Dr. Phys. Marius-Ioan Piso, President of the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA), participated at the First Online Global Moon Village Workshop & Symposium, organised by the Moon Village Association (MVA), in cooperation with the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO), between 9 and 10 November 2020.
Dr. Piso was one of the keynote speakers during the opening of the event, along with Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Mike Gold, Acting Associate Administrator of NASA, Jan Wöerner, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Sasaki Hiroshi, Vice President for international space exploration at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The Workshop & Symposium presented various matters for the growth of the Moon Village community and lunar activities, discussing on-going and planned Moon programs, and bringing together stakeholders and the lunar community. The event had a large audience, from all over the world, representing space and non-space companies, space agencies, international organizations, researchers and the wider public.
The two day event tackled issues such as Future Missions, Best Practice for Sustainable Lunar Activities, Opportunities and International Cooperation, Capacity Building for Space Developing Countries and Engaging the Young Generation.
In 2020, the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Moon Village Association (MVA), a non-governmental organisation based in Vienna. Having a common purpose of promoting space activities and science public outreach and education, the parties aim to strengthen the space sector’s workforce through career development, education and industry outreach, and gender equity.
The Moon Village Association comprises approximately 220 members from more than 39 countries and 25 Institutional members around the globe, representing a diverse array of technical, scientific, cultural and interdisciplinary fields. Its goal is the creation of a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders like governments, industry, academia and the public. It aims to foster collaboration for the development of Moon explorations projects, either public or private initiatives.
