From: hjh2@aip.org (Hans Haubold)
Subject: UN ACTIVE IN ASTRONOMY MEETING REPORT
Summary: report - Basic Space Science meeting Costa Rica Nov. 2-7 1992
Keywords: UN ESA TPS
Organization: United Nations Office for Outer Space
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 06:01:09 GMT
X-Note: repost from sci.space

			UN ACTIVE IN ASTRONOMY
			   MEETING REPORT

The Second United Nations(UN)/European Space Agency(ESA) Workshop
on Basic Space Science, with support from The Planetary
Society(TPS), was held at the University of Costa Rica, San Jose
(Costa Rica), 2 to 7 November 1992, and at the University of the
Andes, Bogota (Colombia), 9 to 13 November 1992

The United Nations Office for Outer Space promotes collaboration
in space science and technology among industrialized and
developing countries. This workshop has been organized as part of
the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, observing
also the International Space Year(ISY) 1992 as a world-wide
initiative of the Committee on Space Research(COSPAR), space
agencies and the scientific community to enhance international
collaboration in the field of basic space science. The workshop
brought together astronomers of 13 countries from Latin America
and the Caribbean, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Sweden,
United Kingdom, United States of America, ESA, NASA, and the UN.
The workshop was held over a time period of two weeks in two
countries. During the first week in Costa Rica scientific issues
in planetary and solar system science were addressed. Cosmology
and astronomy space missions were the main topics during the
second week of the workshop which took place in Colombia.
Specific observations and suggestions to promote  the development
and participation of Latin American and Caribbean countries in
the basic space sciences, were addressed throughout the workshop
and have been collected in a set of recommendations which will be
presented to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of
Outer Space (COPUOS) for consideration. The objectives of the
workshop were achieved through intensive joint discussions after
detailed presentations made by all participating astronomers. The
workshop was held in the spirit that the continuing quest for
fundamental knowledge and transfer of the achieved knowledge into
education and public perception, present an important driving
force for social, cultural and economic renewal. This can be
accomplished in an efficient way through international
collaboration at the highest scientific level. Special
introductory lectures were given to introduce current prominent
problems and challenges in the basic space sciences, of interest
and importance not only for the Latin American and Caribbean
region, but also for developing countries in general: 
The ESA lecture (W.Wamsteker) `Archives and their relation to the
development of fundamental scientific ideas`, the TPS lecture
(C.R.Chapman) `Catastrophic impacts on Earth`, the ISY lecture
(R.v.Ammon) `Detection of astrophysical neutrinos`, the Costa
Rica lecture (W.Fernandez) `Changes in solar irradiance and
atmospheric turbidity in Costa Rica during the total solar
eclipse of July 1991`, and the Colombian lecture (S.Torres) `COBE
results and their cosmological implications`. Among the
distinguished speakers whose support for the workshop was
exemplary were W.J.Anderson (Canada), J.Bennett (NASA), C.-
G.Faelthammar (Sweden), M.H.Ibanez (Venezuela), A.M.Mathai
(Canada), J.Sahade (Argentina), and H.-U.Zimmermann (Germany). 
Through the initiative of Prof. M.Kitamura (Japan) the Government
of Japan has initiated and will continue to support the
establishment of national astronomical observatories in
developing countries through the provision of suitable equipment
such as small astronomical research telescopes with associated
equipment. The European Space Agency strives to provide in 1993 a
limited number of personal computer systems to research
institutes and universities in developing countries where such
basic facilities are sometimes not easily accessible. The United
Nations Office for Outer Space will in the future continue its
responsibility in promoting this series of workshops to stimulate
international collaboration in the field of basic space science.
After the first workshop held in Asia (India) in 1991 with the
support of the Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) and the
second Latin America and the Caribbean held this year,  the next
workshop is planned for 1993 in Africa. These workshops will
continue to bring together active astronomers from developing and
industrialized countries, and to seek, with support from space
agencies and the international scientific community a
strengthening of the growth of basic space science in countries
where the techniques and infrastructure to benefit from the
progress made in this field have not yet been fully developed.

---
Hans J. Haubold, Office for Outer Space, United Nations, New York,
NY 10017, USA, HJH2@AIP.BITNET or hjh2@aip.org


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