UAE highlights efforts in space sector at COPUOS meet of UN

UAE highlights efforts in space sector at COPUOS meet of UN

Abu Dhabi: A high-level UAE delegation, headed by Omran Sharaf, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Advanced Science and Technology, Chair of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, participated at the 66th session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). One of the UN’s largest committees with 100 member states, COPUOS is holding the session in Vienna, Austria, from May 31 to June 9. The delegation included Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, director-general of the UAE Space Agency, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as senior employees from the UAE Space Agency. During the session, Sharaf said: “We have witnessed significant advancements in space endeavours since the last session of this distinguished Committee – from getting the first images of early space from the James Webb Space Telescope to the first changing of the orbit of an asteroid and the continuous robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars, this past year serves as a testament to humankind’s desire to reach further. This year also marks the 55th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space [UNISPACE].” He added: