Astronomy and COVID-19

As we navigate these difficult times, we have been asking ourselves where and how sciences such as astronomy can contribute to the severe negative impacts of the global pandemic. Here on this page, we are gathering existing efforts by the OAD and the astronomy community, as well as opportunities for you to contribute.

Role of Astronomy in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic

The OAD appointed a Fellow, Dr Marie Korsaga, to look at how astronomy and a number of other fields unrelated to infectious diseases are stepping up to play a role in this fight against COVID-19. This page will be updated with new projects around the world.

 

Call to Action for the Astronomy Community in the time of COVID-19

A great strength of astronomy is its ability to inspire and connect with people from all backgrounds. Astronomy and space can be a source of education, entertainment, distraction, solace in this difficult time. Together with  our sister offices the OAO and OAE we are crowdsourcing resources to help people cope with prolonged indoor times.

call to action

Development Impacts of COVID-19

What does COVID mean for development? To help non-social scientists better understand the nature of the challenges and appreciate how their skills matter for development, we have published a number of resources written by our development economist fellow, Dr Tawanda Chingozha. We will continue to publish more in this series.

Extraordinary Call for COVID-19 related Proposals

Anyone can submit a proposal that applies an aspect of astronomy to support people and help mitigate some of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This call is for projects that need to be implemented soon (starting June-July 2020)

Projects Funded Under COVID-19 Call

OAD Annual Call for Proposals 2020

This is the regular annual call for proposals, but this year proposers need to consider how the pandemic will affect their project. Anyone can submit a proposal that applies astronomy in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. This call is for projects that begin implementation in 2021.

Call for proposals