Chair:
Mary Snitch (USA), 2025 – 2029
Vice-Chair:
TBD
Intercommission/Panel/Task Group/Committee Liaisons:
TBD
Terms of Reference:
The objective of the Panel on Early Careers and International Space Societies (PECISS) is to promote space research worldwide and strengthen international cooperation in that regard, by:
- Engaging dialogue across COSPAR for enhanced cooperation in space research worldwide, including for the benefit of emerging nations;
- Leveraging the potential of space to inspire youth and improve support to early career scientists (grants, tutorials for writing articles, competitions, etc.) and facilitate their networking within COSPAR;
- Promoting discussions and partnerships with other organizations to foster growing institutional or other support;
- Initiating interdisciplinary dialogue within COSPAR for natural and social sciences and humanities communities to strengthen a broader space society;
- Building tools to explain to the public and to decision-makers the relevance and importance of space research to society;
There is a need to present the importance of COSPAR and its assets through a reminder of its historical role, its composition (different commissions and panels), and its actions. The relative absence of COSPAR within the circles of decision-makers, media, society, and other relevant stakeholders must be explored and better understood.
The future of COSPAR relies on an active new generation of space scientists. PECISS will contribute by enhancing support for early-career scientists through grants, article-writing tutorials, competitions, and more. It will also foster collaboration with other early-career space organizations, such as the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and promote networking opportunities.
The recognition that the merger of natural and social sciences organizations to form the International Science Council (ISC) should provide opportunities for COSPAR to engage further with the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) community.
PECISS expects to help open new areas of collaboration involving a variety of scientists from different disciplines in natural and social sciences. For social sciences and humanities communities PECISS will offer a larger audience and visibility for their work and provide opportunities for novel research in a highly dynamic field and the benefit of recognition of their key role in promoting interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
PECISS will liaise with the Panel on Education (PE) and Panel on Capacity-building (PCB) to foster a common vision within the COSPAR community on the need to strengthen research collaboration worldwide and in the interest of future generations.