take) any decisions or new strategies to guide the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? If any, please provide a brief summary below, including the overarching vision of your organization.

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) mandated the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOSA), in its capacity of the secretariat of the Committee, to organize a milestone event UNISPACE+50 to take place in June 2018 as a special segment of its 61st session celebrating 50th anniversary of UNISPACE I. UNISPACE+50 is a very timely opportunity to strengthen their mandates to better address current developments and challenges in outer space activities on the global scale.

The whole process of UNISPACE+50 coincides with the ever growing importance of space applications and technologies for the humankind, but also with global efforts, goals and targets of the three international frameworks: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The shared goal and the outcome of UNISPACE+50 is a comprehensive and a long-term vision - the Space2030 agenda - for the contribution of space activities to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, addressing overarching, long-term development concerns based on the peaceful exploration and uses of outer space.

The comprehensive Space2030 agenda is an overarching document for strategy in the space domain in the support of Sustainable Development Goals. It is established around four pillars that were agreed upon in 2016 in Dubai during the High Level Forum: Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development. Space economy aims to bring space-related economic benefits to the world's population and support space sector as a major driver for a dynamic economy. Space society focuses on making the best use of space technology, services and applications for improving the quality of life in societies worldwide. In order to bring benefits of space to all, space accessibility aims to provide access to use of space technology, data, information and products and ultimately physical access to space for all countries. None of the above would be possible without mutual respect and equal engagement among nations supported by space diplomacy to address the common challenges of humanity through partnerships. We want to make sure space is accessible to all and that space technology and applications are used to bring concrete benefits to humankind.

2.1 SDG-specific strategies, plans or work programmes

In view of the need to support countries, in particular developing countries, in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals, a global space partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals is currently discussed to be established by the Office for Outer Space Affairs as an essential and comprehensive coordination mechanism to facilitate the optimal service delivery through existing space assets and to foster partnerships for developing innovative systems and space solutions that will assist countries in monitoring and achieving the Goals.

The objective of the partnership would be to establish a direct link between space and the Sustainable Development Goals through one authoritative office (the Office for Outer Space Affairs), which also serves as the gateway to space in the United Nations. Through the partnership, the Office for Outer Space Affairs would act as a "one-stop-shop", coordinating multiple providers of space-derived data, information, services and products.

UNOOSA is currently developing a Space for Women project, which is expected to be launched in late 2018. It is strongly linked to Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Empowerment of women and gender equality, and Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Quality education, and is an example of how the Office is reshaping its projects to be more in line with the SDGs. The idea is to bring more girls and women into the STEM fields by providing them with the opportunity and supporting their path as STEM field offers high-paying jobs while representing high growth industries in which opportunities, including those at leadership level, need to be made more accessible to girls and women.

2.2 Aligning the structure of the organization with the transformative features of the 2030 Agenda, including any challenges and lessons learned in doing so

The considered Global Space Partnership would require structural changes within the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

2.3 Readjusting or updating results-based budgeting and management, including performance indicators:

UNOOSA is currently developing a results-based management approach to capacity-building, based on country-specific needs, assessed through two key instruments that have been developed by the Office for Outer Space Affairs: the space for development profile and the space solutions compendium, which will enable the provision of capacity-building strategies for Member States on a long-term basis:

a. The space for development profile consists of a list of indicators that enables an initial assessment to be made of strengths and weaknesses in terms of space development. The initial set of indicators can mostly be measured using open data, however, that set can be expanded to include indicators related to a country's space-related strategic objectives, which that country is interested in monitoring closely

b. The space solutions compendium is a list of space-related solutions that each country can apply in accordance with its space strategy, and as such, complements the space for development profile. The compendium is a key tool for supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, linking space solutions with sustainable development goals and targets. Through the compendium, the Office would act as a focal point, pairing solutions provided by developed countries and developing countries, monitoring the effectiveness of those solutions and identifying any needs in order to deliver more targeted capacity-building.

2.4 Action to enhance support to the principle of "leaving no one behind" and to integrated policy approaches:

The Office for Outer Space Affairs, in its mission of a facilitator of the peaceful uses of outer space, has worked as a driver towards more effective governance with aim to reduce this "space divide", the gap in capabilities between space-faring and emerging or non-space-faring nations. Keeping in mind the importance of space infrastructure for the achievement of SDGs, we must ensure that benefits stemming from it are available to everyone at any time with equal opportunities to take advantage of them.

To offer an opportunity for space orbital missions, UNOOSA has partnered with the Sierra Nevada Corporation to utilize its Dream Chaser space vehicle for delivery of space experiments and satellites to orbit, particularly encouraging developing countries to participate in this initiative, and with a special focus of the experiments on the implementation of the SDGs.

In the same year, Digital Globe signed an agreement with the Office to provide advisory services on remote sensing imagery and geospatial analytics to advance and accelerate adoption of geospatial and satellite imagery-based analytics across the entire United Nations System to improve decision making in addressing global economic, environmental, geopolitical, and social issues with particular focus on developing countries.

Through our partnership with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) UNOOSA conducts the KiboCUBE Programme which is utilizing the Kibo Module of the International Space Station to provide access to space for developing countries with opportunities to deploy cube satellites developed and manufactured by those countries.

To provide more opportunities for developing states we are also closely cooperating the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which will open the country's future space station for science experiments and astronauts from Member States of the United Nations. Also, the agreement for Chinese support of disaster management and disaster risk reduction was signed in 2015 in line with commitments of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

3.8 Others:

UNOOSA UAE MOU for increased cooperation

UNOOSA and the UAE Space Agency have agreed to work on capacity-building initiatives on both the technical and legal aspects of the peaceful uses of outer space, and to undertake joint research projects on the use of space technology and applications for economic and social benefits. UNOOSA and the UAE Space Agency will promote and coordinate regional cooperation on these topics. In addition, the MOU addresses the UAE Space Agency's support to UNISPACE+50 and activities under the Space2030 agenda, which will result from UNISPACE+50.

UNOOSA signs cooperation agreements with Government of Italy and the Italian Space Agency

Under the MOU, UNOOSA and ASI have agreed to focus on cooperation in the fields of space science and exploration such as satellite navigation, satellite communication, space education, earth observation and natural disaster management, as well as the organization of conferences, seminars and workshops in these areas. UNOOSA and ASI will also work towards promoting and coordinating regional cooperation on these topics.

4.4 Organizing side evens or speaking at the HLPF:

UNOOSA has organized a side event on 'Space for Sustainable Development' at the side lines of the High Level political Forum 2017 on 'Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Prosperity in a Changing World: the use of space-based technologies and applications for Sustainable Development'

5. How has your organization cooperated with other UN system organizations to achieve coherence and synergies in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? In this regard, has your organization launched or intend to launch any joint programmes or projects in collaboration with other UN entities? Are there any results or lessons you would like to highlight that might help improve the design and impact of such efforts? Has your organization participated in any of the following coordination systemwide mechanisms or any other relevant platform - CEB, UNDG, EC-ESA Plus, RCMs, UN-Energy, UN-Water, UN-Ocean, IAEG, IATT?  Please specify which and indicate any suggestions you may have about improving collaborations within and across these mechanisms/platforms:

UN-SPACE

The United Nations and its specialised agencies conduct a coordinated programme of activities utilising space technologies. UN-Space, an inter-agency mechanism for such coordination, convenes annual sessions of the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities to discuss current and future activities, emergent technologies of interest and other related matters among UN system entities. To consult broader range of stakeholders, informal sessions are open not only to Member States but also private sector, NGOs and academia. The UNOOSA leads the Inter-Agency Meeting and serves as its secretariat. In the 35th sessions in 2015, it was agreed that UNOOSA should reach out on behalf of UN-Space to other relevant inter-agency coordination mechanisms such as UN-Water and UN-Oceans and inform them about the efforts made by UN-Space, in particular in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The thirty-fifth session was held from 27 to 28 May 2015 at the premises of the United Nations Campus in Bonn, hosted by the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) Bonn Office / Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The open session of UN-Space was held in a format of a joint High-Level Panel on Space-based information for Development.

The 37th session of the United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space) was organized in conjunction with the United Nations/World Health Organization/Switzerland Conference on Strengthening Space Cooperation for Global Health.

Memorandum of Understanding between UNOOSA and UNITAR

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have agreed to collaborate to further their common goals, particularly the use of space-based technology for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focuses on several areas of cooperation. UNOOSA and UNITAR will work together to support Member States with Technical Advisory Missions, where the organizations will assess a state's risk and disaster management abilities and recommend solutions with space-based information, including training and capacity development. UNOOSA and UNITAR will also coordinate on activities and policy as well as collaborate to improve access to and raise awareness of space applications and Earth observation data.

Memorandum of Understanding between UNOOSA and UNDP

Under the MOU, UNOOSA and UNDP have agreed to focus on cooperation in the use of geo-spatial and space-based technologies for UNDP's activities, as well as coordination in activating emergency response mechanisms for the benefit of United Nations Member States. UNOOSA will work to provide UNDP with access to satellite imagery and analysis, and leverage UNDP's global user network to deliver space-based solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. UNOOSA and UNDP have also undertaken to jointly organize annual outreach events and activities, such as conferences, seminars and workshops.

Space for Women, UN-Women

UNOOSA has joined forces with UN Women to jointly organize a 'Space for Women' Expert Meeting with the goals of sharing ideas and expertise regarding space and women, enhancing existing partnerships and forging new ones, strengthening and delivering targeted capacity-building and technical advisory activities, and promoting efforts to encourage women and girls' involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Specific topics touched during the expert meeting:

• Develop the basis for the "Space for Women" project in support of the implementation of the UNISPACE+50 thematic priority on "Capacity-building for the 21 st century" as well as to address SDG5;

• Strengthen capacity-building activities focusing on women's perspectives in addressing goals and targets enshrined in the interlinked 2030 Agendas, namely the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Paris Climate Agreement;

• Elaborate activities under the "Space for Women" project to help governments to equip and educate themselves regarding the technical and policy capabilities to integrate space technology and applications in their strategic planning towards, and capacity-building for, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Paris Climate Agreement;

6. How has your organization engaged with stakeholder groups, both in supporting implementation at the country, regional and global levels, and within your own organization? If yes, please provide main highlights, including any lessons learned:

At the ground-breaking Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai in March 2015, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) took a lead in organising a working session on "Earth Observation and High Technology to Reduce Risks". The session focused on the role of Earth observation and other technologies in supporting the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai Framework) and contributed to the incorporation of relevant texts into the Sendai Framework. Since then, UNOOSA, through its Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), has been engaged with the community that promotes science and technology for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

High-Level Forum: Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development

Objectives of the United Nations/United Arab Emirates High Level Forum included the presentation of lessons learned and new ideas in the four thematic areas of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy, and all their interactions and inter-linkages. The Forum produced a a set of recommendations to further shape and position space activities as drivers for innovation, socio-economic development and diplomacy for a sustainable future. The forum underscored the need to modernize and reinforce the overall mandate and structure of the Office for Outer Space Affairs to better position the Office to assist States in using space for sustainable development, and the importance to strengthen UNOOSAs cooperation with industry and the private sector to be able to deliver its mandates as the unique United Nations entity in space affairs and to assist States to attain the sustainable development goals was emphasized.

7. Has your organization organized any conferences, forums or events designed to facilitate exchange of experience, peer and mutual learning? If yes, please provide a brief summary below and include lessons learned and gaps identified based on the outcomes of these events. Please also include any events you plan to organize in the coming years.

2018

UNISPACE+50

From 20 to 21 June 2018 the international community will gather in Vienna for UNISPACE+50, a special segment of the 61 st session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

UNISPACE+50 will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. It will also be an opportunity for the international community to gather and consider the future course of global space cooperation for the benefit of humankind.

UNISPACE+50 coincides with an evolving and ever more complex space agenda, when more participants, both governmental and non-governmental, are increasingly involved in ventures to explore space and carry out space activities.

The shared goal for UNISPACE+50 is to build, together with all stakeholders, a comprehensive Space2030 agenda for the contribution of space activities to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, addressing overarching, long-term development concerns, and which is based on the peaceful exploration and uses of outer space. UNISPACE+50 will take into account the interdependencies in the space sector and foster international cooperation, paying special attention to the future space-faring and developing countries while carefully considering the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

2017

UN/USA Workshop: "Space Weather: The Decades after the International Heliophysical Year 2007",

This workshop was organized jointly with NASA on behalf on the Government of the United States. It provided a forum to discuss establishment of common warning and observation systems, improve the collection, exchange and delivery of space weather data, modeling and forecasting methods, as well as improvement of accuracy, reliability and interoperability. Only through cooperative efforts, current and future needs for space weather services can be met and with it SDG11 addressed by providing insights into the protection of crucial ground- and space-based infrastructure against hazardous effects of space weather.

UN/WHO/Switzerland Conference on Strengthening Space Cooperation for Global Health

The Conference was organized jointly with WHO and Government of Switzerland to focus on fostering dialogue and on creating and reinforcing relevant partnerships for the better utilization of space-based assets, data and technologies in addressing global health in line with targets of SDG 3. The gathering covered essential aspects, including data access, data provision services and information-sharing in order to address resiliency and interoperability of space infrastructure so that in case of breakdown of ground technology, data could still be provided especially in times of humanitarian crises or emergency situations, strengthening global health.

Third ICAO/UNOOSA Symposium 2017

The third International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)/UNOOSA Symposium was held in Vienna. This symposium was a continuation of the first and second ICAO/UNOOSA Aerospace symposia held in Montréal in 2015 and Abu Dhabi in 2016. This third symposium provided participants with perspectives on latest trends in aviation, space activities, commercial space transportation and suborbital operations and sustainability of aerospace activities.

UN/Austria Symposium on "Access to Space: Holistic Capacity-Building for the 21st Century"

The Graz symposium was organized jointly with the Government of Austria. Dialogue was held on Thematic Priority 7 on the topic of innovative approaches to capacity-building in space domain, particularly in areas of applications and technology, policy and law including the need to measure progress and development, identification of partners, tools for capacity-building and funding opportunities and aims at providing recommendations to COPUOS for UNISPACE+50 concerning this Thematic Priority. The Symposium was a flagship event under Thematic Priority 7 of UNISPACE+50 process.

United Nations Expert Meeting on Space for Women

The Expert Meeting in New York was organized together with UN Women to address the Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality, and Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education, while indirectly targeting all of the Goals as empowerment of women is a pre-condition for achievement of virtually all 17 Goals. This event highlighted the need for greater gender awareness, but also focused supporting the future of youth and their engagement in STEM through multi-stakeholder and multidisciplinary approach.

UN/Russian Federation Workshop on Human Capacity-Building in Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Social and Economic Development

The Workshop organized with Russian Federation/Samara National Research University addressed the role of human capacity building for using space science, technology and its applications in support of sustainable development, with a particular focus on developing and emerging countries. The Workshop was closely linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular to the targets set out for Sustainable Development Goal to the SDG 4: Quality Education.

UN/UAE 2017 High Level Forum "Space as a driver for socio-economic sustainable development",

The High Level Forum 2017, co-organized with United Arab Emirates Space Agency, underscored the valuable opportunity the Space2030 agenda represents to elevate space as an important pillar of the global agenda. The participants welcomed UNISPACE+50 as the upcoming global space summit to address the ever-changing space environment and as a venue for diplomacy through Space and Space through diplomacy, and Space being the new frontier for peace on Earth. The unique broad-based constituency and action-oriented approach of UNISPACE+50 corresponds to the recurring need to overcome the growing Space divide through one joint vision for Space, the Space2030 agenda. Among many suggestions, the participants called for the establishment of a Global Space Fund for Development to support the coordination and implementation of activities of the Global Space Partnership for the SDGs.

UN/Italy Workshop on Open Universe, Vienna

The aim of the workshop was to promote and facilitate the visibility, free accessibility and easy utilization of astronomical data collected by space-based and ground-based facilities among everybody in the world. Such open data will provide astronomers, but also general public with precious information about the space science and further the cultural and knowledge progress of society, particularly among the youth and women, and irrespective of the level of development of a country. Among the recommendations, there was a call for data that will be stored and will be accessible in online archives, following the existing standards, and made accessible to the public after the required proprietary periods without the need of further data processing.

UN/Germany International Conference on international cooperation towards low-emission and resilient societies

The conference was held to consider how space technology can help make societies more environmentally-friendly and more resilient to challenges such as disasters and climate change. It aimed to define synergies between climate change efforts, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development worldwide based on the three UN global frameworks: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Paris Agreement on climate change. The participants outlined elements for the road map for enhanced resiliency of space-based systems and the affiliation of existing and future space-based constellations for disaster risk reduction and climate change monitoring and mitigation.

United Nations/South Africa Symposium on Basic Space Technology

This Symposium was built on the previous efforts and outcomes of the Basic Space Science Intitiative (BSSI) and its series of Symposiums held between 2009-2013. The UN/South Africa Symposium reviewed the different initiatives including lessons learnt of past and ongoing activities in the small satellite missions' domain. The objectives were reflective of this approach and focused on capacity-building encompassing legal framework, agriculture and environment city monitoring to name a few.

8. Is there any other information you would like to share, including annual reports of your organization and any impact assessment or evaluation reports? If yes, please use the space below and attach the document(s). Please also use this space to provide any other information, comments or remarks you deem necessary:

Since the beginning of the space age, international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space has evolved in such a way as to provide the impetus for a consideration of international mechanisms and infrastructures for space cooperation and coordination mechanisms at the international, regional, interregional and national levels. The governance of space, which has been depicted as humanity's most expansive global common, has become increasingly complex due to the growing number of actors, both governmental and non-governmental, new technologies and approaches such as the public-private partnerships and private funding initiatives.

Multilateral work to strengthen space governance has concentrated primarily on voluntary measures undertaken at the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) level, an intergovernmental body that represents the most comprehensive forum to discuss cross-cutting areas of space governance, capacity-building, resiliency of space systems, interoperability and space for sustainable development.

Attached you will find UNOOSA annual report of 2015 and 2016 with the preliminary work of the Office in the implementation of the SDGs and the outline of the approach of space for SDGs.

Furthermore, please find attached a graph outlining the UNISPACE+50 process depicting that the committee on peaceful uses of outer space and UNOOSA have settled in the considerations of the thematic priorities towards the UNISPACE+50 in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

9. In your view, what should a strategic plan for the UN system in support of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs look like? What key elements should it include and major challenges address in such a road map?

• Promotion and motivation of monitoring initiatives and result-based management approaches such as the Space for Development Profile or the Space Solutions Compendium

• Indication of clear target dates on the roadmap towards 2030

• Stronger promotion of partnerships under SDG 17 with a dedicated and strong private-partnership focus, building on the work initiated by the global compact

• The "Space2030" agenda establishes a vision for sustainable long-term development. It highlights the pivotal role the space sector plays in the efficient functioning and socioeconomic development of modern societies and underscores the valuable contribution made by space science and technology and their applications, and space-derived data and information, to sustainable development.

• As such, the "Space2030" agenda is a stepping stone towards a vision for space beyond the landmark year 2030, when the global community will be assessing the progress made under the 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement.

• At present, the long-term development of our planet, its people and their prosperity is linked to the fourth industrial revolution, which is characterized by the fusion of new technologies and new business models and which will continue to both impact outer space activities and benefit from them. It is therefore important to sustain efforts undertaken at the national, regional, and international levels to foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space and thus to ensure the continuous growth and diversification of space activities.

• The "Space2030" agenda and its strategic objectives are aimed at sustaining and advancing those efforts and thus to ensure a better future for all by supporting and stimulating action across the five areas of critical importance identified in the 2030 Agenda: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships.

10. Please indicate one or two endeavor or initiatives you suggest that the UN system organizations could undertake together to support the implementation of the SDGs between now and 2030:

• Establishment of a (Geneva-like) SDG-lab at the headquarters in Vienna to pool the resources and bring together the different organisations based at Vienna for the implementation of the SDGs

• Development of an expert Geographic Information Center established between New York and Geneva support and serve Member States in the use of GIS for the implementation of the SDGs (preliminary action has been taken by UNDP and UNOOSA in this regard)