World Space Week starts on October 4. This event has been celebrated every year since 2000, according to the decision of the UN General Assembly on February 11. The purpose of this festive week is to emphasize the contribution to people’s lives of the “products” of space science and technology.

For the first time, the initiative to establish such a holiday appeared during the third UN International Conference on Space. The representatives of Morocco made a proposal to establish July 20 as International Space Day in memory of the day the American expedition landed on the moon. The proposal was received ambiguously, most of the delegations supported the initiative, but the date for the celebration remained open. Someone proposed to celebrate October 4 in memory of the launch of the first artificial satellite of our planet in 1957, someone – October 10 in honor of the entry into force of the Treaty, which regulated the activities of countries in the field of space exploration.

The situation was saved by a member of the Iranian delegation, who suggested holding not Space Day, but the week from October 4 to 10. This initiative was supported by the majority.