The International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST), a unique UNESCO Category 2 Centre, is set to embark on its third operational phase (2025–2033) following the signing of a pivotal agreement. This landmark accord was formalized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), representing the Chinese government, alongside the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and HIST itself.

This new phase marks a significant leap forward in leveraging advanced space technologies to monitor, protect, and manage UNESCO-designated heritage sites worldwide. It underscores a shared commitment to achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other critical global conservation goals.

During its preceding second phase (2019-2025), HIST made substantial contributions to the sustainable development of both natural and cultural heritage globally. UNESCO has acknowledged HIST’s leading position in systematically applying space technologies to heritage conservation, management, and sustainable development.

Over the past six years, HIST has conducted more than 20 research projects benefiting 15 countries, organized five international workshops to train more than 500 managers and technicians from 21 countries, and cultivated 16 postgraduates from 10 countries. Based on previous research, it has published eight books and more than 100 academic papers in high-quality academic journals.

In its third phase, HIST will build space archaeology into an internationally recognized discipline and expand a global governance framework for heritage protection based on space technologies.

It will establish a global database for the conservation of UNESCO-designated sites, develop methodologies for the collection and dissemination of Earth observation data and expand the technical application to address conservation challenges, strengthen capacities of site managers through training, education and technical consulting, and expand an international network of space technologies for heritage conservation.

Established in 2011 and hosted by the Aerospace Information Research Institute of CAS, HIST is the only UNESCO Category 2 Centre specifically dedicated to space technologies for heritage protection. This ambitious new phase underscores HIST’s unwavering commitment to harnessing the power of space for the preservation of humanity’s shared heritage, fostering international collaboration and innovation.