NEW YORK — Next week, leaders in space from around the world will come together for Space2030: Space As a Driver for Peace, an event that will take place at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
At this event, on Sept. 25, attendees will discuss the Space2030 agenda, a set of goals focused on the future of human activity and peace in space, which will be presented for approval at the General Assembly in 2020. This event will be presented by convening partners Space Trust, the U.N. Office for Partnerships and the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs.
The organization Space Trust was founded in 2015 by Namira Salim, who has purchased a ticket to fly to space with Virgin Galactic and so will be the first future space tourist from South Asia and Monaco. According to the organization's website, Space Trust is a "nonpartisan social enterprise that champions world peace through novel space-themed initiatives to inspire change, encourage dialogue and enrich education."
The Space2030 agenda aims to strengthen international cooperation in the peaceful use of space and to help shape the future of human involvement in space. Salim hopes Space Trust can help "make space the new frontier for peace," she told Space.com.
Salim said that Space Trust is working to make space more inclusive. Citing the overview effect, Salim aims to engage world leaders and help them to see the world in a different way, beyond political boundaries, as astronauts see the Earth from space, she said. The overview effect refers to a psychological phenomenon that astronauts have reported experiencing in which their perspective shifts after seeing the Earth from space.
Space2030 is a unique opportunity for Space Trust to support international collaboration and discuss a peaceful future in space. The organization wants to encourage spacefaring nations like Russia and the U.S., as well as developing nations, new space nations and all other countries to "to come ahead and see the world in a different way from space as if those borders don't exist," Salim said.
Salim has always been obsessed with space. As a teenager, she used to tell her family that she was going to be an astronaut, and as an adult, she kind of made that a reality when she bought a ticket on a Virgin Galactic trip to space and trained for the flight — she has been called "Pakistan's First Astronaut."
Salim told Space.com that in her experiences training and working with Virgin Galactic, she "learned a lot" about spaceflight and the space industry. Salim hopes that Space Trust, through its involvement in Space2030: Space As a Driver for Peace, find "innovative solutions for a peaceful world and" help world leaders "to understand that they can make the world a better place by understanding that space is open to every sector."
Editor's Note: Space.com is a media partner of Space2030 and will be attending the Sept. 25 event.
Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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