Action Team 14 on Near-Earth Objects: mission completed

Vienna, 13 February (UN Information Service) – The world is now better placed to respond to any potential near-Earth object impact threat, thanks to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that ended its annual session today.

The subcommittee formally dissolved its Action Team 14 in recognition of the successful completion of its mandate to coordinate international mitigation efforts for near-Earth Objects threats.

“Action Team 14 coordinated the establishment of the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) and the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and thus played a vital role in the international community’s response to any potential near-Earth object impact threat,” said Mr Elöd Both of Hungary, Chair of the Subcommittee, in closing the session.

SMPAG met during the session to continue work on options for collaborative research and mission opportunities. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs remains active in SMPAG with the decision taken to formally invite the Office to all future SMPAG meetings.

Delegations also agreed to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of UNISPACE, the first major UN international conference on space, by holding a “UNISPACE+50” thematic cycle of the Committee in 2018.

Further details on SMPAG can be found at http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/smpag

The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) meets annually on topics such as space technology for socio-economic development, particularly in the post-2015 development agenda, space debris and space technologies for disaster management support.

A host of side-events took place during this year’s COPUOS subcommittee session, including exhibitions of the Argentine ARSAT 1 satellite and Tronador rocket, the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission model and the European Commission Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System.

A press conference was held with NASA’s Chief Scientist for the International Space Station, Julie Robinson, and the UNOOSA Director, Simonetta Di Pippo, on the Joint US-Russian One-Year Mission to the International Space Station. The audio recording of the press conference can be found at http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/media/audio/index.html

Delegations heard a number of scientific and technical presentations. All presentations can be found at http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/COPUOS/stsc/2015/presentations.html