By Obiabin Onukwugha
World Space Week is the largest annual space event in the world. The UN General Assembly proclaimed World Space Week to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of human condition.
According to the World Space Week Association (WSWA), which exists to promote this event, World Space Week (WSW) is a global celebration of space science and technology and their contribution to making life better for humans.
The event began in 1999, when the United Nations General Assembly declared that World Space Week will be held annually from October 4 to 10 of every year.
The declaration, according to a report obtained from the UN website, was established by resolution 54/68 of 6 December 1999, after the Soviet Union (now succeeded by Russia) launched Sputnik 1, the first human-made Earth satellite launched in orbit, on October 4, 1957.
The launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, according to the UN, galvanized the United States into action, and the first Space Race was born.
The theme for the World Space Week 2023 is Space and Entrepreneurship.
“The 2023 theme recognizes the growing significance of the commercial space industry in space, and the increasing opportunities for space entrepreneurship and new benefits of space developed by space entrepreneurs.
“With the miniaturization and decreasing launch costs, it is now possible for a small business to build and launch a small satellite, and for entrepreneurs to create valuable new data products for governments and industry.
“World Space Week 2023 will inspire students worldwide to study STEM and business, and offer space companies the opportunity to recruit the workforce needed for the expanding commercial space industry. It will also serve as a forum for important discussions on the transition of Low Earth Orbit to a more entrepreneurial ecosystem,” says the World Space Week website.
The celebration is managed by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
UNOOSA currently promotes the peaceful uses of outer space by Earth-based nations, on the UN’s behalf.
According to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, dates that start and finish World Space Week each year were chosen for very specific reasons.
“Meanwhile, October 10, 1967, is the date that the United Nations ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ finished its signing process and came into force.
“Under the ‘Outer Space Treaty,’ nuclear weapons are not allowed “in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner.
“The exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind; (and) outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States.
“This year’s World Space Week activities consist of space education and outreach events, hosted by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools, planetaria, museums, astronomy clubs, and space enthusiasts around the world”, the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs noted.
According to the UN website report, at least 25 United Nations entities and the World Bank Group routinely use space applications.
They make important and sometimes essential contributions to the work of the United Nations, including the implementation of recommendations of major world conferences and those of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III), as well as support towards sustainable development.
As a consequence, coordination, cooperation and synergy are essential for those activities to be effectively carried out by the United Nations system.