UN space chief hails "strong" cooperation with China

A Long March-7 Y8 carrier rocket carrying cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-7 blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)

Holla-Maini said she expects to engage with Chinese space officials and experts in her first-ever visit to China to further enhance her office's partnership with the Chinese space community.

VIENNA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Aarti Holla-Maini, director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), has hailed China's achievements in space exploration and its close cooperation with her office in leveraging space technologies to benefit all humankind.

Holla-Maini made the remarks in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua before she heads to China later this week to attend a series of space events.

"China has always been on my radar," Holla-Maini said. A space expert with over 25 years of professional experience, she described China as a "well-respected spacefaring nation, all the way from its launcher and its satellite navigation system to more recent developments" such as its lunar exploration project and its own space station.

China's Tiangong space station, whose construction was completed in 2022, has entered the application and development stage, with various scientific experiments carried out by astronauts on board. The experiments include the international cooperation projects jointly selected by UNOOSA and the China Manned Space Agency in 2019.

According to the China National Space Administration, China is currently implementing the fourth phase of its lunar exploration program, with the main target of building up the basic model of the International Lunar Research Station. As part of the fourth phase, the Chang'e-6 lunar probe is scheduled for launch in the first half of this year to collect samples from the far side of the moon.

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Jan. 18, 2024 shows China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-7 docking with the combination of the space station Tiangong. (Photo by Han Qiyang/Xinhua)

"That's why it's very important that I learn more about it (China)," she said, adding that she looks forward to participating in the events marking the upcoming Space Day of China on April 24, when the first China-Latin America and the Caribbean Space Cooperation Forum will be held in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

She said she expects to engage with Chinese space officials and experts in her first-ever visit to China to further enhance her office's partnership with the Chinese space community.

In the interview, the UN space chief spoke highly of UNOOSA's "strong collaboration" with China in building capacity, reducing disaster risk, fostering international space cooperation and helping all countries, especially the developing ones, gain access to space.

Holla-Maini noted that China is home to the Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific. The UNOOSA-affiliated regional education and research institution will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this year.

This photo taken on Dec. 29, 2023 shows the model of China's space station core module Tianhe at the Exhibition of Achievements in China Manned Space Program in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

China also hosts an office of the UN-SPIDER, a program aimed at facilitating the use of space technology for disaster management and emergency response, particularly for the developing countries, she added.

Looking forward, she said she hopes China's space station and its planned lunar research station will contribute to international space exploration and research, which "will be ultimately shared with everybody for the benefit of humankind."

Holla-Maini also expressed hope to deepen cooperation with China in ensuring access to space data for climate change mitigation and sustainable development, particularly for countries in the Global South.

The UN space chief told Xinhua that she "welcomes" the China-proposed Global Security Initiative and Global Development Initiative, as she sees the two initiatives as "an important contribution" to advancing the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In June 2023, Holla-Maini took the helm at UNOOSA, a UN agency dedicated to promoting international cooperation in the peaceful use and exploration of space.