The United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) serves as the Secretarial body for the committee that exclusively focuses on the peaceful uses of outer space: The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Usage of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS). The OOSA promotes international cooperation between nations in outer space. Besides, the OOSA is also responsible for implementing the Secretary-General's responsibilities under international space law and maintaining the United Nations Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space. The Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (commonly known as the Registration Convention) was adopted by the General Assembly in 1974 and went into action in 1976.

 

This UN Secretariat office was established on the 13th of December 1958 by the UNCOPUOS. In 1993, the UNOOSA was relocated to the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria.

 

Through the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, UNOOSA conducts international workshops, training courses and pilot projects on topics that include remote sensing, satellite navigation, satellite meteorology and basic space sciences for the benefit of developing nations and LEDCs. It also maintains a 24-hour hotline as the United Nations focal point for satellite imagery requests during disasters and manages the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER). The OOSA is also responsible for helping implement the international treaties (decided upon by the UNCOPUOS), legal principles, and General Assembly resolutions that together comprise space law. 

 

At this year’s Haarlem Model United Nations, the Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) will consist of 30 nations that are all important parties in the exploration of outer space.