United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) ended its 10-day-long 51st Session in Vienna Friday.

The session focused on the special theme "Space and Education". The committee heard a number of reports about distance education with satellite technology.

It emphasized the Space Education Program of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was to lead UN for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.

The committee elected also Suvit Vibulsresth of Thailand as first vice-chairman and Portuguese Filipe Duarte Santos as second vice-chairman for the two year term 2008-2009.

The next session of COPUOS will be held in 2009. It will evaluate the activities undertaken within the UN system which were directly related to the use of space-derived geospatial information for sustainable development.

COPUOS was set up by the UN General Assembly in 1959 to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programs in this field to be undertaken under UN auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters, and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.

It has so far 69 member states including China.

Source: Xinhua News Agency