18 Nov – KL - The 1st United Nations Expert Meeting On Human Space Technology, under the UN Human Space Technology Initiative (HSTI), jointly organized by UN and Malaysian government was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia from 14-18th November 2011.
Mr. Ahmed Shafeeq Moosa, the President’s Envoy for Science & Technology, participated in the expert meetings and made representation highlighting the current telemedicine network being developed in the Maldives, in addition to the importance of telemetry and earth observation as well as advance communication applications, which has enormous potential for the sustainable development of the Maldives.
“There are a number of applications in Human Space Technology that can be extremely beneficial to the Maldives, in particular, telemedicine and telemetry. Going forward, the global community at large, will achieve medical and technological advances from these scientific endeavours. It is vital that we remain engaged in these initiatives,” said the Maldives Science & Technology Envoy.
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), under the framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, launched the Human Space Technology Initiative (HSTI) with the objective to promote international cooperation in human spaceflight and space exploration-related activities.
HSTI will provide information to UN Member States about the International Space Station (ISS), its management structure, research facilities, utilization activities, and opportunities to cooperate with ISS partners, the use of ISS for educational outreach programmes; and examples of past cooperation activities. HSTI will also provide information about opportunities to build indigenous capacity in microgravity science education and research.
The objective is to create a platform for greater understanding of the potential of the ISS and the research currently being conducted on the ISS among UN Member States, provide opportunities to Non-ISS Members for collaborative research leading to a larger number of countries benefiting from human spaceflight activities.
With its unique microgravity environment, the International Space Station (ISS) is an ideal platform for engaging students by increasing their excitement and interest in space science, and technology in general. HSTI will emphasise the importance of the ISS as an educational platform and will aim to increase education outreach, and capacity building activities in developing nations.
The 5 day expert meeting held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, concluded on Friday deriving 10 specific recommendations on how to improve cooperation between UN Member Countries and increase awareness of the potential of the research and applications being conducted in Human Space Technology.
The UN Expert Meeting on Human Space Technology, is hosted by the Institute of Space Science (ANGKASA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, co-organised by Canadian Space Agency (CSA), European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), in cooperation with Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd (ATSB®), National Space Agency of Malaysia (ANGKASA), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP).