Our first agenda, “Measures to manage and mitigate space debris”, centres around how we can leverage the international community to clean up outer space and create systems to deal with space junk. The proliferation of space debris is a consequence of various factors, including historical launches, satellite collisions, and intentional and unintentional releases of objects into orbit. While some debris objects are large and easily trackable, many others are smaller and harder to detect, presenting significant challenges for space situational awareness and collision avoidance efforts. Key objectives of space debris mitigation include preventing the generation of new debris, minimising the risk of collisions through collision avoidance measures, and tracking and actively removing existing debris from orbit.

Our second agenda, “Addressing the challenges and risks of space colonisation”, offers exciting possibilities. Being able to move beyond our home plane, allows us to protect ourselves in the event of sudden threats while also providing access to vast quantities of untapped resources. However, there are also a number of potential risks, including large cost implications, the possibility of accidents, and conflict. While technology is bringing us closer to being able to set up habitation on other planets, current laws are not yet capable of handling issues concerning space colonies. You, as a COPUOS delegate, could address the challenges that come with the exploration of outer space, including creating laws, systems and frameworks for international cooperation.

Our third agenda, “Addressing the excessive monopolisation of outer space regions, resources, and potential weapons”, was born out of a need to solidify definitions and regulations with regards to what activities countries and private entities are specifically allowed to perform in outer space. Currently, most treaties are either non-committal with regards to rules or remain unadopted by a majority of nations. Furthermore, the UN has identified monopolisation by states/private entities as a threat to the equitable distribution of outer space regions and resources. This is inherently affected by nations’ militarisation-adjacent actions, which become crucial to address. While in an ideal world, every iota of extraterrestrially-gathered resources would be shared equitably amongst all nations, it is imperative to codify long-lasting international legislature which would ultimately inhibit both the monopolisation and militarisation of outer space.

COPUOS at DAIMUN 2024 will be a committee of dynamic and powerful delegates, comprising governments and private entities hoping to solve some of the most pressing issues in outer space. It gives you the ability to think outside the box and innovate solutions on unique topics that are relatively unexplored. Not only is COPUOS for the more technologically inclined but even for those who want to experience and hone their debating skills.

We look forward to welcoming you in COPUOS at DAIMUN 2024!