The UN General Assembly adopted a consensus decision during its recent plenary session to grant Armenia a full membership to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the Armenian Astronomical Society informs.
This is important to Armenia not only in the scientific-technical, but also political respect, and is first of all the result of the effective activity of the Armenian diplomacy. The motive of granting membership to Armenia was to provide states having no opportunity to implement its own space programs but possessing rich scientific potential with an opportunity to get more widely involved in the activity of international space agencies.
Becoming a member of COPUOS, Armenia thus joins the five main international agreements on the peaceful uses of the outer space. Armenian astronomers participate in the scientific projects implemented in the American and European observatories.
Moreover, Armenia has recently received an invitation to join the International Planetary Data Alliance, (IPDA).
Armenia’s participation in COPUOS activities will be beneficial from all perspectives. Our young scholars get a chance to participate in American and European projects and visit the scientific centers of space agencies in the US (NASA) and Europe (ESA).
