The 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly, COSPAR 2018, will be held in Pasadena, California and will mark the 60th anniversary of the formation of COSPAR itself. It will also mark the 60th anniversary of the launch of Explorer-1, built at the nearby Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is a division of the official host for COSPAR 2018, the California Institute of Technology. COSPAR membership today is comprised of forty-two national scientific institutions, thirteen international scientific unions, and many thousands of individual associate members. Pasadena’s location on the western edge of the Pacific Rim, near several international airports, makes it an especially convenient venue for scientists from North America, Asia and Europe. COSPAR 2018 is expected to attract well over 3,000 of the leading space scientists and space leaders from as many as seventy nations.