Indian-origin British satellite industry expert Aarti Holla-Maini has been appointed by the United Nations secretary general as director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in Vienna.The UNOOSA is an office of the UN secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space.

It works to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks for space activities and assists developing countries in using space science and technology for sustainable socio-economic development.Aarti, who has roots in Punjab and knows five languages, including Punjabi, will succeed Simonetta Di Pippo of Italy.

Aarti, who holds a bachelor’s degree in law with German law from King’s College London and a master's degree in business administration from French business school HEC Paris, spent over 18 years as the secretary-general of the Global Satellite Operators Association.She has 25 years of experience in the aerospace industry, starting at Daimler-Benz Aerospace/EADS (now Airbus) in Germany.

She has recently held the role of executive vice-president, sustainability, policy and impact at NorthStar Earth - Space.Aarti’s experience includes service as a member of the World Economic Forum's global future council on space; member of the advisory group of the space sustainability rating managed by eSpace at the École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) Space Center; member of the advisory board of the Satellite industry Association of India; senior space policy advisor to Forum Europe and as expert adviser on space traffic management for European Union studies 2021-23.Aarti was also one of the chief architects of the Crisis Connectivity Charter established in 2015 for emergency telecommunications via satellite with the UN World Food Program's emergency telecommunications cluster.

She is also an alumnus of the International Space University.