World Space Week was established by the United Nations in 1999, and this year marks its 25th anniversary.
It is an annual event taking place between the 4th and 10th October each year. The two dates were chosen because the 4th October 1957 was launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, and on the 10th October 1967 the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, came into force.
The week is celebrated around the globe, and in 2023, thousands of events took place across 83 countries.
Each year has a theme, and for 2024, the theme is ‘Space & Climate Change’. The aim is to celebrate the transformative impact of space technology against climate change and how this technology improves our understanding and management of Earth’s climate. Given that Pixalytics is an Earth Observation (EO) company, we are delighted to have the spotlight this year on our sector of the industry.
There are events taking place, and having taken place, around the world. On the event map, you can have a look at any events that might be taking place close to you. In the UK, World Space Week was launched in Northern Ireland organised by the Northern Ireland Space Cluster, National Centre for Earth Observation, and Space4Climate. There are 29 registered events within the UK during the week, and the details can be found on the UK website, and you may find something close to you.
In 2024, World Space Week also wants to inspire students to pursue Science, Technology Manufacturing & Engineering subjects, known as STEM, by showing how space technology is involved in supporting climate science and there are lots of education events available. There are also online educational resources on the World Space Week website for students of all ages to get involved and understand more about space and climate change.
There is also the Send Postcards to Space activity, organised by Club for the Future, where children can get a postcard sent into space and then returned to them! All they need to do is draw or write something they want to share about the future of living and working in space, this is sent off to the Postcards to Space club and they will launch the postcard on a rocket and a bring it back to Earth, sending it back marked Flown to Space! Details of this activity can be found here.
A lot is going on this week, and there are still a couple of days to go. Why don’t you get involved?
