This week, you can be part of the biggest space event on Earth. And possibly, the universe.

From Nairobi, Kenya, to Nagoya, Japan, cities around the world are hosting thousands of space events October 4–10 to celebrate World Space Week.

The United Nations first established World Space Week in 1999, and since 2007, more than 2 million people have taken part. But this year is special, because 2017 has been a banner year in space exploration:

• NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn, a joint project with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, capped off an 8-billion-kilometer journey and two decades of discovery with an epic “Grand Finale.”
• NASA announced its newest class of astronauts, who may be the first humans to set foot on Mars.
• Teams from India, Japan, Israel and other countries are racing to be the first privately funded missions to the moon as part of the Google Lunar XPrize.

President Trump has vowed to “restore America’s proud legacy of leadership in space.” As he signed an executive order re-establishing the U.S. National Space Council on June 30, he said, “Space exploration is not only essential to our character as a nation, but also our economy and our great nation’s security.”