Carolin Frueh, assistant professor in AAE, was elected to serve as chair of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Potentially Environmentally Detrimental Activities in Space (PEDAS) at the COSPAR Scientific Assembly from 2018-2022.

Frueh accepted the appointment last month. The next Scientific Assembly is Aug. 15-23, 2020, in Sydney, Australia.

PEDAS is an international panel of researchers and experts in the field that spearheads developments in the near-Earth realm, specifically as it relates to human influence on pollution and change of that environment. Typical examples are space debris in Earth orbit, release of chemicals in the Earth’s atmosphere by rocket launches, perturbation of the lunar environment by manned activities as well as possible perturbation of the Martian environment by space activities. The aim of PEDAS is to ensure a sustainable use of space.