UNIS/MA/344
10 June 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY

Media are invited to cover the first UN Conference on Sustainable Lunar Activities and the 67th Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Lunar Activities takes place on Tuesday, 18 June 2024 with a press briefing at 2 p.m. and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space opens on Wednesday, 19 June 2024

VIENNA, 10 June (United Nations Information Service) – With the number of moon missions expected to increase rapidly in the future, the United Nations is holding its first conference to consider the sustainability of lunar activities. Hundreds of representatives from the space community are expected to attend, including United Nations Member States and entities, space agencies, astronauts, non-governmental organizations, academia, civil society, students, and the private sector.

The Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Aarti Holla-Maini, will formally open the first United Nations Conference on Sustainable Lunar Activities at 10 a.m. on 18 June 2024, in the presence of high-level dignitaries from around the world. 

Since the start of the space age in the 1950s, there have been more than 140 lunar missions. This number is expected to increase tremendously over the next few years with more crewed landings, soft landings, and sample return missions by public and private entities. In light of this expected growth in space missions, the Lunar Conference will address the importance of safe and sustainable space activities, with discussions on lunar cooperation between space-faring nations, industry, and other space actors.

Heads of space agencies, scientific and legal experts, and relevant stakeholders from both the public and private sector will join the conference to consider possible avenues for global coordination to ensure sustainable future lunar activities harness the benefits of space for all humankind.

High level representatives, among others, include:

• Ron Garan, NASA astronaut (retired)
• Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
• Salem Al Qubaisi, Director-General of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency
• Sherif Sedky, Chief Executive Officer, Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA)
• Adolfo Godoy, President, Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE)
• Mohammad Yousuf Khan, Chairman, Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Pakistan (SUPARCO)
• Steve Altemus, Co-founder, President, CEO of Intuitive Machines

The agenda and full list of speakers for the conference can be found here.

Press briefing:

UNOOSA Director Ms. Aarti Holla Maini and Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, Board Member, Romanian Space Agency will hold a press briefing on Tuesday, 18 June, at 2 p.m. at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), room C0225 and online via Microsoft Teams.

67^th Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)

Opening: Wednesday, 19 June, 10 a.m.

This year’s session of COPUOS will focus on space and climate change, sustainable development, technology and space exploration. COPUOS Member States are currently negotiating issues such as space sustainability, legal aspects of space resources, for example mining asteroids or ice on the Moon, lunar cooperation and the safe use of nuclear power sources in space which would be critical for human settlements or deep space exploration. The session webpage can be found here.

There will also be a number of side events hosted by UNOOSA, international organizations and Member States during COPUOS, which will be listed on the session homepage.

The session will be webcast via UN WebTV.

Please note that meetings of the inter-governmental working groups are closed meetings, not open to observers or the media.

Media accreditation

Media representatives who wish to cover the UN Conference on Sustainable Lunar Activities, press briefing (in-person or online), and/or the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and who are not already accredited to the Vienna International Centre, should write to press.vienna[at]un.org to register.

Join the conversation on Sustainable Lunar Activities and COPUOS on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and Facebook using hashtags #UNLunarConf and #COPUOS2024 and follow @UNOOSA.

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For further information please contact:

Andrew Peebles
External Relations Officer and Acting Public Information Officer, UNOOSA
Email: oosa[at]un.org

or

Christine Dierk
Associate Public Information Officer, UNIS Vienna
Telephone: (+43-1) 26060-4949
Email: press.vienna[at]un.org