World Space Commission

The World Space Commission is an international body that seeks to promote interest and coordinate activity in the exploration of space. It is headed by a committee of members from all the nations or nation groups who contribute to it. The chairmanship is rotated between the four executive members, the representatives of the USA, the USSR, Japan and the EU.

The WSC has established a number of subsidiary bodies that are concerned with more specific areas. The WSC oversees their activities and ratifies important decisions they make. These organisations generate income for the WSC by commercial activities and patents on the concepts, techniques and products that are derived from research using WSC facilities.

The commission was founded on August 22 1981, via a merging of NASA with the Soviet and European space agencies. Decisions concerning all lunar activities are handled under the authority of a sub-agency, the International Lunar Commission (ILC)

The comnmission's headquarters are located somewhere in the United States.