Press Release- International Moon Day proclamation endorsed by United Nation COPUOS

Vienna, Austria – (September 08, 2021) – On Thursday, September 2, during the UN-COPUOS 64^th Session, the proposal submitted by the Moon Village Association (MVA), for a proclamation of the International Moon Day on July 20, the anniversary of the 1969 first human landing, has been endorsed by COPUOS, subject to the approval by the United Nations General Assembly, at its 76^th session in fall 2021.

The Moon Village Association considers that the peaceful exploration and utilisation of the Moon is the next step for humanity in opening new perspectives related to economic, cultural and inspirational goals. The Moon has huge benefits to offer to humanity, but these have to be shared between all countries and involve space and non-space industries

Moon Exploration has started when Luna 2, a spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Many more spacecraft have been launched in the last 62 years from different stakeholders including: China, India, Japan, Europe, Israel, Russia, United States to better understand the Moon and its relationship to Earth. However, the first human landing on the Moon on 20 July 1969 by the Unites States Apollo 11 mission represent the pinnacle of these efforts

The International Moon Day is intended to become an annual event, held for the general public on the anniversary of the 1969 first human landing on the Moon, on July 20 1969, by the United States Apollo 11 mission. MVA believes that the International Moon Day is a good opportunity to educate the public and promote and raise each year, at the international level, the awareness on the status and prospects for humanity, the sustainable Moon Exploration and Utilization of the Moon and the need to act together to regulate activities on and around the Moon.

Following the approval by the United Nations, this event will foster increased global cooperation between stakeholders all around the world, as well as promoting increasing participation to this goal of the future generation. MVA encourages and promotes events around the globe on July 20, including community panel discussions, lectures, webinars, concerts, exhibits and screening of educational videos.

Giuseppe Reibaldi, President of the Moon Village Association stated “The International Moon Day, starting in 2022 will foster the increase of international cooperation for future lunar missions and improve the understanding, by the public, of the benefits of exploring and utilizing the Moon. From 2022, each year several missions will be launched to the Moon from many stakeholders in the world and the public needs to know why”.

Glafki Antoniou                                                             
Management Support and Public Relations
Email: yc.gr1734620326o.oes1734620326c@osa1734620326-avm1734620326

About the Moon Village Association 

The Moon Village Association (MVA) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Vienna, founded in 2017. Its goal is the creation of a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders like governments, industry, academia and the general public interested in the development of the Moon Village. The MVA is the assembling of all efforts from private industry, governments and others aimed to explore and use the Moon in a sustainable manner. The MVA fosters cooperation for existing or planned Moon exploration programs, be they public or private initiatives. It comprises more than 800 participants to MVA activities and 27 institutional members from more than 60 countries, representing a diverse array of technical, scientific, cultural and interdisciplinary fields. The MVA partners with non-space organizations to promote international discussions and formulation of plans to foster the development of the Moon Village, and is creating international, national and regional networks to engage civil society around the world. The Moon Village Association’s mission is unique, bridging together both spacefaring and non-spacefaring nations offering them the opportunity to play a role in its realization. There is no other organization on the international scene having such a mission.