The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and it works to promote international cooperation in the peaceful uses of space.
The Office is divided in two sections: 1)Support and research services for the work of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and of its Subcommittees; 2) Space Applications.
Besides its primary and symbiotic connection with COPUOS (see below), UNOOSA coordinates, in particular, civil space activities carried out within the United Nations system, also through annual interagency meetings of the UN- Coordination of Outer Space Activities (UNCOSA), which includes, among others, the IAEA, FAO, IMO, ITU, UNEP, UNESCO, UNDP and WMO. The Office reports to COPUOS on the results of these meetings.
UNOOSA manages and implements the UN Programme on Space Applications. The Programme provides a homogeneous framework to the several UN activities and initiatives aimed at developing the space capacities and technologies of Member States, especially of the less developed countries. For the implementation of this Programme the Office collaborates with regional centres specialized in advanced training and capacity building, both in technological and legal areas.
Also the Programme “UN-SPIDER”(United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response) is directly coordinated by UNOOSA, which also supports the activity of the “International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems” (ICG).
On the basis of the related 1976 Convention, the Office maintains a “Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space”.
Furthermore, upon specific mandate of the General Assembly, UNOOSA is in charge of organizing the UNISPACE conferences on the exploration and peaceful use of space. The last of these conferences (UNISPACE+50) was held in Vienna on 18-21 June 2018, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The Conference approved a resolution that summarizes the accomplishments of international cooperation for the peaceful use of outer space over the last 50 years and indicates the way to follow in the coming years. On the basis of this resolution the 61st session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which followed the UNISPACE+50 Conference, established a Working Group, which was co-chaired also by Italy and developed the “Space2030 Agenda”, with the aim of strengthening international cooperation in the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space, as a way of contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. As a matter of fact, space technology is essential in many areas related to development, such as telecommunications, monitoring of phenomena related to deforestation, climate change, mapping of migration flows, epidemiological surveillance, improvement of agricultural production and responses to natural disasters. The Space2030 Agenda was adopted by COPUOS and later by the UN General Assembly in 2021, and, following its implementation, it contributed to the inclusion of issues related to the peaceful use of outer space both in the 2023 SDG Summit and in the Pact for the Future, which was adopted by the Summit of the Future in 2024.
The Committe on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)
Among the main activities carried out by the Office during the year is the preparation of the regular sessions of COPUOS and of its subsidiary bodies: the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC) and the Legal Subcommittee (LSC). UNOOSA also serves as secretariat for the Committee, which is the only global forum gathering both space-faring countries and countries that benefit from the applications of space technologies. The Member States of COPUOS have rapidly increased over the past years and are currently 102. The mandate of COPUOS mainly consists of the following tasks:
a) reviewing international cooperation activities in the space sector;
b) developing cooperation programmes that could be undertaken by the United Nations;
c) encouraging space research and the diffusion of its results;
d) addressing legal issues arising from the activities connected with the
exploration and the peaceful uses of outer space.
The final report of COPUOS is adopted evert year by the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly with a Resolution on the Peaceful Use of Space.
Among the issues currently addressed by COPUOS, two are of particular importance: the long-term sustainability (LTS) of outer space activities and the utilization of space resources (e.g. water and mineral resources). A Working Group of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee is monitoring the implementation of a first series of 21 LTS guidelines (which were adopted between 2016 and 2018) and evaluating the need for additional guidelines. A second Working Group, within the Legal Subcommittee, is considering the development of a possible legal framework for the utilization of space resources.
Italy and UNOOSA
Italy attaches great importance to space diplomacy. In this perspective, the importance of UNOOSA and COPUOS as international fora of great visibility where the results, the developments and
the perspectives of Italian space research and technologies are widely valued remains undisputed.
Italy is among the original members of COPUOS and from the beginning it has actively contributed to the work of the Committee, of the Subcommittees and of the Working Groups on specific issues. Our country regularly participates in the training and capacity-building initiatives promoted by the Committee, also through the contribution provided by experts from universities and national research centers to the events promoted within the UN Programme on Space Applications. The Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana – ASI) and the National Research Center (Centro Nazionale per le Ricerche – CNR) are the national entities that contribute through their experts to the activities of the Committee.
Italy will hold the Chairmanship of COPUOS for the period 2026-2027.
Last update: March 2025