Mandate
The Office implements the decisions of the General Assembly and of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; performs functions of the Secretariat of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Scientific and Technical and Legal Subcommittees; coordinates the inter-agency cooperation within the United Nations on the use of space technology; implements the United Nations Programme on Space Applications; maintains coordination and cooperation with space agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations involved in space-related activities. The Office maintains, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, the Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space. From 2007, the Office is also responsible for the implementation of UN-SPIDER Programme.
The office has also been helping poor nations suffering from climate change related problems by helping them access satellite images for free.
When Mazlan Othman was appointed as director in 2010, Mazlan spoke of the chances of contact with extraterrestrial life. It was widely reported in the media that Mazlan's post had been turned into an ambassador for aliens. The UN denied that there was any change in the office's mandate (i.e. space debris, satellites, military uses) however the head of the UK Space Agency said that "Othman is absolutely the nearest thing we have to a 'take me to your leader' person." Some proposed protocols dealing with first contact to reference a role of the UN. UNOOSA has its own protocol for decontaminating equipment that may be carrying alien microbes and also a draft greetings to intelligent extraterrestrial life forms.
Read more about this topic: United Nations Office For Outer Space Affairs