United NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs

Available Information

• Programme
• Presentations made at the Workshop
• Book of abstracts
• Seminar on GNSS Spectrum Protection and Interference Detection
• Information Note

• United Nations Workshops on the Applications of Global Navigation Satellite Systems
• International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG): Information Portal

Report: A/AC.105/1252

Overview

The availability of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and other space-based systems is creating an unprecedented opportunity, bringing benefits in the areas of emergency management, marine and land monitoring or fleet control to name a few. Due to this availability, the development of integrated applications is an area in rapid expansion. To address a wide array of GNSS applications for socioeconomic benefits and to focus on initiating pilot projects and strengthening the networking of GNSS-related institutions in the region, a five-day Workshop will be held in virtual format in Ulaanbaatar, from 25 to 29 October 2021. For details, see Information Note

The Workshop programme will include plenary sessions described below and also sufficient time for discussions among participants to identify the priority areas, where pilot projects should be launched and examine possible partnerships that could be established. Cooperative efforts and international partnerships for capacity-building, training and research will be discussed.

The main objective of the Workshop is to focus on the importance and need of cooperation to apply GNSS solutions through the exchange of information and the scaling up of capacities among countries in the region.

The Office for Outer Space Affairs is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its programs and ensuring a balanced representation from different perspectives. Women are encouraged to apply.

Thematic Sessions

Session 1: Current and planned GNSS and satellite-based augmentation systems

• Programme updates on GNSS and satellite-based augmentation systems: Global Positioning System (GPS) and Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS), GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and System of Differential Correction and Monitoring (SDCM), European Satellite Navigation System (GALILEO) and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), Indian Regional Navigation System (NAVIC) and GPS Aided Geo-Augmented Navigation (GAGAN), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS).

Session 2: GNSS-based applications focusing on, but not limited to

• Advances and performance benefits due to multi-sensor integration of GNSS applications in surveying and geodesy;
• The use of GNSS for aviation, including integration of satellite navigation technology into air traffic management and airport surface navigation and guidance;
• The use of navigation and timing systems for road, rail, and engineering applications, including vehicle guidance, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, and precision farming;
• Navigation systems operation in marine environment, including waterway navigation, harbour entrance/approach, marine archaeology, fishing, and recreation;
• Commercial applications of GNSS;
• The use of GNSS signals for navigation and positioning of in-orbit space operations, particularly from low-Earth orbit to cis-Lunar.

Session 3: GNSS spectrum protection and interference detection and mitigation

• ICG activities and its role in spectrum protection and interference detection and mitigation.

Session 4: GNSS and space/atmospheric weather monitoring

• Atmospheric monitoring (troposphere) to improve numerical weather predictions;
• Space weather monitoring (ionosphere) for space situation awareness

Session 5: GNSS reference frames/systems and reference station networks

• Programme updates on regional and national reference frames/systems and perspectives for a regional cooperative mechanism;
• International GNSS Service (IGS) and other initiatives, CORS network and multi-GNSS environment.

Session 6: Capacity building, training and education in the field of GNSS

• GNSS education opportunities at different levels/needs;
• The strengthening of a specialized master's programmes for long-term professional education and support to PhD training and networking in GNSS;
• GNSS education tools/open source software related to GNSS.

Objectives and Expected Outcomes

The main objective of the workshop is to reinforce the exchange of information between countries and scale up the capacities in the region pursuing the application of GNSS technology solutions.

The specific objectives of the workshop are:

• to introduce GNSS and its applications to transport and communications, aviation, surveying, mapping and Earth science, management of natural resources, the environment and disasters, precision agriculture; high precision mobile application, as well as space weather effects on GNSS and dual-frequency receivers;
• to promote greater exchange of actual experiences with specific applications;
• to focus on appropriate GNSS applications projects at national and/or regional levels;
• to encourage greater cooperation in developing partnerships and GNSS networks, in the framework of the regional reference frames; and
• to define recommendations and findings to be forwarded as a contribution to the Office for Outer Space Affairs and ICG, particularly, in forging partnerships to strengthen and deliver capacity-building on satellite navigation science and technology.

The expected outcomes of the workshop are:

• recommendations and findings on discussed topics to be adopted by the workshop participants;
• preliminary agreement of cooperation between countries in the region and the GNSS continuously operating reference station (CORS) networks;
• training courses on GNSS and space weather to be conducted;
• action plan addressing identified issues/concerns.

The discussions at the workshop will also be linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to its targets set out for Sustainable Development Goals, such as,

• SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing - GNSS positioning enables individual patients, staff or equipment to be monitored, and response teams directed more efficiently;
• SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy - GNSS reflectometry techniques can produce scatterometry models to assist in the optimum positioning of off-shore wind farms;
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure - GNSS signals can be used for navigation and positioning of in-orbit space operations particularly from low-Earth orbit to cis-Lunar); and
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - GNSS is widely used for urban planning in order to pinpoint structures and reference points for cadastral and urban planning purposes.