Governing Bodies

The Committee on Space Research, an international scientific body that coordinates space research across nations and maintains the planetary-protection policy that keeps missions from contaminating other worlds and Earth from returned samples.

A global space-advocacy organisation that connects space agencies, companies, and societies worldwide and runs the annual International Astronautical Congress, the largest gathering of the space community.

The United Nations agency that allocates the global radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary and other orbital slots that satellites use, coordinating between nations and operators to prevent harmful interference.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, which promotes international cooperation in the peaceful use of space, supports the development of space law, and maintains the United Nations register of objects launched into space.