KARACHI, Oct 2: To raise awareness of space technology amongst students and the masses and promote its peaceful usage, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) will celebrate the World Space Week from Oct 4 with the theme of ‘Space for Human Safety and Security’.

Sindh Minister of Education and Literacy Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq will be the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony being organised at the National Centre for Remote Sensing and Geo Informatics (NCRG), Karachi, to formally commence World Space Week-2012 celebrations.

On Oct 4, a specially designed mobile education bus equipped with multimedia shall pass through various parts of Sindh to create awareness of space through lectures, multimedia presentations and video shows.

On the same day, a quiz contest and a water rocket competition for public and private school students shall be held at Suparco headquarters.

A declamation contest and a seminar on the week with the theme ‘Space for Human Safety and Security’ have also been arranged on Oct 5 and 9, respectively.

Suparco in collaboration with PIA Planetarium Karachi has also arranged sky simulation shows and lectures for school students on Oct 5, 8 and 9.

The celebrations in Karachi will culminate with a two-day Space Family Fair to be held at PAF Museum on Oct 6 and 7. The family fair will include different activities like sky observation, kids’ arena, food court, space movies, space photography and water rocket demonstration.

Finals of quiz, declamation, poster and model making competitions will also be held, followed by a closing ceremony announcing the winners of the various contests conducted during the week.

The World Space Week, an international celebration of the contribution that space science and technology makes to the betterment of the human condition, will be marked in Karachi and other major cities, said a Suparco official.

The United Nations has declared World Space Week as Oct 4-10 annually. It is celebrated in some 65 countries, including Pakistan.

Suparco, as a national space agency, has been regularly conducting the WSW activities each year since 2005.—APP