Over the years, COSPAR has developed various capabilities to serve the international space science community, along with either developed or developing space programs. These capabilities and how they are deployed to achieve the COSPAR Missions are illustrated in the attached figure. The fundamental organizational structure of COSPAR consists of its Scientific Commissions, in which all international space scientists participate, and which represent each and every scientific discipline involved in space, for the purpose of coordinating the activities of, promoting the interests of, and exploiting the synergies among the Commissions. The COSPAR Panels are designed to deal with crosscutting issues that can affect particular segments of the international space research community, and often for which there is an urgent need for input. The publications of COSPAR, Advances in Space Research and the new Life Sciences in Space Research journal, provide peer-reviewed publications, in which all international space scientists can disseminate the results of their research. The Roadmaps, in which the international space science community comes together and documents the state of particular disciplines and state what is possible and needs now to be undertaken, are designed to allow scientists from around the world to know the aspirations of all nations, and to influence the planning processes of space agencies. Education and outreach to the youth and the general public are also an integral part of COSPAR’s mission of spreading knowledge and information about space research and its benefits to humankind.
