INTERVIEW: The many ways space technologies make the world a better place | UN News
Maruška Strah is the head of the World Space Week Association, which coordinates the thousands of activities planned for this year’s World Space Week. In an interview with UN News, before the stratospheric launch on Tuesday, she told us there’s a growing interest in space exploration, as more and more people realize how important space technology is to achieving a more sustainable future here on Earth.
For example, US Vice President Kamala Harris has announced a new coalition of space companies that will focus on increasing the space industry's capacity to meet the demand for skilled technical work for workforce in in the space sector.
Agencies team up
Several space agencies, including Azer Cosmos in Azerbaijan, the Pakistan space agency, and the European Space Agency, are planning events throughout the week, and Airbus will be sending its employees to talk to students in schools, showing them what they do, to inspire them.
Several individuals will be hosting events, and the calendar is filling up. All participants and event organizers are encouraged to register their events on a global calendar on our website, and send us information so that we can promote them on social media and other communications channels.
UN News What excites you about space?
Maruška Strah It's the only sector I ever came across that involves everyone. I don't think that we can go to space and take the issues we have here with us. I think we have to overcome them; conflicts have to be solved.
If I ever travel to space, I don't want to just sit in a rocket and end up on another planet. I would like poets with me. I want to see artists create amazing art based on what we see It's something that sparks imagination. And with that, you have progress.
It's also progress here on Earth, and this was one of the main reasons why we selected space and sustainability to be to be this year's theme, because space technologies and applications directly benefit humanity.
Out of the 169 targets within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, 65 directly benefit from space technologies, and this is not even counting telecommunications. I don’t think we can survive without space technologies anymore, and I see beauty in that.
UN News Do you think that you might be able to go to space?
Maruška Strah I like this planet, and I really enjoy my life on Earth. For now, I have no need to leave, and I would like to make my environment better.
