On 4 October 1957 the first human-made Earth satellite Sputnik I was launched into outer space, thus opening the way for space exploration. On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth, opening a new chapter of human endeavour in outer space.
Yuri’s Night is the global celebration of humankind’s achievements in space. Yuri’s Night is celebrated every year on or around April 12th. Follow the conversation with the hastags: #12April, #YurisNight, #HumanSpaceFlight, #InternationalDayofHumanSpaceFight.
WEBINARS: Space science and technologies for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Despite the growing global economy and the technological progress observed in the past decades, there are still many societal challenges that need to be overcome to enhance human development. The United Nations, involving more than 190 Member States, has developed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in order to address these challenges in the form of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 associated specific targets.
The importance of the role of Earth Observation (EO) and geolocation (provided by GNSS) in supporting the achievement of the development goals is recognised by the UN ( General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/1: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ). However, the potential of space in supporting the SDGs is much wider. Space-based services and technologies are key in understanding climate change and during the full disaster management cycle; only two examples among countless applications to which space can contribute to.
The Sustainable Development Goal 1 (Space for SDG) calls for an end to poverty in all its manifestations by 2030. It aims to ensure social protection for the poor and vulnerable, increase access to basic services and support people harmed by climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.
Overall, space technologies can contribute to the prevention of people falling below the poverty line and help target specific support to those in need.
SPACE FOR SDG
Despite the growing global economy and the technological progress observed in the past decades, there are still many societal challenges that need to be overcome to enhance human development. The United Nations, involving more than 190 Member States, has developed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in order to address these challenges in the form of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 associated specific targets.
The importance of the role of Earth Observation (EO) and geolocation (provided by GNSS) in supporting the achievement of the development goals is recognised by the UN ( General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/1: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ). However, the potential of space in supporting the SDGs is much wider. Space-based services and technologies are key in understanding climate change and during the full disaster management cycle; only two examples among countless applications to which space can contribute to.
The Sustainable Development Goal 1 (Space for SDG) calls for an end to poverty in all its manifestations by 2030. It aims to ensure social protection for the poor and vulnerable, increase access to basic services and support people harmed by climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.
Space technologies are central, among other things, in:
- Forecasting natural disasters and better coordinate subsequent aid provision
- Optimising sustainable utilisation of natural resources
- Providing efficient support to vulnerable populations
- Mapping populated areas and their access to basic services
Overall, space technologies can contribute to the prevention of people falling below the poverty line and help target specific support to those in need.
The Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Space for SDG) aims to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition. It also commits to universal access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food throughout the year. This require sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices, equal access to land, technology and markets, and international cooperation on investments in infrastructure and technology to boost agricultural productivity.
Space technologies are key to:
The Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Space for SDG) seeks to ensure health and well-being for all, at every stage of life. The Goal addresses all major health priorities, including reproductive, maternal and child health; communicable, non-communicable and environmental diseases; universal health coverage; and access for all to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines. It also calls for more research and development, increased health financing, and strengthened capacity of all countries in health risk reduction and management.
Space technologies are essential in a range of health applications, including, but not limited to:
Overall, space technologies can contribute to the prevention of people falling below the poverty line and help target specific support to those in need.
Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Space for SDG) seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Gender equality and women's empowerment have advanced in recent decades. Women's and girls' access to education has improved; the rate of child marriage has fallen and progress has been made in the area of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, including fewer maternal deaths. Nevertheless, gender equality remains a persistent challenge for countries worldwide and the lack of equality is a major obstacle to sustainable development, as gender and wealth disparities persist and obstruct universal access to a quality higher education.
Space technologies can support women's empowerment through:
The Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Space for SDG) pursues to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. However, every year millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene. Clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children. Today, there are around 2.4 billion people who do not use improved sanitation, and 663 million who do not have access to improved water sources. Every day, over 800 children die from preventable diseases caused by poor water, and a lack of sanitation and hygiene.
The Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Space for SDG) promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Roughly half the world's population still lives on the equivalent of about US$2 a day, and in too many places, having a job does not guarantee an escape from poverty. Slow and uneven progress in this area requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty. A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress. Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment.
Space technologies support:
The Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Space for SDG) seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation. This SDG encompasses three important aspects of sustainable development: infrastructure, industrialisation and innovation. Infrastructure provides the basic physical systems and structures essential to the operation of a society or enterprise. Industrialisation drives economic growth, creates job opportunities and thereby reduces income poverty. Innovation advances the technological capabilities of industrial sectors and prompts the development of new skills. Inclusive and sustainable industrial development is the primary source of income generation, allows for rapid and sustained increases in living standards for all people, and provides the technological solutions needed for environmentally sound industrialisation.
Space technologies play a key role in:
Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Space for SDG) aims at reducing inequality within and among countries. This SDG calls for reducing inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status within a country. The goal also addresses inequalities among countries, including those related to representation, migration and development assistance. The international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty. The most vulnerable nations - the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the Small Island developing States - continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. However, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other assets.
Space technologies can contribute in various ways, for example through:
The Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Space for SDG) is focused on cities, as more than half of the world's population lives in them. Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more; they have enabled people to advance socially and economically. However, many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity without straining land and resources.
Space technologies are utilised for:
The Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Space for SDG) aims at ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. SDG 12 is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty. Sustainable consumption and production aims at "doing more and better with less", increasing net welfare gains from economic activities by reducing resource use, degradation and pollution along the whole lifecycle, while increasing quality of life.
Space technologies can assist with:
The Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Space for SDG) urges to take action to combat climate change and its impacts*. Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and are continuing to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world's average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3ºC this century-with some areas of the world expected to warm even more.*Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.
Space technologies play a central role in:
The Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Space for SDG) pursues to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The world's oceans - their temperature, chemistry, currents and life - drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. They are particularly crucial for people living in coastal communities, who represented 37% of the global population in 2010. Oceans provide livelihoods and tourism benefits, as well as subsistence and income. They also help regulate the global ecosystem by absorbing heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and protecting coastal areas from flooding and erosion. In fact, coastal and marine resources contribute an estimated $28 trillion to the global economy each year through ecosystem services.
Space technologies support:
The Sustainable Development Goal 15 (space for SDG) seeks to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Preserving diverse forms of life on land requires targeted efforts to protect, restore and promote the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial and other ecosystems. Goal 15 focuses specifically on managing forests sustainably, restoring degraded lands and successfully combating desertification, reducing degraded natural habitats and ending biodiversity loss.
Space technologies can be utilised for:
The Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Space for SDG) promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Peace, justice and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are at the core of sustainable development. Several regions have enjoyed increased and sustained levels of peace and security in recent decades. But many countries still face protracted armed conflict and violence, and far too many people struggle as a result of weak institutions and the lack of access to justice, information and other fundamental freedoms.
Space technologies are pivotal in:
Space technologies are key to:
- Optimising crop productivity through informed management process and increased efficiency in the use of existing resources, including land, seeds, fertilisers, plant protection agents and water
- Improving livestock management through enhanced monitoring and identification of suitable grazing
Space technologies are essential in a range of health applications, including, but not limited to:
- Studying disease epidemiology, by enabling increased use of spatial analysis to identify the ecological, environmental and other factors that contribute to the spread of vector-borne diseases, monitoring disease patterns and defining areas that require disease-control planning
- Addressing issues related to vision, cognition and disability assistance
- Monitoring factors that affect human health and well-being, like air quality and traffic
- Supporting health promotion and disease prevention, through the use of wearable monitoring devices
- Enabling remote healthcare
Overall, space technologies can contribute to the prevention of people falling below the poverty line and help target specific support to those in need.
The Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Space for SDG) aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This goal ensures that all girls and boys complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030. It also aims to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, to eliminate gender and wealth disparities and achieve universal access to a quality higher education. Estimates show that, among those 59 million children, 1 in 5 of them had dropped out and recent trends suggest that 2 in 5 of out-of-school children will never set foot in a classroom. The Sustainable Development Goals clearly recognise that this gap must be closed, even as the international community more explicitly addresses the challenges of quality and equity in education.
Space technologies can provide, among others:
- High-speed internet connectivity and tailored online educational content delivered via satellite
- Electronic attendance monitoring and provision of incentives for parents to reduce dropout rates
- Remote learning, e-learning and lifelong learning opportunities for remote and isolated communities
Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Space for SDG) seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Gender equality and women's empowerment have advanced in recent decades. Women's and girls' access to education has improved; the rate of child marriage has fallen and progress has been made in the area of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, including fewer maternal deaths. Nevertheless, gender equality remains a persistent challenge for countries worldwide and the lack of equality is a major obstacle to sustainable development, as gender and wealth disparities persist and obstruct universal access to a quality higher education.
Space technologies can support women's empowerment through:
- Access to quality education even in remote and isolated communities
- Support for female entrepreneurship, through access to training, soft infrastructure, information and safety in the work environment
- Career development opportunities, often within STEM
The Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Space for SDG) pursues to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. However, every year millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene. Clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children. Today, there are around 2.4 billion people who do not use improved sanitation, and 663 million who do not have access to improved water sources. Every day, over 800 children die from preventable diseases caused by poor water, and a lack of sanitation and hygiene.
- Space technologies enable, among others:
- Water quality monitoring
- Meteorological forecasting
- Access to infrastructural support and technical know-how
The Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Space for SDG) aims at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Sustainable energy is an opportunity to transform lives, economies and the planet. Still, one in five people lack access to electricity and, as demand continues to rise, there needs to be a substantial increase in the production of renewable energy across the world. The proportion of the world's population with access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking increased from 51% in 2000 to 58% in 2014, although there has been limited progress since 2010.
Space technologies are central in:
- Critical infrastructure monitoring, particularly with regards to energy networks
- Power grid synchronisation
- Seismic surveying
- Identification of optimal sites for the production of renewable energy
- Solar and wind energy production forecasting to estimate the amount of energy that needed from other sources
The Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Space for SDG) promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Roughly half the world's population still lives on the equivalent of about US$2 a day, and in too many places, having a job does not guarantee an escape from poverty. Slow and uneven progress in this area requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty. A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress. Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment.
Space technologies support:
- Global economies and GDP growth, contributing to a range of sectors, particularly service delivery, utilities, banking and finance, agriculture and communications
- Lone workers monitoring, establishing safe and secure working environments
The Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Space for SDG) seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation. This SDG encompasses three important aspects of sustainable development: infrastructure, industrialisation and innovation. Infrastructure provides the basic physical systems and structures essential to the operation of a society or enterprise. Industrialisation drives economic growth, creates job opportunities and thereby reduces income poverty. Innovation advances the technological capabilities of industrial sectors and prompts the development of new skills. Inclusive and sustainable industrial development is the primary source of income generation, allows for rapid and sustained increases in living standards for all people, and provides the technological solutions needed for environmentally sound industrialisation.
Space technologies play a key role in:
- Infrastructure mapping and monitoring, including maintenance of road infrastructure in rural environments, where the most reliable technology is satellite-based
- Construction surveying though machine automation
- Smart mobility, e.g. reduced fuel consumption by smarter planning and monitoring of driving behaviour
Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Space for SDG) aims at reducing inequality within and among countries. This SDG calls for reducing inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status within a country. The goal also addresses inequalities among countries, including those related to representation, migration and development assistance. The international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty. The most vulnerable nations - the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the Small Island developing States - continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. However, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other assets.
Space technologies can contribute in various ways, for example through:
- Connectivity in remote and isolated areas
- Remote participation in democratic processes
- Reliable access to information
- Connectivity in remote and isolated areas
- Remote participation in democratic processes
- Reliable access to information
The Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Space for SDG) is focused on cities, as more than half of the world's population lives in them. Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more; they have enabled people to advance socially and economically. However, many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity without straining land and resources.
Space technologies are utilised for:
- Urban planning, to pinpoint structures and reference points for cadastral and urban planning purposes
- Smart Cities, through the application of Global Navigation Satellite Systems, Earth Observation and Satellite Telecommunications
- Improvement of city services, such as smart waste management systems
- Air quality monitoring
- Disaster management
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Search and rescue operations
The Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Space for SDG) aims at ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. SDG 12 is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty. Sustainable consumption and production aims at "doing more and better with less", increasing net welfare gains from economic activities by reducing resource use, degradation and pollution along the whole lifecycle, while increasing quality of life.
Space technologies can assist with:
- Natural resources management
- Food and dangerous goods traceability
- Monitoring of endangered species trafficking and products of human slavery
- Smart Agriculture by combining Earth observation, satellite telecommunications and Global Navigation Satellite Systems
- Spin-offs of In-situ resources utilization (ISRU), such 3d printing technologies to create structures in orbit, could have applications on Earth
The Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Space for SDG) urges to take action to combat climate change and its impacts*. Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and are continuing to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world's average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3ºC this century-with some areas of the world expected to warm even more.*Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.
Space technologies play a central role in:
- Climate change monitoring
- Weather forecasting
- Disaster management
- Search and rescue operations
The Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Space for SDG) pursues to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The world's oceans - their temperature, chemistry, currents and life - drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. They are particularly crucial for people living in coastal communities, who represented 37% of the global population in 2010. Oceans provide livelihoods and tourism benefits, as well as subsistence and income. They also help regulate the global ecosystem by absorbing heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and protecting coastal areas from flooding and erosion. In fact, coastal and marine resources contribute an estimated $28 trillion to the global economy each year through ecosystem services.
Space technologies support:
- Mapping and monitoring of natural and protected areas
- Fishing vessel tracking and navigation
- Monitoring of illegal, unregulated and unreported fisheries
- Fishery product traceability (endangered species, exploitation of fishery resources)
- Assessment and monitoring of marine and coastal resources
- Climate change monitoring, particularly water temperature
- Identification of algal blooms
The Sustainable Development Goal 15 (space for SDG) seeks to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Preserving diverse forms of life on land requires targeted efforts to protect, restore and promote the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial and other ecosystems. Goal 15 focuses specifically on managing forests sustainably, restoring degraded lands and successfully combating desertification, reducing degraded natural habitats and ending biodiversity loss.
Space technologies can be utilised for:
- Bio-geophysical land surface monitoring
- Terrestrial biodiversity monitoring
- Monitoring of poaching and identification of smuggling routes
The Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Space for SDG) promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Peace, justice and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are at the core of sustainable development. Several regions have enjoyed increased and sustained levels of peace and security in recent decades. But many countries still face protracted armed conflict and violence, and far too many people struggle as a result of weak institutions and the lack of access to justice, information and other fundamental freedoms.
Space technologies are pivotal in:
- Conflict monitoring
- Enabling participation of remote and isolated communities in democratic processes
- Enforcement of legislation.
- Access to reliable information
The Sustainable Development Goal 17 (Space for SDG) seeks to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. A successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. These inclusive partnerships, built upon principles and values, a shared vision, and shared goals that place people and the planet at the centre, are needed at the global, regional, national and local levels.
Space technologies enable: International cooperation initiatives
EVENTS:
Space technologies enable: International cooperation initiatives
- Exchange of data and information
- Open source databases
- Sharing of infrastructure and exchange of technical know-how
- United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Events Calendar.
We Dream Big, We Work Together. NASA benefits all humanity and our workforce is key to making this happen. Take a look at the universe of NASA missions and projects made possible by our commitment to teamwork, collaboration, equity and inclusiveness.
The calendar lists all activities of UNOOSA.
- Yuri's Night 2023 Worldwide events.
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