FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
UN Space Agency Hails China Space Station as Future Space Home for All Mankind
May 29, 2018 (EIRNS)—At a ceremony yesterday in Vienna, the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and China’s Manned Space Agency invited UN member states to conduct scientific experiments aboard China’s future space station. “The China Space Station (CSS) belongs not only to China, but also to the world,” said Shi Zhongjun, China’s Ambassador to UN organizations in Vienna.
“Guided by the idea of a shared future, the CSS will become a common home in space for all humankind. It will be a home that is inclusive and open to cooperation with all countries, a home of peace and good will, and a home of cooperation for mutual benefit.”
UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo praised the Chinese space program, as one of the most “technologically advanced in the world.” She further stressed, “This is space diplomacy in action.”
There are three ways open for orbital experiments in this first round of opportunities: Conducting experiments the applicants develop; conducting experiments using facilities provided by the Chinese; conducting experiments exposed to the space environment, outside the station, developed by the applicant.
In 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two organizations to develop the space capabilities of UN member states to participate in the Chinese station. Now applications are invited for proposals for experiments, to be submitted by Aug. 31. Institutions from developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply.
