International organizations for space science have been created essentially to enable and foster international cooperation. Since the beginning of the space age, several international organizations in the area of space research have been created, such as the ad hoc COSPAR under ICSU, IAA, and IAF. Later on, when more and more space science missions were launched, new entities dedicated to scientific research in space were created like ISSI. Above all these, the United Nations has also created a dedicated office for space affairs called the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).