IUCr 1997 Report - ICSU Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)

The main formal activities were directed to the preparations of the 32nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly and Associated Events which will be held 12 - 19 July 1998 at the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Japan, with Professor Y. Kamide as Chair. This meeting is connected with the 40th Anniversary of COSPAR, which was established by the International Council of Scientific Unions in October 1958 to continue the cooperative programmes and satellite research successfully undertaken during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. Moreover, in Nagoya new members of the COSPAR Council and COSPAR Bureau for the term 1998-2002 will be elected. The COSPAR Secretariat has collected nominations for the slate. Following a decision of the COSPAR Council during the 31st Assembly in Birmingham in 1996, the Secretariat has worked out modifications of the COSPAR Charter and By-Laws in order to create a new category of affiliate for organizations or individuals that would accept to support financially the activities of the Organization. The proposed changes of the Charter and By-Laws were discussed by the COSPAR Bureau and are subject to voting by the Council members.

In 1997 the Panel on Space Research in Developing Countries (PSRDC-COSPAR) continued its efforts to initiate, encourage and promote the participation of scientists from developing countries in space research and its application for national development. For this purpose a compendium on information on typical ground-based instruments complementary to space-based observations and data for pursuing research in space science and applications will be prepared. A questionnaire for collecting information on this matter has been prepared and distributed among National and International COSPAR Scientific Unions by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Headquarters, Bangalore. Finally, COSPAR edited in April 1997 its Directory of Organizations and Associates (160 pages). A limited number of copies of this edition is available for FF 75 each (or the equivalent in USD) and may be obtained by writing to the COSPAR Secretariat, 51 bd de Montmorency, F-75015 Paris, France (e-mail: cospar@paris7.jussieu.fr. The COSPAR web address is: http://cospar.itodys.jussieu.fr/).

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