Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78)

INTRODUCTION:

This session reports on a new global effort to achieve the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through space applications. The strategy i.e. “Space for All” is to create new “Compact Agreements” between developing country officials needing help from space systems to meet the UN SDGs with space system providers.

“Space for All” seeks to achieve the Space 2030 Agenda through these “Compact Agreements” and by cooperating with the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs. Updates will be provided on the South Asian pilot project to use space systems to support fishing in the Indian ocean, expanded tele-education and tele-health program, job-training and other sustainability initiatives. In 2024 the “Space for All Compact Agreements” program will be expanded to Africa and South America. This effort is led by the Alliance for Collaboration in the Exploration of Outer Space (ACES Worldwide) and its alliance members around the world.

SESSSION OVERVIEW:

The ACES Worldwide effort to support the UN SDGs is seeking to create “Space for All Compact Agreements.” This effort is placing an emphasis on 10 of the 17 sustainable goals that are most related to space-related services. These include using space systems for: Goal 2 - Hunger (food); Goal 3 - Health; Goal 4 - Education; Goal 6 - Clean Water; Goal 7 - Clean Energy; Goal 9 - Industry Innovation and infrastructure; Goal 11 - Effective Community Design; Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production; and Goals 13, 14, and 15 -which are for Climate Action for the Atmosphere, Life below Water, and the Land. A pilot project has been started and a number of organizations around the world are being recruited to assist with this effort such as the International Space University, Space in Africa, and ACES Worldwide’s Global Advisory Committee. The Space 2030 Agenda was adopted as part of an overall strategy to achieve the U.N. 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It is hoped that the ACES Worldwide Compact Agreement effort to bring “Space to All” can help to achieve the U.N. Space 2030 Agenda.
To begin this effort a pilot project has started in South Asia. To date, initial Compact Agreements have been developed regarding the use of space-based remote sensing and weather data to support safe and environmentally sound fishing and “agua-culture programs” to harvest food production from the seas. But other Compact Agreements will be pursued in coming months related to tele-education and tele-health, satellite-based job training, environmental programs and more. These agreements will address space communications and broadcasting, remote sensing and smart farming, space navigation and timing, space weather systems, radio frequency geo-mapping, and other space services, It has also been proposed that this effort might be expanded through an International Space University project that increase this global cooperative project to bring “Space to All” more and more countries around the world.