ROLE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR)
Address of Gerhard Haerendel, COSPAR President

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) was established by the international Council for Science (ICSU), formerly the International Council of Scientific Unions, in October 1958 to continue the cooperative program of rocket and satellite research successfully undertaken during the intentional Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. The ICSU resolution creating COSPAR stated that the primary purpose of COSPAR would be to "provide the world scientific community with the means whereby it may exploit the possibilities of satellites and space probes of all kinds for scientific purposes, and exchange the resulting data on a cooperative basis".

So, COSPAR's role is to provide a meeting ground for scientists involved in fundamental research employing space means and to provide rapid dissemination of the results. During its forty years of existence COSPAR has become the world's largest professional, selfgoverning body of space physicists. It serves a community of at least 5000 individuals, with 4600 holding at present Associate status.

COSPAR's scientific structure is comprised of eight Scientific Commissions with several SubCommissions covering all aspects of research of space, from space and in space. The Commissions are supplemented by seven Panels focussing on some special technical, scientific and societal aspects of space. The highest body is the Council. It consists of the President and the Representatives of 40 National Institution Members, 12 International Scientific Union Members, and of the Chairs of COSPAR's Scientific Commissions and its Finance Committee. The Council meets twice during an Assembly. In between it is the Bureau and the Executive in Paris who are running the day-to-day business. Bureau officers, president, and vice-presidents are elected by the Council every four years.

COSPAR's main events' are the biennial Scientific Assemblies and Associated Events with nowadays 1500 to 2000 scientists attending. Last year's Assembly was held in Nagoya. Next year it will be held in Warsaw and in 2002 jointly with the International. Astronautical Congress as World Space Congress II in Houston/Texas. Besides the Assemblies there are smaller focussed Colloquia, the next two of which will take place in Potsdam and near Taipei in the year 2000.

COSPAR's main publication is the Advances in Space Research (ASR). Typically 48 thematic issues emerging from the symposia of the preceding Assembly appear during the subsequent two years. All papers are fully refereed. Besides ASR there is the Colloquia Series and the COSPAR Information Bulletin which appears three times per year and is sent to about 5000 addresses. The two major items of present days dealings with the subject of publication are the speed of transition to electronic publishing and, connected herewith, the copyright problems and protection of intellectual property rights vis-a-vis the demand of free access to and free dissemination of the results of publicly funded research. COSPAR, on the one hand, wants to accelerate the publication of the papers presented at its meetings, but on the other hand, it has to respect the limitations on electronic communication with which many of its Associates still have to live and may have to live for some time. But there are also other reasons why many researchers still prefer publication on paper, not the least one being the confusing amount of electronic languages and formats creating constantly problems with reading.

The growing societal importance of coupling space science to technology and of deploying efforts to aid the development of human intellectual potential has brought a new emphasis to our Committee's activities in several ways. In addition to strengthening its traditional cooperation with the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), which has resulted in a series of joint symposia organized on an annual basis for the past fifteen years during the Scientific and Technical Sessions of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Space (UN-COPUOS), COSPAR has created a new class of membership meant for industrial organizations, the Associated Supporter. The aim is to increase our Committee's range of activities and allow the practical needs of industry to be better understood and assimilated into future plans for space exploration.. It is particularly hoped that the synergy between the innovation so natural to the scientist and the understanding of market forces so pre-eminent in industry will create better conditions for the rapid conversion of results from investigations of near-Earth space into technologies mature for applications.

Several of COSPAR's Panels are devoted to important societal and environmental issues, such as space weather, planetary protection, potential environmentally detrimental activities in space (PEDAS), and space research in developing countries (PSRDC). The first t wo, on space weather and planetary protection, have been recently created with the aim to monitor closely and, if feasible, influence the development of understanding and policy in these areas. The third-mentioned panel (PEDAS) interacts closely with the International Academy of Astronautics on the problem of space debris which is watched by space agencies, astronomers and others with growing concern. The last-mentioned Panel (PSRDC) has been running since many years a special program which promotes space research in developing countries in disciplines of particular importance to these nations. Some of the activities of the COSPAR Panels will become manifest during the associated symposia of UNISPACE III.

In a related activity COSPAR, recognizing the paramount importance for science to invest in the development of human potential, also plans to launch a series of specialized workshops whose aim will be to contribute to the general program of capacity building in science that is currently being discussed within our mother organization, the International Council for Science (ICSU). Specifically, COSPAR's action will be aimed at reducing the isolation of scientists in countries where the scientific infrastructure is not greatly developed by helping to integrate local research activities into the mainstream of space science currently being conducted elsewhere. I must, however, admit that we encountered difficulties in identifying those scientists and raising interest in their national supporting institutions. COSPAR will, therefore, be most obliged if help in establishing such contacts could be given by the attendees of the UNISPACE III Conference.

From everything said above, it is quite apparent that COSPAR's main focus has shifted from formerly bridging the iron curtain in and with the help of space science to facilitating the access to and exploitation of space activities for all geographical areas. The basic element in this is the direct personal contact among scientists. This is assisted by a COSPAR-organized and sponsored program of financial support for the attendance at scientific meetings. But COSPAR's ambition aims beyond meetings and publications and is searching for ways to continue the fulfillment of its goals on the basis of human interactions and collaborations between meetings. UNISPACE III could provide help on this path.