17th Annual International ISU Sypmosium: "Space Technology and Tele-Reach: Benefiting Humanity on Earth and Beyond"

Each year, the International Space University (ISU) organizes a three day symposium addressing a topical theme from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. These symposia attract an audience of around 200 members of the space sector from agencies, industry and academia worldwide. Previous ISU symposia have addressed subjects as diverse as small satellite design and applications, future navigation systems, and the sustainability of space activities – see www.isunet.edu/previous-symposia.

ISU's next symposium, the seventeenth in a series, will address ‘Tele-reach’ a term we use to refer to technologies and applications which allow remote presence, participation, interaction or control. The emphasis here will be placed on exploring the role that space can play in broadening and sustaining the ‘reach’ of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) systems to benefit human-kind in areas such as education, healthcare and environmental management. Looking beyond the socioeconomic benefits here on Earth we will widen the scope to include fields such as tele-presence and tele-operation of remote equipment both on Earth and in space.

This broad theme has much in common with the first ISU Annual Symposium on ‘Space of Service to Humanity’. Huge advances have been made since the mid-90s in ICT technologies and in the application of satellite services. Where are we now and how can we extend telereach still further to benefit us all?