SPACE TECHNOLOGY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES IN IRAN: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE HORIZONS

摘要

Iran space activities started in 1971 with the membership in the International Telecommunication Union, andcontinued with the establishment of the" satellite Utilization Plan" at Iran's Management and Planning Organizationin 1974. In three years, Iran Remote Sensing Center and a ground station for receiving satellite imagery wereestablished. In 2003, Iran Space Agency started its activities, and centralized the space activities of the Iran RemoteSensing Center, Telecommunication Company of Iran, and Iran Ministry of Information and CommunicationTechnology. Iran, one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of OuterSpace, became an orbital-launch-capable nation in 2009.In recent years, space activities have gained some attention by custodians, experts, professionals and younginterested students. Many youths groups hold programs to support public awareness and organizations like IranianSpace Agency (ISA) and Aerospace Research Institute (ARI) make noticeable efforts in outreach aspects, WhileProjects such as StarPeace, celebrating National day of space technology, World Space Week, Yuri's night, nationaland international CanSat competition and space related conferences are specified to enrich outreach and scientificstudent and young professional-based activities, there has been no study to evaluate the outcomes of these activitiesamong public, and public opinion on the space activities.Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the outreach, educational, and capacity building activitiesin Iran, and the development of these aspects as part of the public and non-governmental space activities, using thepublished information, interviews with individuals involved, and surveys to evaluate the effectiveness, andweaknesses of such activities. This work will also reflect the public opinion of space activities in Iran.