tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/spacex-3023/articlesSpaceX – The Conversation2024-03-25T12:40:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256112024-03-25T12:40:09Z2024-03-25T12:40:09ZAmazon, SpaceX and other companies are arguing the government agency that has protected labor rights since 1935 is actually unconstitutional<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582234/original/file-20240315-26-ku55bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=76%2C35%2C2919%2C2092&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed in 1933 the law that led to the National Labor Relations Board's emergence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FDRSignsWagnerPeyserAct1933/61439bda58874be9b582a59e2875c561/photo?Query=fdr%20wagner%20act&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3175/Amazon_complaint.pdf?1711137053">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3174/Space_X_complaint.pdf?1711136921">SpaceX</a>, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3177/Starbucks_Brief.pdf?1711327299">Starbucks</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/10/starbucks-trader-joes-spacex-challenge-labor-board">Trader Joe’s have all responded</a> to allegations that they have violated labor laws with the same bold argument. The <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/">National Labor Relations Board</a>, they assert in several ongoing legal proceedings, is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/business/economy/amazon-labor-nlrb.html">unconstitutional</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3174/Space_X_complaint.pdf?1711136921">SpaceX, for example, says</a> that the NLRB is engaging in “an unlawful attempt … to subject Space X to an administrative proceeding whose structure violates Article II, the Fifth Amendment, and the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.”</p>
<p>If these companies prevail, the entire process for holding union elections and for prosecuting employers who break labor laws – in place since the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/national-labor-relations-act">days of the New Deal</a> – could collapse. That would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/10/starbucks-trader-joes-spacex-challenge-labor-board">leave U.S. workers more vulnerable to exploitation</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/301/1/">The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the board</a> nearly a century ago, soon after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the law that created the NLRB and made clear that workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively. Justices have also rejected similar arguments in <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/295/602/#tab-opinion-1934749">cases involving other agencies</a>.</p>
<p>As a law professor who <a href="https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/kate-andrias">researches labor law and constitutional law</a> and a former labor organizer, I am deeply concerned, but not surprised, by these attacks on the federal agency that has protected U.S. workers’ right to organize unions and bargain collectively with their employers <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/national_labor_relations_act_nlra">since the 1930s</a>.</p>
<p>These corporations seem to believe they will find a sympathetic audience before the conservative justices that occupy six of the Supreme Court’s nine seats. In a series of prior cases, the conservative justices have already <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/20-1530">weakened administrative agencies</a> and <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2017/16-285">cut back on workers’ rights</a>.</p>
<h2>Growing support for unions</h2>
<p>The corporate attack on the NLRB also seems to be a response to <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/510281/unions-strengthening.aspx">growing support for unions among Americans</a>.</p>
<p>Workers at the companies that are challenging the NLRB’s constitutionality have all begun to organize unions in recent years, with numerous, high-profile, union-organizing wins. Workers across numerous sectors, including auto, education, health care and Hollywood, have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/briefing/uaw-strike.html">recently held successful strikes</a>.</p>
<p>What’s more, the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/jennifer-abruzzo-national-labor-relations-board/">NLRB has been more assertive in prosecuting employers</a> for violating workers’ rights, and it has been revising rules in ways that make it easier for workers to organize.</p>
<p>For example, it has made it possible for <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/national-labor-relations-board-issues-final-rule-to-restore-fair-and">the unionization process to move faster</a> and has sought to <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/nlrb-general-counsel-launches-new-10j-injunction-initiative-when-employers">quickly reinstate workers</a> who are illegally fired for organizing unions, rather than waiting years for litigation to play out.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People in t-shirts that say 'Starbucks Workers United' t-shirts and face masks jump with joy." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583871/original/file-20240324-26-xwd6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2021, these Buffalo, N.Y., Starbucks employees were the first to win a union election at one of the chain’s stores.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/StarbucksUnion/f154ff4352bb4ba3b2b5838817b164dd/photo?Query=starbucks%20union&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=188&currentItemNo=64">AP Photo/Joshua Bessex</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Supreme Court and big business</h2>
<p>This is not the first time that big business has tried to use constitutional law arguments in an effort to <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/nulr/vol118/iss4/3/">stop union organizing and limit workers’ rights</a>.</p>
<p>From the 1890s to the 1930s, during what is known as the “<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/198us45">Lochner era</a>,” corporations argued that laws protecting workers’ rights, including the right to organize unions or be paid a minimum wage, violated their “freedom to contract” and exceeded Congress’ power under the Constitution.</p>
<p>Back then, the Supreme Court routinely sided with business.</p>
<p>It struck down hundreds of laws, including <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/261us525">minimum wage laws</a>, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/198us45">overtime laws</a> and <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/keating-owen-child-labor-act">laws prohibiting child labor</a>. It prohibited strikes, including in the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/labor-day-pullman-railway-strike-origins">railroad</a> and <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/259/344/">mining</a> industries. It allowed <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/221us418">labor leaders to be jailed</a>.</p>
<p>These rulings helped corporations grow wealthier and more powerful.</p>
<p>Only after <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/320-the-turbulent-years">mass uprisings by over 1 million workers</a>, economic distress wrought by the Great Depression and overwhelming popular support for the New Deal did the Supreme Court finally change course, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/300us379">recognizing that it had made a mistake</a>.</p>
<p>During the New Deal, the justices ruled that Congress has the power under the Constitution to pass minimum labor standards and <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/301us1">to create agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board</a>, to protect workers and consumers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The nine members of the Supreme Court, as of 2024, seated and standing in a group." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582236/original/file-20240315-26-3abjp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Six of the the Supreme Court’s nine members are conservatives, leading to many pro-business rulings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/united-states-supreme-court-associate-justice-sonia-news-photo/1431393388?adppopup=true">Alex Wong/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Letting agencies make decisions</h2>
<p>Now, nearly 100 years later, the NLRB’s foes contend that the labor board violates the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/separation_of_powers">separation of powers</a> – the constitutional principle that the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government have distinct powers – because it mixes executive and judicial functions.</p>
<p>They also argue that the board is unconstitutional because presidents cannot fire the <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/who-we-are">NLRB’s members or administrative law judges</a> whenever they want.</p>
<p>And opponents of the NLRB claim that the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/administrative_law_judge_(alj)">use of administrative law judges</a> – jurists who preside over and adjudicate cases regarding alleged violations of the law – violates the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/right_to_jury_trial">constitutional right to a jury trial</a>. </p>
<p>But the Supreme Court has long permitted all of these features, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/301us1">not only for the NLRB</a> but for <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/295us602">other government agencies</a> as well.</p>
<p>And for good reason.</p>
<p>No provision of the Constitution prohibits Congress from designing government agencies in this way. And Congress believed that these design choices would help the agency function well.</p>
<p>For example, by prohibiting presidents from replacing all of the NLRB’s administrative law judges for any reason or no reason at all, Congress sought to ensure independence of those judges.</p>
<p>Having each violation of law litigated before a federal jury, rather than administrative law judges deciding cases, could take a lot longer to resolve cases.</p>
<h2>Assessing what’s at stake</h2>
<p>If these corporations prevail with their constitutional challenges, the NLRB will no longer be able to function.</p>
<p>Currently, it can be <a href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/rebuilding-worker-voice-in-todays-economy">very difficult for workers to organize unions</a>, partly because of insufficient penalties and protections in labor law. But if the corporations win, there will no longer be an agency in place to safeguard workers’ rights to organize unions and to negotiate fair contracts with their employers.</p>
<p>Indeed, this threat goes beyond labor rights.</p>
<p>If the NLRB is found to violate the Constitution, other government agencies could be at risk as well, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. In my view, that would endanger investors, voters and consumers – all Americans.</p>
<p>There is reason to believe the Supreme Court could side with big business if a lawsuit challenging the board’s constitutionality reaches it.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court in its current configuration is <a href="https://minnesotalawreview.org/article/a-century-of-business-in-the-supreme-court-1920-2020/">more pro-business than it has been in a century</a>. The justices who make up its conservative majority have shown that they are willing to overrule long-standing labor precedents through decisions that have <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2017/16-1466">reduced union funding</a> and <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2020/20-107">restricted workers’ access to unions</a>.</p>
<p>The conservative justices have also indicated that they may limit the powers of <a href="https://www.govexec.com/management/2023/11/supreme-court-appears-ready-deal-another-blow-federal-agencies-administrative-powers/392348/">administrative agencies beyond the NLRB</a>. Most notably, the conservative majority on the court recently crafted a rule known as the “<a href="https://hls.harvard.edu/today/what-critics-get-wrong-and-right-about-the-supreme-courts-new-major-questions-doctrine/">major questions</a>” doctrine, which says Congress must set particularly clear rules when it authorizes agencies to regulate on matters of political or economic significance.</p>
<p>Using this doctrine, the court has overturned a Biden administration regulation designed to <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/20-1530">protect the environment</a> and has rejected its initial <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-506">student loan forgiveness program</a>.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court is hearing several other cases this year that threaten administrative agencies, including one that would allow courts to give <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/01/supreme-court-likely-to-discard-chevron/">less deference to reasonable agency rules</a> and one that <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/securities-and-exchange-commission-v-jarkesy/">challenges the use of administrative law judges</a> by the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p>
<h2>Seeing room for optimism</h2>
<p>There is no way to know for certain how the Supreme Court will rule on a case concerning the constitutionality of the NLRB or other federal agencies. There may not be enough votes to overturn years of well-established precedent, even among the conservative justices.</p>
<p>And on labor rights more generally, there is <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/nulr/vol118/iss4/3/">reason for optimism</a>.</p>
<p>Workers are organizing in greater numbers than they have in decades. History teaches that when there is sufficient popular support for unions and workers’ rights, and sufficient mobilization among workers, the <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374532376/thewillofthepeople">Supreme Court sometimes backs off</a> and corporations give up their fight against workers’ rights. </p>
<p>Indeed, even Starbucks recently agreed <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/02/28/starbucks-workers-union-collective-bargaining-litigation-labor-relations-landmark-moment">to begin negotiating with its workers</a> after years of <a href="https://www.nrn.com/news/labor-board-claims-starbucks-refusing-negotiate-144-unionized-cafes">illegally – according to the NLRB – refusing to bargain</a> with them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Earlier in her career, Kate Andrias served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, and as an organizer with the Service Employees International Union. She frequently provides advice on policy initiatives to legislators and workers’ rights organizations and works on related litigation. </span></em></p>Nearly a century after the National Labor Relations Board’s creation, big corporations are arguing that it violates the US Constitution.Kate Andrias, Professor of Law, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2243872024-03-06T17:45:13Z2024-03-06T17:45:13ZSpacesuits need a major upgrade for the next phase of exploration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579865/original/file-20240305-18-mik4ri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C3822%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-taps-axiom-space-for-first-artemis-moonwalking-spacesuits/">NASA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humans have long dreamed of setting foot on the Moon and other planetary bodies such as Mars. Since the 1960s, space travellers have donned suits designed to protect them from the vacuum of space and stepped out into the unknown.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://spacenews.com/polaris-dawn-private-astronaut-mission-slips-to-mid-2024/">the Polaris Dawn mission</a>, which is to include the first spacewalk organised by a private company, has been delayed. This is due to complications with the design and development of a suitable spacesuit. </p>
<p>Moon suits are also one of the key elements of Nasa’s Artemis lunar programme that have yet to be delivered. A report released in November 2023 said that the contractor making the suits is having <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106256#:%7E:text=To%20develop%20Artemis%20space%20suits,report%20examining%20the%20Artemis%20enterprise.">to revisit aspects of the design provided by Nasa</a>, which could introduce delays.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://time.com/5802128/alexei-leonov-spacewalk-obstacles/">the first spacewalk</a>, by the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, took place in 1965. Later, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/the-apollo-program/">12 Nasa astronauts would walk on the lunar surface</a>, between 1969 and 1972, using technology that would be eclipsed by today’s smartphones. So it’s not unreasonable to ask why it can still be difficult to design and build spacesuits to do the same thing.</p>
<p>Much has changed since the Apollo missions planted flags on the Moon. The <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/01/20/us-china-india-japan-and-others-are-rushing-back-to-the-moon.html">geopolitics driving space travel have shifted</a>, and spacesuits are no longer expected to be just a form of protection. Instead, they are a critical way to improve the productivity of astronauts. This involves a rethink of not just the suits themselves, but the technology that supports them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crew Dragon approaching the ISS" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579872/original/file-20240305-30-sdnkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Polaris Dawn mission uses modified version of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to perform the first commercial spacewalk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/view-of-spacex-crew-dragon-endeavour-approaching-station/">Nasa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An array of powerful telecommunications technologies to connect astronauts with space stations and ground control sits alongside multisensory cameras, temperature readers and proximity sensors in present-day spacesuits.</p>
<p>Situational awareness – understanding key elements in the environment, such as the health of an astronaut – is a core tenet for modern spacesuit design and critical for the operator’s safety. The ability of a suit to track heart rate and other vital signs is important in a vacuum, where levels of oxygen need constant monitoring. </p>
<p>Expectations around the risks astronauts take have changed for the better. And the level of investment it takes to produce a spacesuit necessitates that it can be used for future tasks that may include lunar settlement in the next few decades.</p>
<p>The trade off that engineers must make when incorporating wearable technology like those already mentioned is weight. Will greater situational awareness result in a spacesuit that is too heavy to move in effectively? </p>
<p>When Elon Musk first hinted at challenges with the extravehicular activity spacesuit for Polaris Dawn <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1745941814165815717">in a presentation to SpaceX employees in January</a>, it was not difficulties with connected technology that he discussed, but of redesigning “the suit so that you actually move around in it”.</p>
<h2>Situational awareness</h2>
<p>However, when talking about mobility in a spacesuit, you need to consider the tasks that you want that mobility to support. </p>
<p>Before the advent of modern spacesuits, Apollo astronauts struggled to carry out missions. When drilling into the surface of the Moon with a hand drill to collect samples, astronauts found it difficult to provide enough downwards force to counteract the Moon’s weaker gravity. It was not until the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576522002879">invention of a zero-gravity drill</a>, decades later, that this problem would be addressed.</p>
<p>The current exploration of <a href="https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/books/ce/pbce131e">pneumatic exoskeletons</a>, providing the support necessary for movement in low gravity could be part of a solution. However, newer spacesuits may also need to interface with hardware, like robotic drills that exist outside the suit. This will also necessitate more mobility in spacesuits. </p>
<h2>Working with robots</h2>
<p>Offloading tasks, previously carried out by humans, to robots will be part of the future of space exploration. It’s a primary way that engineers will also be able to enhance the mobility of astronauts in spacesuits.</p>
<p>For example, when an astronaut goes on a spacewalk to inspect the condition of part of a space station and make any possible repairs, they are supported by a robotic arm that ensures they don’t float off into space. While jointed, this arm is rigid and can limit an astronaut’s movement.</p>
<p>An approach currently being explored to extend this range of movement is a climbing robot, that is attached to both the astronaut and the space station, that an individual can control through their spacesuit. This would allow the astronaut to move around the space station faster and with a greater range of movement than before, allowing them to reach and repair hard-to-access areas like corners.</p>
<p>While the eventual hope is that robots themselves can assess any damage to the space station and repair it, due to possible disruptions in normal operations, humans must be ready to step in. Possible disruptions could be natural, like a small meteor shower damaging the robot, or human-made, like hacking carried by a hostile group or state.</p>
<p>For the types of activities we want to accomplish in the future, this human-robot collaboration will be instrumental. Building a base on the Moon, as both <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/four-things-weve-learned-about-nasas-planned-base-camp-on-the-moon-180980589/">the US</a> and <a href="https://spacenews.com/china-attracts-moon-base-partners-outlines-project-timelines/">China</a> plan to do, will involve construction work and drilling, which humans will not be able to accomplish alone. Modern spacesuits will need to provide an interface to work with this new technology, and we can expect the suits to evolve in step with robotics.</p>
<p>The relationship between humans and robots is changing. It will go beyond spacewalks and robots’ previous uses as limited tools, to a situation where they are cooperative partners in space. The objectives of ten or 20 years from now, like building lunar settlements, exploring mineral deposits on the Moon and efficiently repairing space station modules can only be achieved using robotics. </p>
<p>Modern spacesuits will be a key foundation of this collaborative relationship, forming the interface where astronauts and robots can work together to achieve shared goals. So when we do once again leave our footprints on other worlds, we will no longer be alone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yang Gao has received funding from UKRI, UKSA and ESA on conducting space related research. </span></em></p>The next generation of spacesuit needs to do more than simply protect an astronaut from the vacuum of space.Yang Gao, Professor of Robotics, Head of Centre for Robotics Research, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2156532024-02-11T13:50:28Z2024-02-11T13:50:28ZAn astronomer’s lament: Satellite megaconstellations are ruining space exploration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574233/original/file-20240207-22-qbjsk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C35%2C6000%2C3952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Telescopes have to contend with light pollution from satellites.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I used to love rocket launches when I was younger. During every launch, I imagined what it would feel like to be an astronaut sitting in the spacecraft, listening to that final countdown and then feeling multiple gees push me up through the atmosphere and away from our blue marble. </p>
<p>But as I learned more about the <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/06/22/142160/this-is-how-many-people-wed-have-to-send-to-proxima-centauri-to-make-sure-someone-actually/">severe limitations of human spaceflight</a>, I turned my attention to the oldest and most accessible form of space exploration: the science of astronomy.</p>
<p>Since 2019, I’ve watched my unencumbered enthusiasm for rocket launches soften to tepid interest, and finally sour to outright dread. <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9910084/the-new-space-race-2023/">The corporate space race</a>, led by SpaceX, is entirely responsible for this transformation in my mindset. </p>
<p>I am worried by the complete shift to the move-fast-and-break-things attitude that comes from the tech sector instead of government scientific agencies. I am put off by the <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo184287883.html">colonialist language and billionaire-worship</a> of private corporations. I am increasingly furious at the <a href="https://www.startribune.com/string-lights-sky-not-ufo-starlink-satellite-internet/600324333/">nonexistent public education</a> and lack of transparency offered by these companies. </p>
<p>The final nail in the coffin for my love of rocket launches came with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/04/04/spacex-satellite-pollution-gothere-cnn-plus.cnn">SpaceX’s Starlink satellite megaconstellations</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/soon-1-out-of-every-15-points-of-light-in-the-sky-will-be-a-satellite-170427">Soon, 1 out of every 15 points of light in the sky will be a satellite</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Crowded orbits</h2>
<p>The corporate space race is well underway, with private companies flooding Low Earth Orbit with <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/con/conlist.html">thousands of mass-produced satellites</a>. In previous decades, the prohibitively high cost of launch kept the rate of increase and total number of satellites from growing too rapidly. But launches have been getting steadily cheaper for years.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OFfV33_eYPI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Al Jazeera reports on the impacts of Starlink satellites.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>SpaceX has launched thousands of their own Starlink communication satellites, as well as hundreds of satellites for their direct competitors. <a href="https://www.illdefined.space/2023-global-space-activity-dashboards/">Half of all launches worldwide in 2023</a> were SpaceX rockets. </p>
<p>As an astronomer, I’m painfully aware of what these thousands of new satellites have done to the night sky worldwide. They reflect sunlight long after the sky has grown dark, looking like moving stars. </p>
<p>Starlink satellites are the most numerous and occupy some of the lowest orbits, so they make up the majority of the satellites seen in the sky. </p>
<p>Last year, SpaceX launched one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06672-7">brightest objects in the sky</a> on behalf of another company: BlueWalker 3, a satellite with the same sky-footprint as a small house. They plan to operate a fleet of dozens, <a href="https://rdcu.be/drQOU">each as bright</a> as the brightest stars in the sky.</p>
<h2>Lost information and knowledge</h2>
<p>These satellites are now increasingly obstructing telescopic space exploration, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/science/astronomy-telescopes-satellites-spacex-starlink.html">both on the ground</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-01903-3">in space</a>. Astronomers are the canaries in the coal mine for this rapidly expanding experiment in orbit: we see these satellites increasingly affecting our research every day.</p>
<p>I have watched over the past five years as satellite streaks in my own research images from the <a href="https://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/">Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope</a> have changed from an unusual occurrence to lost data in nearly every image.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a series of grey boxes with white streaks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568276/original/file-20240108-25-vkyhs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A composite of 29 individual exposures from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Maunakea, taken in August 2022. The horizontal and diagonal white lines are bright satellites that unexpectedly flew through the field of view during observations, covering any objects behind them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(P. Cowan/W. Fraser/S. Lawler/CLASSY Survey Team/CFHT)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Astronomy is the only way to learn about the universe, the overwhelming majority of which can never be explored by humans. The farthest human-made object from Earth is the <a href="https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/">Voyager 1 probe</a>, now eight times farther from the sun than Neptune after 46 years continuously travelling significantly faster than a speeding bullet. </p>
<p>But even if Voyager 1 was pointed directly toward our nearest neighbouring star, Proxima Centauri (it’s not), it would take over 100,000 years to get there. We are light-years away from having technology that can robotically explore even our neighbouring solar systems on a human timescale, let alone bring humans out to the stars.</p>
<p>The vast majority of astronomy research is carried out by telescopes on Earth: large optical telescopes on remote mountaintops, large radio telescopes in radio-quiet zones that are meticulously maintained, as well as smaller telescopes scattered around the world.</p>
<p>There are a handful of telescopes in Low Earth Orbit that also have to <a href="https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/satellite-trails-mar-hubble-images/">contend with light pollution</a> from Starlink and other megaconstellations. There are also a <a href="https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/orbit.html">handful of telescopes outside Earth orbit</a> which can only operate for a few years, unlike ground-based facilities that can be maintained and enhanced with new technologies for decades.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a large white dome looms against a dark sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574239/original/file-20240207-28-qmjb00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Canada-Hawaii-France telescope, located on the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Government regulation needed</h2>
<p>Space exploration using Earth-based telescopes is growing increasingly less effective as more bright and radio-loud satellites are placed between Earth and the stars. But there are much worse problems ahead if corporations continue launching satellites: atmospheric pollution on launch and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313374120">reentry</a>, ground casualty risks from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01718-8">reentries</a>, and the very real possibility of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89909-7">runaway collisional cascade in orbit</a>, referred to as the Kessler Syndrome.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-rapidly-growing-rocket-industry-could-undo-decades-of-work-to-save-the-ozone-layer-unless-we-act-now-198982">A rapidly growing rocket industry could undo decades of work to save the ozone layer – unless we act now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Satellites are an incredibly useful part of our lives, but there are limits to how many can safely orbit Earth. Current regulations on launches and orbital operations by governments are very weak, and are not set up for the current regime of thousands of new satellites per year. </p>
<p>Regulation on the number of satellites in orbit would force corporations toward technology improvements and service models that use fewer satellites, keeping orbit usable for future generations.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-too-late-to-save-the-night-sky-but-governments-need-to-get-serious-about-protecting-it-158394">It's not too late to save the night sky, but governments need to get serious about protecting it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Ask your government representatives to support <a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/transparency/consultations/what-we-heard-consulting-canadians-modern-regulatory-framework-space.asp">satellite regulation</a>, and expansion of <a href="https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/internet/internet.htm">rural broadband</a>. Get out and enjoy your <a href="https://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_map.html">dark skies</a>, before they change. </p>
<p>With proper regulation, our oldest form of space exploration can continue. I desperately hope we never reach a point where the natural patterns in the sky are drowned out by anthropogenic ones, but without regulation, corporations will get us there soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215653/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Lawler receives research funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>Megaconstellations of satellites are hindering the most powerful tool for space exploration: telescopes.Samantha Lawler, Associate professor, Astronomy, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159792023-11-07T18:42:34Z2023-11-07T18:42:34ZOver the past six years, governments proposed launching over one million satellites, but where will they all go?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557828/original/file-20231106-270141-rjcguo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3840%2C2155&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As the number of satellites in orbit increase, so will the possibilities of space debris. There are currently 8,000 satellites in orbit, but hundreds of thousands more are being proposed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/over-the-past-six-years-governments-proposed-launching-over-one-million-satellites-but-where-will-they-all-go" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In September 2021, Rwanda announced that it was <a href="https://spacenews.com/satellite-operators-criticize-extreme-megaconstellation-filings/">planning to launch over 300,000 satellites</a>. Three months later, a Canadian company, having previously launched two dozen <a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/cubesat/what-is-a-cubesat.asp">CubeSats</a>, <a href="https://spacenews.com/kepler-plots-relay-network-to-serve-thousands-of-satellite-terminals/">said it would launch an additional 100,000</a>. Then, <a href="https://www.spaceintelreport.com/e-space-registers-116640-satellite-c-band-network-with-itu-through-france-300000-satellite-rwanda-network-is-no-more/">a French company did likewise</a>. And SpaceX, which has already launched <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/con/star/stats.html">around 5,000 satellites</a>, <a href="https://advanced-television.com/2023/10/12/spacex-applies-for-29988-new-satellites/">now has plans for over 60,000 more</a>. </p>
<p>There are currently only about <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database">8,000 active satellites in orbit</a>. What’s going on?</p>
<p>Before a satellite is launched, a nation state must file its proposed satellite system with the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunication Union</a> (ITU) to coordinate radiofrequency spectrum on behalf of the satellite operator, which could be a company, university or government agency. </p>
<p>These filings are made years ahead of the satellite launch, so the ITU can oversee coordination between different satellite operators and ensure that new satellite signals don’t drown existing ones out.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a corporate building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557888/original/file-20231106-17-ei62xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The UN International Telecommunication Union offices in Geneva, Switzerland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>One million filings</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi4639">In a new Policy Forum article published in <em>Science</em></a>, we found that, between 2017 and 2022, countries collectively made filings for over one million satellites across more than 300 separate systems of multiple satellites working together, known as constellations.</p>
<p>This creates two intertwined problems. Either many of these satellites will actually be launched, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.01.016">causing an environmental crisis</a> through thousands of rocket launches into <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89909-7">increasingly crowded Earth orbits</a>, or operators are filing for more satellites than they intend to launch, perhaps with a view to hedging their bets, getting investor attention or selling the portions of radio spectrum for profit. </p>
<p>A closer look shows that the latter option is more likely.</p>
<h2>Congested orbits</h2>
<p>If even 10 per cent of the filed-for satellites launch, low Earth orbit would become congested with over 100,000 additional satellites. Collisions between satellites would generate space debris, which would in turn cause further collisions. </p>
<p>Reentering satellites would burn up in the atmosphere, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2023-10-signatures-space-age-spacecraft-metals.amp">potentially affecting the climate</a>, while surviving pieces of debris might strike people or aircraft. We already face these risks today, but they would increase by an order of magnitude.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/airplanes-face-a-growing-risk-of-being-hit-by-uncontrolled-re-entries-of-rockets-used-to-launch-satellites-202400">Airplanes face a growing risk of being hit by uncontrolled re-entries of rockets used to launch satellites</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The problem may be more mundane, meaning that satellite operators are fiddling the numbers. Take E-Space, the French company. It is behind <a href="https://spacenews.com/wyler-raises-50-million-for-sustainable-megaconstellation/">both the 337,320-satellite constellation</a> filed through Rwanda in 2021, and a <a href="https://www.spaceintelreport.com/e-space-registers-116640-satellite-c-band-network-with-itu-through-france-300000-satellite-rwanda-network-is-no-more/">116,640-satellite constellation filed through France in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>Despite these ambitious filings, the company’s CEO, Greg Wyler, said it is planning for “<a href="https://youtu.be/1op-XeUUWMY?si=kKrb7TETXElsqwTV&t=491">at least 30,000 satellites</a>,” while its director of product development mentioned “<a href="https://www.spaceintelreport.com/e-space-registers-116640-satellite-c-band-network-with-itu-through-france-300000-satellite-rwanda-network-is-no-more/">just a few thousand satellites</a>.” Are any of these numbers real? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="photo of a night sky with blurred dots of light" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557889/original/file-20231106-19-ni6o94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Starlink satellites passing over New Mexico.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2206b/">(NOIRLab/M. Lewinsky)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Countries of convenience</h2>
<p>There are more signs that companies are attempting to game the ITU system. </p>
<p>OneWeb, which has 634 satellites in orbit, has made filings for 6,118 more satellites through three countries: <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi4639">Mexico, France and the United Kingdom</a>. </p>
<p>SpaceX has made filings through the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi4639">United States, Norway, Germany</a> and <a href="https://www.spaceintelreport.com/spacex-files-29988-satellite-w-band-network-using-kingdom-of-tonga-as-regulatory-home/">now Tonga</a>. It is unclear why this is happening, but all these states have different administrative rules — <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/256564/notice-of-satellite-filing-charges-2023-24.pdf">and fees</a> — associated with satellite filings. </p>
<p>In the global shipping industry, flag-of-convenience governments register ships for companies that seek lower operating costs through looser regulations and lax enforcement. Over <a href="https://unctadstat.unctad.org/CountryProfile/MaritimeProfile/en-GB/004/index.html">44 per cent of the world’s ships by tonnage</a> are registered in just three countries: Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands. These ships historically <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.10.026">have worse safety records and poorer labour conditions</a>. </p>
<p>Tonga, now home to <a href="https://www.spaceintelreport.com/spacex-files-29988-satellite-w-band-network-using-kingdom-of-tonga-as-regulatory-home/">SpaceX’s October 2023 filing for 29,998 satellites</a>, has filed for satellites before. In the 1980s, it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/28/business/tiny-tonga-seeks-satellite-empire-in-space.html">filed for 16 satellite slots</a>, eventually gaining nine slots which it promptly leased to foreign operators. </p>
<p>Other satellite operators weren’t happy; one even <a href="http://ojs-dev.byuh.edu/index.php/pacific/article/view/345/327">moved a satellite into one of Tonga’s slots in protest</a>. Yet Tonga made millions of dollars through the leases.</p>
<h2>Updating the rules</h2>
<p>The recent megaconstellation filings are of unprecedented size, raising multiple challenges. The ITU aims to prevent interference between satellites by modelling their signal power output, and the proliferation of satellites and the splitting of filings between different states are making that difficult. </p>
<p>The ITU — which is a United Nations agency that predates the UN, making it the oldest agency in the organization — has well-established processes for updating its rules. The 193 member states meet every three to four years at <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/conferences/wrc/Pages/default.aspx">World Radiocommunication Conferences</a>, where new rules are debated and adopted. </p>
<p>In 2019, member states agreed to <a href="https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/act/R-ACT-WRC.14-2019-PDF-E.pdf">create “milestones” for the deployment of satellite constellations</a>: launch 10 per cent of satellites within two years of the first launch, 50 per cent within five years and the whole constellation within seven years. However, the first satellite can be launched up to seven years after the filing, giving companies considerable time and flexibility.</p>
<p>The ITU should consider speeding up this process. It could also introduce fees that disincentivise large or speculative filings. </p>
<h2>Environmental responsibility</h2>
<p>The Secretary General of the ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, has said <a href="https://spacenews.com/itu-emphasizes-importance-of-space-sustainability/">the ITU is increasingly prioritizing space sustainability</a>. But it must balance that goal with its mandate, which focuses on radio spectrum management.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CoFQscRtjec","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>From Nov. 20 to Dec. 15, 2023, the ITU member states will <a href="https://www.itu.int/wrc-23/">convene in Dubai</a> for this year’s World Radiocommunication Conference. But don’t expect radical changes this year; any proposals introduced now are unlikely to be finalised before the next conference in 2027. </p>
<p>And who knows what SpaceX, E-Space and other companies will get up to before then?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Countries have submitted applications for hundreds of thousands of new satellites to be launched. The scale poses challenges for overcrowding orbit, with environmental and safety challenges.Ewan Wright, PhD candidate, Interdisciplinary Studies, University of British ColumbiaAndrew Falle, Research Coordinator and Junior Fellow, Outer Space Institute, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2152502023-10-13T04:04:14Z2023-10-13T04:04:14ZStarlink satellites are ‘leaking’ signals that interfere with our most sensitive radio telescopes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553608/original/file-20231013-27-sjapd4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C29%2C3976%2C2628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://noirlab.edu/public/images/ann21021c/">NOIRLab</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I was a child in the 1970s, seeing a satellite pass overhead in the night sky was a rare event. Now it is commonplace: sit outside for a few minutes after dark, and you can’t miss them.</p>
<p>Thousands of satellites have been launched into Earth orbit over the past decade or so, with tens of thousands more <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/con/conlist.html">planned</a> in coming years. Many of these will be in “mega-constellations” such as Starlink, which aim to cover the entire globe.</p>
<p>These bright, shiny satellites are putting at risk our connection to the cosmos, which has been important to humans for countless millennia and has already been <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution/">greatly diminished</a> by the growth of cities and artificial lighting. They are also posing a problem for astronomers – and hence for our understanding of the universe.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.15672">new research</a> accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, we discovered Starlink satellites are also “leaking” radio signals that interfere with radio astronomy. Even in a “<a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/science-technology-and-innovation/space-and-astronomy/co-hosting-ska-telescope/australian-radio-quiet-zone-wa">radio quiet zone</a>” in outback Western Australia, we found the satellite emissions were far brighter than any natural source in the sky. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Aj2lmQBSAg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An animation showing the increase in the number of satellites in Earth orbit, over the course of the space age, so far.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A problem for our understanding of the universe</h2>
<p>Our team at Curtin University used <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.00908?context=astro-ph">radio telescopes in Western Australia</a> to examine the radio signals coming from satellites. </p>
<p>We found expected radio transmissions at designated and licensed radio frequencies, used for communication with Earth. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TT1hJ2NOZQo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Starlink satellites emit bright flashes of radio transmission (shown in blue) at their allocated frequency of 137.5 MHz.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, we also found signals at unexpected and unintended frequencies. </p>
<p>We found these signals coming from many Starlink satellites. It appears the signals may originate from electronics on board the spacecraft.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FISUgjrCAi4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Here we see constant, bright emissions from Starlink satellites at 159.4 MHz, a frequency not allocated to satellite communications.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why is this an issue? Radio telescopes are incredibly sensitive, to pick up faint signals from countless light-years away. </p>
<p>Even an extremely weak radio transmitter hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from the telescope appears as bright as the most powerful cosmic radio sources we see in the sky. So these signals represent a serious source of interference.</p>
<p>And specifically, the signals are an issue at the location where we tested them: the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/atnf/mro">site in WA</a> where construction has already begun for part of the biggest radio observatory ever conceived, the <a href="http://www.skatelescope.org">Square Kilometre Array</a> (SKA). This project involves 16 countries, has been in progress for 30 years, and will cost billions of dollars over the next decade.</p>
<p>Huge effort and expense has been invested in locating the SKA and other astronomy facilities a long way away from humans. But satellites present a new threat in space, which can’t be dodged.</p>
<h2>What can we do about this?</h2>
<p>It’s important to note satellite operators do not appear to be breaking any rules. The regulations around use of the radio spectrum are governed by the <a href="https://www.itu.int/pub/R-HDB-22-2013">International Telecommunications Union</a>, and they are complex. At this point there is no evidence Starlink operators are doing anything wrong.</p>
<p>The radio spectrum is crucial for big business and modern life. Think mobile phones, wifi, GPS and aircraft navigation, and communications between Earth and space. </p>
<p>However, the undoubted benefits of space-based communications – such as for globally accessible fast internet connections – are coming into conflict with our ability to see and explore the universe. (There is some irony here, as wifi in part owes its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi">origins</a> to radio astronomy.)</p>
<p>Regulations evolve slowly, while the technologies driving satellite constellations like Starlink are developing at lightning speed. So regulations are not likely to protect astronomy in the near term.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-earth-166715">How many satellites are orbiting Earth?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But in the course of our research, we have had a very positive engagement with SpaceX engineers who work on the Starlink satellites. It is likely that the goodwill of satellite operators, and their willingness to mitigate the generation of these signals, is the key to solving the issue.</p>
<p>In response to earlier criticisms, SpaceX has made <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.06657">improvements</a> to the amount of sunlight Starlink satellites reflect, making them one-twelfth as bright in visible light as they used to be.</p>
<p>We estimate emissions in radio wavelengths will need to be reduced by a factor of a thousand or more to avoid significant interference with radio astronomy. We hope these improvements can be made, in order to preserve humanity’s future view of the universe, the fundamental discoveries we will make, and the future society-changing technologies (like wifi) that will emerge from those discoveries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215250/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Tingay is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party. </span></em></p>Starlink satellites emit bright, unintended and unexpected signals that can be detected by radio telescopes.Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2124212023-08-31T12:23:19Z2023-08-31T12:23:19ZSpace junk in Earth orbit and on the Moon will increase with future missions − but nobody’s in charge of cleaning it up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545374/original/file-20230829-25-ksnt5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4500%2C2627&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's rendering of debris floating through Earth's orbit. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/garbage-royalty-free-image/474381690?phrase=space+junk&adppopup=true">Petrovich9/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a lot of trash on the Moon right now – including nearly <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/apollo-moon-poop-mars-science">100 bags of human waste</a> – and with countries around the globe traveling <a href="https://theconversation.com/returning-to-the-moon-can-benefit-commercial-military-and-political-sectors-a-space-policy-expert-explains-209300">to the Moon</a>, there’s going to be a lot more, both on the lunar surface and in Earth’s orbit.</p>
<p>In August 2023, Russia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/russia-has-declared-a-new-space-race-hoping-to-join-forces-with-china-heres-why-thats-unlikely-211993">Luna-25</a> probe crashed into the Moon’s surface, while India’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/indias-chandrayaan-3-landed-on-the-south-pole-of-the-moon-a-space-policy-expert-explains-what-this-means-for-india-and-the-global-race-to-the-moon-212171">Chandrayann-3</a> mission successfully landed in the southern polar region, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of cheering, smiling people hold signs depicting the Chandrayaan-3 lander." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545376/original/file-20230829-16-rsr2b4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully touched down on the south pole of the Moon, sparking celebrations across the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IndiaLunarMission/ac52e7da7b46474a91706ffa43f7c99a/photo?Query=india%20moon%20landing&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=89&currentItemNo=24">AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With more countries landing on the Moon, people back on Earth will have to think about what happens to all the landers, waste and miscellaneous debris left on the lunar surface and in orbit.</p>
<p>I’m a professor of astronomy who has written a book about the <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/Beyond/">future of space travel</a>, articles about <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/1477986">our future off-Earth</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/575903-is-conflict-in-space-inevitable">conflict in space</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3263430-space-an-increasingly-contested-and-congested-frontier/">space congestion</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2478/sh-2021-0020">ethics of space exploration</a>. Like many other space experts, I’m concerned about the lack of governance around space debris.</p>
<h2>Space is getting crowded</h2>
<p>People think of space as vast and empty, but the near-Earth environment is starting to get crowded. As many as <a href="https://thenationaldigest.com/up-to-100-space-missions-to-the-moon-to-take-place-in-the-next-decade/">100 lunar missions</a> are planned over the next decade by governments and private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. </p>
<p>Near-Earth orbit is even more congested than the space between Earth and the Moon. It’s from 100 to 500 miles straight up, compared with 240,000 miles to the Moon. Currently there are nearly <a href="https://orbit.ing-now.com/low-earth-orbit/">7,700 satellites</a> within a few hundred miles of the Earth. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-earth-166715">That number</a> could grow to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.4979">several hundred thousand</a> by 2027. Many of these satellites will be used to deliver internet to developing countries or to <a href="https://theconversation.com/landsat-turns-50-how-satellites-revolutionized-the-way-we-see-and-protect-the-natural-world-186986">monitor agriculture</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-use-free-satellite-data-to-monitor-natural-disasters-and-environmental-changes-198140">climate</a> on Earth. Companies like SpaceX have dramatically <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-spacex-lowered-costs-and-reduced-barriers-to-space-112586">lowered launch costs</a>, driving this wave of activity.</p>
<p>“It’s going to be like an interstate highway, at rush hour in a snowstorm, with everyone driving much too fast,” space launch expert <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OEsqBIsAAAAJ&hl=en">Johnathan McDowell</a> <a href="https://www.space.com/how-many-satellites-fit-safely-earth-orbit">told Space.com</a>. </p>
<h2>The problem of space junk</h2>
<p>All this activity creates hazards and debris. Humans have left a lot of junk on the Moon, including spacecraft remains like rocket boosters from over <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00542-4">50 crashed landings</a>, nearly <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/apollo-moon-poop-mars-science">100 bags of human waste</a> and miscellaneous objects like a feather, golf balls and boots. It adds up to around <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/the-trash-weve-left-on-the-moon/266465/">200 tons of our trash</a>. </p>
<p>Since <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-owns-the-moon-a-space-lawyer-answers-99974">no one owns the Moon</a>, no one is responsible for <a href="https://www.vox.com/science/2023/8/24/23844280/india-moon-landing-russia-crash-lunar-south-pole-science-consequences-junk">keeping it clean and tidy</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.space.com/space-junk-growing-problem-complicated-solution">clutter in Earth’s orbit</a> includes defunct spacecraft, spent rocket boosters and items discarded by astronauts such as a glove, a wrench and a toothbrush. It also includes <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html">tiny pieces of debris</a> like paint flecks. </p>
<p>There are around 23,000 <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html">objects</a> larger than 10 cm (4 inches) and about 100 million pieces of debris larger than 1 mm (0.04 inches). Tiny pieces of junk might not seem like a big issue, but that debris is moving at 15,000 mph (24,140 kph), 10 times faster than a bullet. <a href="https://www.space.com/tiny-space-junk-damage">At that speed</a>, even a fleck of paint can puncture a spacesuit or destroy a sensitive piece of electronics.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Aj2lmQBSAg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The amount of debris in orbit has increased dramatically since the 1960s.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1978, NASA scientist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Kessler">Donald Kessler</a> described a scenario where collisions between orbiting pieces of debris create more debris, and the amount of debris grows exponentially, potentially rendering near-Earth orbit unusable. Experts call this the “<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Kessler-Syndrome">Kessler syndrome</a>.” </p>
<h2>Nobody is in charge up there</h2>
<p>The United Nations <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html">Outer Space Treaty of 1967</a> says that no country can “own” the Moon or any part of it, and that celestial bodies should only be used for peaceful purposes. But the treaty is mute about companies and individuals, and it says nothing about how space resources can and can’t be used. </p>
<p>The United Nations <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/intromoon-agreement.html">Moon Agreement of 1979</a> held that the Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of humanity. However, the United States, Russia and China never signed it, and in 2016 the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262/text">U.S. Congress created a law</a> that unleashed the American commercial space industry with very few restrictions. </p>
<p>Because of its lack of regulation, space junk is an example of a “<a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/03/09/space-is-great-commons.-it-s-time-to-treat-it-as-such-pub-84018">tragedy of the commons</a>,” where many interests have access to a common resource, and it may become depleted and unusable to everyone, because no interest can stop another from overexploiting the resource.</p>
<p>Scientists argue that to avoid a tragedy of the commons, the orbital space environment should be seen as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01655-6">global commons</a> worthy of protection by the <a href="https://hir.harvard.edu/the-uns-role-in-planetary-protection/">United Nations</a>. The lead author of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01655-6">Nature article</a> arguing for a global commons filed an <a href="https://andyxlastro.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Amicus-Brief-Lawrence.pdf">amicus brief</a> – a type of outside comment offering support or expertise – on a case that went to the <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-386646A1.pdf">U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit</a> in late 2021.</p>
<p>The author and his research collaborators argued that U.S. environmental regulations should apply to the licensing of space launches. However, the court declined to rule on the environmental issue because it said the group lacked standing.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jSuETYEgY68?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The tragedy of the commons asserts that if everyone has unlimited access to a resource, then in the long run it may become depleted and unusable.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>National geopolitical and commercial interests will likely take precedence over interplanetary conservation efforts unless the United Nations acts. A new treaty may emerge from the work of the U.N. <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/">Office for Outer Space Affairs</a>, which in May 2023 generated a <a href="https://indonesia.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/our-common-agenda-policy-brief-outer-space-en.pdf">policy document</a> to address the sustainable development of activities in space.</p>
<p>The U.N. can regulate the activities of only its member states, but it has a <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/capacitybuilding/advisory-services/index.html">project</a> to help member states craft national-level policies that advance the goals of sustainable development.</p>
<p>NASA has created and signed the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html">Artemis Accords</a>, broad but nonbinding principles for cooperating peacefully in space. They have been signed by 28 countries, but the list does not include China or Russia. <a href="https://mashable.com/article/who-owns-moon-resources-nasa-artemis">Private companies</a> are not party to the accords either, and some <a href="https://www.axios.com/2021/07/13/branson-bezos-space-travel-billionaires-nasa">space entrepreneurs</a> have deep pockets and big ambitions.</p>
<p>The lack of regulation and the current gold rush approach to space exploration mean that space junk and waste will continue to accumulate, as will the related problems and dangers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Impey receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Treaties meant to ensure sustainability in space don’t currently regulate private companies, and not every country has signed on to an agreement for sustainable space exploration.Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2069132023-08-17T12:34:23Z2023-08-17T12:34:23ZNASA’s Psyche mission to a metal world may reveal the mysteries of Earth’s interior<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539847/original/file-20230727-19-gbh5t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C11%2C3982%2C2646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An illustration of the asteroid Psyche, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/psyche-asteroid-in-space-royalty-free-image/1286927980?phrase=Psyche&adppopup=true">24K-Production/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>French novelist Jules Verne delighted 19th-century readers with the tantalizing notion that a <a href="https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/222/the-journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth/">journey to the center of the Earth</a> was actually plausible. </p>
<p>Since then, scientists have long acknowledged that Verne’s literary journey was only science fiction. The extreme temperatures of the Earth’s interior – around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,537 Celsius) at the core – and the accompanying crushing pressure, which is millions of times more than at the surface, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXFBJr8XRlQ">prevent people from venturing down very far</a>. </p>
<p>Still, there are a few things <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/core/">known about the Earth’s interior</a>. For example, geophysicists discovered that the core consists of a solid sphere of iron and nickel that comprises 20% of the Earth’s radius, surrounded by a shell of molten iron and nickel that spans an additional 15% of Earth’s radius.</p>
<p>That, and the rest of our knowledge about our world’s interior, was learned indirectly – either by studying <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3105/earths-magnetosphere-protecting-our-planet-from-harmful-space-energy/">Earth’s magnetic field</a> or the way earthquake waves <a href="https://www.snexplores.org/article/explainer-seismic-waves-come-different-flavors">bounce off different layers</a> below the Earth’s surface. </p>
<p>But indirect discovery has its limitations. How can scientists find out more about our planet’s deep interior?</p>
<p><a href="http://jimbell.sese.asu.edu/">Planetary scientists like me</a> think the best way to learn about inner Earth is in outer space. NASA’s <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/psyche">robotic mission to a metal world</a> is scheduled for liftoff on Oct. 5, 2023. That mission, the spacecraft traveling there, and the world it will explore all have the same name – Psyche. And for six years now, I’ve been <a href="https://psyche.asu.edu/mission/the-team/">part of NASA’s Psyche team</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y__vwRQ3PVg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">It’s a mission of ‘firsts.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>About the asteroid Psyche</h2>
<p><a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/overview/?">Asteroids are small worlds</a>, with some the size of small cities and others as large as small countries. They are the leftover building blocks from our solar system’s early and violent period, <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/in-depth/#:%7E:">a time of planetary formation</a>. </p>
<p>Although most are rocky, icy or a combination of both, perhaps 20% of asteroids are worlds made of metal, and similar in composition to the Earth’s core. So it’s tempting to imagine that these metallic asteroids are pieces of the cores of once-existing planets, ripped apart by ancient cosmic collisions with each other. Maybe, by studying these pieces, scientists could find out directly what a planetary core is like. </p>
<p><a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/16-psyche/in-depth/">Psyche</a> is the largest-known of the metallic asteroids. Discovered in 1852, Psyche has the width of Massachusetts, a squashed spherical shape reminiscent of a pincushion, and an orbit between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt. An amateur astronomer can see Psyche with a backyard telescope, but it appears only as a pinpoint of light.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TgVorJfM8BM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An artist’s rendition of Psyche, a spectacular metallic world.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>About the Psyche mission</h2>
<p>In early 2017, NASA approved the US$1 billion <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/psyche">mission to Psyche</a>. To do its work, there’s no need for the uncrewed spacecraft to land – instead, it will orbit the asteroid repeatedly and methodically, starting from 435 miles (700 kilometers) out and then going down to 46 miles (75 km) from the surface, and perhaps even lower. </p>
<p>Once it arrives in August 2029, the probe will spend 26 months mapping the asteroid’s geology, topography and gravity; it will search for evidence of a magnetic field; and it will compare the asteroid’s composition with what scientists know, or think we know, about Earth’s core.</p>
<p>The central questions are these: Is Psyche really an exposed planetary core? Is the asteroid one big bedrock boulder, a rubble pile of smaller boulders, or something else entirely? Are there clues that the previous outer layers of this small world – the crust and mantle – were violently stripped away long ago? And maybe the most critical question: Can what we learn about Psyche be extrapolated to solve some of the mysteries about the Earth’s core? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Technicians, inside a clean room and dressed in white garb, examine the Psyche spacecraft." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542041/original/file-20230809-23-wqfx53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, undergoing final tests in a clean room at a facility near Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25952">NASA/Frank Michaux</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>About the spacecraft Psyche</h2>
<p>The probe’s body is about the same size and mass as a large SUV. Solar panels, stretching a bit wider than a tennis court, power the cameras, spectrometers and other systems. </p>
<p>A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/28/spacex-wins-the-117-million-launch-contract-to-explore-psyches-heavy-metal-asteroid/">take Psyche off the Earth</a>. The rest of the way, Psyche will <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/solar-electric-propulsion-makes-nasa-s-psyche-spacecraft-go">rely on ion propulsion</a> – the gentle pressure of ionized xenon gas jetting out of a nozzle provides a continuous, reliable and low-cost way to propel spacecraft out into the solar system.</p>
<p>The journey, a slow spiral of 2.5 billion miles (4 billion km) that includes a gravity-assist flyby past Mars, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/world/nasa-psyche-mission-october-launch-scn/index.html">will take nearly six years</a>. Throughout the cruise, the Psyche team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and here at Arizona State University in Tempe, will stay in regular contact with the spacecraft. Our team will send and receive data using <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/networks/deep_space_network/about">NASA’s Deep Space Network</a> of giant radio antennas. </p>
<p>Even if we learn that Psyche is not an ancient planetary core, we’re bound to significantly add to our body of knowledge about the solar system and the way planets form. After all, Psyche is still unlike any world humans have ever visited. Maybe we can’t yet journey to the center of the Earth, but robotic avatars to places like Psyche can help unlock the mysteries hidden deep inside the planets – including our own.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jim Bell works for Arizona State University, the lead academic institution responsible for the Pyche mission. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Planetary Society. He receives funding from NASA.</span></em></p>Liftoff to the distant asteroid is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023 – the beginning of a six-year journey to one of the most unusual objects in the solar system.Jim Bell, Professor of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2095812023-08-16T02:20:46Z2023-08-16T02:20:46ZNew data reveal US space economy’s output is shrinking – an economist explains in 3 charts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538756/original/file-20230721-33684-6lsvxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4268%2C2400&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 'space economy' isn't just rockets and space suits – satellite data, radio and TV are all part of a broadly-defined space economy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/NewPlanets/55662296e5fe4edca873ea21a256a66a/photo?Query=space&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=291&currentItemNo=3&vs=true">NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The space industry has changed dramatically since the <a href="https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/brief-history-apollo-program">Apollo program put men on the moon</a> in the late 1960s.</p>
<p>Today, over 50 years later, private companies are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jun/29/virgin-galactic-rocket-plane-commercial-space-flight">sending tourists to the edge of space</a> and building <a href="https://www.astrobotic.com/">lunar landers</a>. NASA is <a href="https://www.state.gov/artemis-accords/">bringing together 27 countries</a> to peacefully explore the Moon and beyond, and it is using the <a href="https://webb.nasa.gov/">James Webb Space Telescope</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-most-powerful-space-telescope-ever-built-will-look-back-in-time-to-the-dark-ages-of-the-universe-169603">peer back in time</a>. Private companies are playing a much larger role in space than they ever have before, though NASA and other government interests continue to drive scientific advances. </p>
<p>I’m a <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">macroeconomist</a> <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/jay-zagorsky/">who’s interested in</a> understanding how these space-related innovations and the growing role of private industry have affected the economy. Recently, the U.S. <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/space-economy">government started tracking the space economy’s size</a>. These data can tell us the size of the space-related industry, whether its outputs come mainly from government or private enterprise, and how they have been growing relative to the economy at large. </p>
<p>Companies like <a href="https://www.spacex.com/">SpaceX</a>, <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/">Blue Origin</a> and <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/">Virgin Galactic</a> <a href="https://apps.bea.gov/scb/issues/2023/06-june/0623-space-economy.htm">made up over 80%</a> of the U.S. space economy in 2021. The government held a <a href="https://apps.bea.gov/scb/issues/2023/06-june/0623-space-economy.htm">19% share of space spending</a>, up from 16% in 2012 – mostly thanks to an increase in military spending. </p>
<h2>Ways to measure the space economy</h2>
<p>There are many ways to measure economic success in space. </p>
<p>One way is the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-economic-benefit-reaches-all-50-states">economic impact</a>. The U.S. <a href="https://www.bea.gov/">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a>, which tracks the nation’s gross domestic product and other indicators, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/space-economy">recently began to monitor the space economy</a> and published figures from 2012 to 2021. The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculated the impact of space using both broad and narrow definitions.</p>
<p>The broad definition <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publications/oecd-handbook-on-measuring-the-space-economy-2nd-edition-8bfef437-en.htm">comprises four parts</a>: things used in space, like rocket ships; items supporting space travel, like launch pads; things getting direct input from space, like cell phone GPS chips; and space education, like planetariums and college astrophysics departments. </p>
<p>In 2021, the broad definition showed that total space-related sales, or what the government calls <a href="https://www.bea.gov/help/faq/1197">gross output</a>, was over US$210 billion, before adjusting for inflation. That number represents about 0.5% of the whole U.S. economy’s total gross output.</p>
<p><iframe id="Fn1Dz" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Fn1Dz/10/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The Bureau of Economic Analysis also has a narrow definition that excludes satellite television, satellite radio and space education. The difference in definitions is important because back in 2012 these three categories represented one-quarter of all space spending. However, by 2021, they only represented one-eighth of spending because many people had <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/dish-pay-tv-subscriber-loss-first-quarter-1235481988/">switched from watching satellite TV to streaming movies</a> and shows over the internet.</p>
<h2>Space’s share of the economy</h2>
<p>A closer look at the data shows that space’s <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/space-economy">share of the U.S. economy is shrinking</a>. </p>
<p>Using the broad definition and adjusting for inflation, the relative size of the space economy fell by about one-fifth from 2012 to 2021. This is because sales of space-related items – everything from rockets to satellite TV – have barely changed since 2015.</p>
<p>Using the narrow definition also shows the space economy is getting relatively smaller. From 2012 to 2021, the space sector’s inflation-adjusted gross output grew on average 3% a year, compared with 5% for the overall economy. This suggests space is not growing as fast as other economic sectors. </p>
<p><iframe id="xEadx" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xEadx/10/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Space jobs</h2>
<p>The number of jobs created by the space economy has also declined. In 2021, 360,000 people worked full- or part-time space-related jobs in the private sector, down from 372,000 about a decade earlier, according to the <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/space-economy">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a>.</p>
<p><iframe id="m9h1T" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/m9h1T/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The Bureau of Economic Analysis could not track all space-related government jobs since spy agencies and parts of the military don’t provide much information. Nevertheless, it has <a href="https://apps.bea.gov/scb/issues/2023/06-june/0623-space-economy.htm">tracked some since 2018</a>. The military’s Space Force, which is the smallest branch, <a href="https://aerospace.csis.org/us-space-force-primer/">adds about 9,000 workers</a>. NASA has about <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/about/index.html">18,000 employees</a>, which is half of <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/pocketstats">its 1960s peak</a>.</p>
<p>Combining these government workers plus all private workers results in just under 400,000 people. To give some perspective, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employees-number-1-of-153-us-workers-head-count-2021-7">Amazon’s U.S. workforce</a> is over twice as big and <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/askwalmart/how-many-people-work-at-walmart">Walmart’s</a> is four times bigger than reported U.S. space-related employment.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_1MbC2ASk3g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">On July 14, 2023, India launched a rocket as part of its Chandrayaan-3 mission to put a lander and rover on the south pole of the Moon.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Growing competition in space</h2>
<p>The U.S. has long dominated the space economy, especially in terms of government spending. </p>
<p>The U.S. government spent <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/c5996201-en/1/2/1/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/c5996201-en&_csp_=ffe5a6bbc1382ae4f0ead9dd2da73ff4&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book">a little more than $40 billion</a> in 2017, compared with about $3.5 billion spent by Japan and less than $2 billion by Russia. </p>
<p>Moreover, <a href="https://history-computer.com/10-largest-space-and-exploration-companies/">most of the top private space companies</a> are based in the U.S., led by Boeing, SpaceX and Raytheon, which gives the U.S. a leg up in continuing to play a leading role with the rockets, satellites and other stuff needed to operate in space.</p>
<p>The U.S. also published more than <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/c5996201-en/1/2/1/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/c5996201-en&_csp_=ffe5a6bbc1382ae4f0ead9dd2da73ff4&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#fig-1.11">twice the amount of space research</a> in 2017 as its next nearest rival – China. </p>
<p>But China is catching up and has narrowed the gap in recent years as top Chinese officials decided success in space <a href="https://www.diu.mil/latest/state-of-the-space-industrial-base-2022">is a national priority</a>. Their goal is reportedly to surpass the U.S. as the <a href="https://www.diu.mil/latest/state-of-the-space-industrial-base-2022">dominant space power by 2045</a>. China recently put a <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-new-space-station-opens-for-business-in-an-increasingly-competitive-era-of-space-activity-195882">large space station called the Tiangong</a> into orbit and aims to put <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/china/china-crewed-moon-landing-2030-intl-hnk-scn/index.html">people on the Moon</a>.</p>
<p>China’s not the only one joining the 21st century space race. India is expanding its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/04/business/india-space-startups.html">space economy rapidly, with 140 space-tech startups</a>. India launched <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/with-more-fuel-fail-safe-measures-chandrayaan-3-to-leap-towards-moon-on-july-14/article67064600.ece">a rocket on July 14, 2023, designed to put a lander and rover on the Moon</a>. And the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft plans to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-euclid-spacecraft-will-transform-how-we-view-the-dark-universe-204245">map parts of the universe</a> to study dark matter. The ESA released the craft’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Euclid_test_images_tease_of_riches_to_come">first test images</a> at the end of July 2023.</p>
<p>The U.S. has a strong foothold in space. But whether it can maintain its lead – as the space race moves into a new frontier of <a href="https://www.space.com/space-mining-grinding-into-reality">space mining</a> and missions to Mars – remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With commercial space tourism on the rise and NASA planning to return to the Moon, you might think the US space economy is booming – but the data paint a more complex picture.Jay L. Zagorsky, Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093572023-08-15T12:34:52Z2023-08-15T12:34:52ZDiverse teams can improve engineering outcomes − but recent affirmative action decision may hinder efforts to create diverse teams<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542659/original/file-20230814-19-13t6qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2113%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While Black and Hispanic workers made up 14% and 19% of the population in 2021, they made up only 9% and 8% of the STEM workforce. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/workers-talking-in-factory-royalty-free-image/156410607">John Fedele/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It may seem intuitive that teams made up of people with a diversity of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds lead to more effective and inclusive outcomes. But the <a href="https://theconversation.com/affirmative-action-lasted-over-50-years-3-essential-reads-explaining-how-it-ended-209273">recent U.S. Supreme Court decision</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-chief-justice-john-roberts-uses-conflicting-views-of-race-to-resolve-americas-history-of-racial-discrimination-209670">curb affirmative action</a> in higher education could <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230726-how-changing-college-admissions-could-affect-the-us-workforce">hinder progress</a> toward <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-023-09739-6">increasing diversity</a> in the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/jacob-carter/supreme-court-rulings-will-reduce-diversity-in-stem-and-set-back-scientific-progress/">science and engineering fields</a>. </p>
<p>As a geographer and feminist scholar, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eqzjz_MAAAAJ">my work</a> centers on how diverse engineering teams can create space for better collaborations and outcomes. The first step to creating diverse teams is having diverse people with relevant engineering backgrounds, but this Supreme Court decision may <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-outlawing-collegiate-affirmative-action-will-impact-corporate-america/">create more roadblocks</a> for people from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing the sciences.</p>
<h2>Affirmative action</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/affirmative-action">Affirmative action</a> is the practice of universities giving special consideration to historically excluded groups, such as racial minorities and women. In addition to addressing past discrimination, the practice, born out of the 1960s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/politics/affirmative-action-history.html">civil rights movement</a>, ensures public institutions such as universities <a href="https://www.usnews.com/topics/subjects/affirmative_action">represent the populations they serve</a>. </p>
<p>Even with affirmative action, Black and Hispanic workers are already underrepresented in STEM fields. A 2021 study found they made up <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/">only 9% and 8%</a>, respectively, of the total STEM workforce in the United States. At the same time, Black people and Hispanic people accounted for 14% and 19%, respectively, of <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045222">the national population</a>.</p>
<p>Even prior to the court’s decision, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-involve-more-women-and-girls-in-engineering-55794">higher education</a> pipelines underrepresented women and people of color in engineering.</p>
<p>Engineering offers high salaries and job stability, but it also <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/">lags far behind other STEM fields</a> in integrating diversity and creating inclusive company cultures. Diverse teams can help make sure a company’s products and services are relatable to a wide range of customers.</p>
<h2>A pipeline issue in engineering</h2>
<p>Still, it is challenging to create genuinely inclusive cultures. And to have diverse engineers, you first need diverse engineering students.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.diversityinresearch.careers/article/how-diversity-makes-better-engineering-teams">diverse engineering team</a> has historically been one that includes different talents – engineers, but also designers, architects and so on. However, now when experts like me point out a pipeline issue in engineering, we’re prioritizing <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/">social diversity</a>. This includes gender, race, ethnicity, nationality and other identities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two engineers standing in a factory, the one on the left, a woman, is pointing, while the one on the right, a man, wears a hard hat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teams of engineers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives can lead to new innovations and create supportive spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1306841982/photo/female-engineer-presentation-robotic-welding-process-to-her-team-in-testing-area-of-research.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=jkjgmPS7_r7F8ZHFOncCHbjln1LDgYGA1L9runr_ZQw=">Nitat Termmee/Moment via Getty</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to women and people of color in the United States has <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-involve-more-women-and-girls-in-engineering-55794">grown little</a> since 1998. <a href="https://swe.org/research/2023/degree-attainment/">Women account for 22%</a> of bachelor’s degrees <a href="https://theconversation.com/only-about-1-in-5-engineering-degrees-go-to-women-185256">in engineering</a>. <a href="https://swe.org/research/2018/women-of-color-in-early-career-a-swe-nsbe-collaborative-study/">Less than 4%</a> of all engineering degrees went to African American, Hispanic and Native American women. <a href="https://ira.asee.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2018-Engineering-by-Numbers-Engineering-Statistics-UPDATED-15-July-2019.pdf">Hispanic and Black/African American students</a> account for 11.4% and 4.2% of engineering bachelor’s degrees, respectively.</p>
<p>Students cite <a href="https://www.higheredtoday.org/2021/02/11/lets-remake-racially-unsafe-stem-educational-spaces/">hostile climates</a> and racist and sexist stereotyping as reasons for leaving the major.</p>
<h2>Diverse teams in practice</h2>
<p>Despite these challenges, a year ago <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/engineering/story/3d-printing-medical-devices-focus-2-million-nsf-grant/">I joined three senior women</a> guiding an intergenerational, diverse group of engineering researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Penn State University.</p>
<p>The exceptionality of our project’s all-female engineering leadership offers a rare on-the-ground opportunity to evaluate how diverse engineering teams can enhance innovation and teamwork. <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/engineering/story/3d-printing-medical-devices-focus-2-million-nsf-grant/">Our early study findings</a> – which have not yet been peer-reviewed – suggest that a diverse team creates a place for an array of opinions and strategies to flourish. </p>
<p>Compared with experiences with mostly homogeneous groups, members of this multigenerational team reported less hierarchy in group discussions, stronger self-assurance and a sense of solidarity and shared vision. Senior members fostered belonging, while early career members felt mentored and supported. </p>
<p>For example, our project focuses on designing customized pediatric masks and other medical devices. The members of this team reported feeling that their peers all shared a drive to improve quality of life for patients.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/07/31/diversity-innovation-and-opportunity-why-you-need-a-diverse-product-engineering-team/?sh=380e1e903e33">Diverse engineering teams</a> bring a range of problem-solving skills together, which leads to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/27/895858974/creativity-and-diversity-how-exposure-to-different-people-affects-our-thinking">more creative outcomes</a>. In teams where members have a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, experts see more <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter">collaboration, productivity and a focus on socially beneficial outcomes</a>.</p>
<p>Allowing all team members to contribute equally results in <a href="https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/feature-5-ways-diversity-enhances-engineering-projects">higher productivity</a>, boosts retention rates and creates smoother interactions. All this results in faster, more effective problem solving. </p>
<p>Homogeneous or nondiverse teams are more likely to experience <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/groupthink">groupthink</a>. During groupthink, members lapse into consensus thinking and agree with each other rather than bringing more ideas forward. Groupthink happens more often when stakes are high or there’s uncertainty. </p>
<p>On the other hand, diverse teams tend to focus more on facts and may process them <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-work/202106/why-diverse-teams-outperform-homogeneous-teams">more carefully than homogeneous teams</a>. This is due to the <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/08/11/cognitive-diversity-leadership-styles-decision-making/">diversity of different experiences</a> that accompanies diverse workplaces. Carefully processing all the facts and considering multiple points of view can provide safer, more inclusive outcomes. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g_ugV9gO1-Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Diverse teams in engineering can lead to outcomes that work for more groups of people.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Diversity in human judgment, empathy and creativity is good for business, but it also benefits the common good. Creating opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and experiences prepares all students – regardless of race or gender – for success in an <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/2020-united-states-population-more-racially-ethnically-diverse-than-2010.html">increasingly diverse nation</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209357/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Dowler receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Diverse teams can not only solve engineering problems more effectively, but the outcomes tend to be more inclusive, as a geographer and feminist scholar explains.Lorraine Dowler, Professor of Geography and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2099552023-08-14T18:42:58Z2023-08-14T18:42:58ZThis solar cycle, the sun’s activity is more powerful and surprising than predicted<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541795/original/file-20230808-15-85ytq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1920%2C1080&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A coronal mass ejection on the solar surface.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(NASA/GSFC/SDO)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/this-solar-cycle-the-suns-activity-is-more-powerful-and-surprising-than-predicted" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>What do you feel when you see the aurora? </p>
<p>Otherwise known as the northern or southern lights, an aurora is light emitted by upper atmospheric particles as they interact with energized ones <a href="https://superdarn.ca/tutorials-11">from the magnetosphere</a>.</p>
<p>It’s an awe-inspiring and otherworldly event that those living at high latitudes can experience often. In <a href="https://creeliteracy.org/2018/05/01/northern-lights-creesimonsays/">Cree and Ojibwe teachings</a>, the northern lights are ancestral spirits who remain and communicate from the sky. </p>
<p>To scientists, the aurora is an infinitely complex amalgamation of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/ionosphere">ionospheric</a> dynamics, a manifestation of Earth’s intrinsic connection to the sun. To industry, it’s a risk factor.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C936%2C524&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="green lights ribbon in the sky above powerlines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C936%2C524&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540229/original/file-20230731-17-9pbazi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The aurora borealis seen above the Saskatoon SuperDARN space weather radar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(A. Reimer)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Starlink destruction event</h2>
<p>In February 2022, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60317806">SpaceX launched 49 Starlink internet satellites into a low-Earth orbit (LEO)</a>. This was the 36th Starlink launch that SpaceX had carried out, and one that they anticipated to go off without a hitch, just like the 35 before. </p>
<p>On launch day, a <a href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections">coronal mass ejection</a> — a large burst of plasma expelled from the sun — struck Earth. It caused a geomagnetic storm in the atmosphere between around 100 and 500 kilometres in altitude, the target range for Starlink. </p>
<p>This event injected an immense amount of electromagnetic energy straight into Earth’s upper atmosphere. It produced <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_GYySXTtio">beautiful auroral displays</a>, but the energy also increased the density of the air. A higher air density typically isn’t a big deal for LEO satellites, because it’s already extremely low at usual operational altitudes (upwards of 400 kilometres). </p>
<p>Starlink, however, was initially <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003074">launched into an altitude of 210 kilometres</a>. That’s much closer to Earth, with an exponentially higher air density. Thirty-eight out of those 49 initial launch satellites were subsequently lost due to atmospheric drag from the dense atmosphere, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2022034">pulling them back to Earth</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mUlAz_Oxv4Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Starlink satellites burning up in the atmosphere over Puerto Rico, Feb. 7, 2022.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Surprising solar cycle</h2>
<p>The sun undergoes a cycle — an 11-year one, to be exact — from which its activity increases and decreases periodically. At the peak of a cycle, we see more sunspots on the solar surface, more radiation emitted, and more solar flares. Geomagnetic storms like the one that caused the Starlink destruction event are a relatively common occurrence, especially when the sun reaches the peak of its 11-year cycle of strengthening and weakening activity. </p>
<p>In the previous cycle, which ended in 2019 (the 24th tracked cycle since 1755), <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2022.10.033">there were 927 storms classed as moderate or weak alone</a> — an average of one every five or so days. </p>
<p>We’re currently four years into solar cycle 25, but this one has already proven surprising. The maximum activity of the 25th cycle was predicted to occur in 2025, but solar activity has already exceeded that. This means we’ve been seeing more geomagnetic storms, more auroral displays (and at lower latitudes than usual) and, potentially, more hazardous conditions for LEO satellites.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A plotted graph showing solar cycle sunspots" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540308/original/file-20230731-23-cwg668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Solar activity as the number of sunspots visible on the solar surface. The number of sunspots seen is already considerably higher than what is expected from the solar maximum, two years ahead of schedule.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression">(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Space weather — the unseen force of nature</h2>
<p>If geomagnetic storms are so common, why don’t they cause more issues? <a href="https://www.maine.gov/mema/maine-prepares/preparedness-library/geomagnetic-storms">The reality is that they do</a>, but the consequences are much less obvious than satellites burning up in the atmosphere.</p>
<p>When space weather energy enters Earth’s upper atmosphere, for example, the ionospheric composition changes in addition to the air getting denser. High-frequency, or “shortwave,” radio communication depends on a predictable ionosphere to broadcast long distances. </p>
<p>Geomagnetic storms that affect ionospheric composition can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2018SW002008">radio blackouts</a>, such as a <a href="https://www.space.com/x-class-solar-flare-radio-blackout-august-2023">disruption in North America on Aug. 7</a>. Even minor storms can cause the degradation of radio signals used in military and maritime systems, aviation communication or ham radio. </p>
<p>Extreme storms can cause radio blackouts lasting hours, and for an entire side of the globe. Storms that big can also cause more discernible problems, such as the nine-hour <a href="http://www.hydroquebec.com/learning/notions-de-base/tempete-mars-1989.html">electricity outage experienced by Hydro-Québec in 1989</a>.</p>
<h2>Space weather warning systems</h2>
<p>It’s not all doom and disintegrating rockets, however. We can detect when a solar flare leaves the surface of the sun and predict roughly when it will affect the Earth, giving forewarning to certain types of storms and <a href="https://www.aurorawatch.ca/">chances to see the aurora</a>.</p>
<p>For many storms however, there is very little or no predictive capability because it depends on how the Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the solar wind, which is harder to see. </p>
<p>Nowcasting — using real-time data to understand conditions as they occur — is one of our best tools. With instruments such as ground-based radar and magnetometers on satellites, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103733">we can estimate the electromagnetic space weather energy entering the atmosphere almost instantaneously</a>. </p>
<p>As for why SpaceX lost satellites in February 2022 during a minor geomagnetic storm, that was just a matter of timing. The loss of the satellites, however, is a stunning reminder of the power of the universe we live in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Billett receives funding from the European Space Agency and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>We’re currently a few years into the 25th studied solar cycle. An 11-year period of sun activity, this solar cycle is more active than previously expected.Daniel Billett, Postdoctoral Fellow in Space Physics, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2102182023-08-03T12:24:52Z2023-08-03T12:24:52ZMost Americans support NASA – but don’t think it should prioritize sending people to space<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539322/original/file-20230725-21-7pchup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C0%2C7802%2C3971&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Artemis I Launch in November 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/52503151166/">NASA/Bill Ingalls</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most Americans (69%) believe it is essential that the United States continue to be a world leader in space. But only a subsection of that group believes NASA should prioritize sending people to the Moon, according to <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/07/20/americans-views-of-space-u-s-role-nasa-priorities-and-impact-of-private-companies/">a new report</a> released by the Pew Research Center. The study surveyed over 10,000 U.S. adults on their attitudes toward NASA and their expectations for the space industry over the next few decades.</p>
<p>As scholars who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aESo-coAAAAJ&hl=en">international relations in space</a> and the <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/people/staff/teasel-muir-harmony">history of the space program</a>, we are interested in understanding how Americans view space activities, and how their perspectives might affect the future of both U.S. and global space developments.</p>
<h2>US dominance in space</h2>
<p>The United States’ most visible effort to maintain world leadership in space is arguably its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">Artemis Program</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/returning-to-the-moon-can-benefit-commercial-military-and-political-sectors-a-space-policy-expert-explains-209300">land humans on the Moon</a> by late 2024. The U.S. has emphasized international cooperation, bringing in Europe, Japan and Canada as partners in the program.</p>
<p>With China and Russia <a href="https://www.space.com/china-russia-moon-base-ilrs">undertaking a parallel effort</a> to land people on the Moon, many see a competitive element to these plans as well.</p>
<p>One of the most striking features of the recent poll is how similar it looks to earlier public opinion polling, especially <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2018/06/06/majority-of-americans-believe-it-is-essential-that-the-u-s-remain-a-global-leader-in-space">one conducted in 2018</a>. The popularity of NASA has remained consistently high for decades, frequently with a favorability rating between 60% and 70%, far higher than many other federal agencies. But the specific priorities of the U.S. space program have often been at odds with public opinion. </p>
<p>While 65% of Americans said <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/07/20/americans-views-of-space-u-s-role-nasa-priorities-and-impact-of-private-companies/">in the new Pew survey</a> it was essential that NASA continue to be involved in space exploration, only 12% said that sending human astronauts to the Moon should be NASA’s top priority. Although somewhat at odds with the national space agenda, this valuation is not new. Even during the 1960s, when NASA undertook Project Apollo, Americans ranked solving problems on Earth – such as pollution, poverty and national beautification – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12473">above landing humans on the Moon</a>.</p>
<p>Most Americans for the majority of the 1960s responded in public opinion polls that the Apollo program <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-9646(03)00039-0">was not worth its high budget</a>. Over time, however, the <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/18801/chapter/3#29">Apollo program has grown in popularity</a>. </p>
<p>Between 1989 and 1995, polling revealed that the public thought the U.S. space program should <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-9646(03)00039-0">focus on robotic spacecraft</a> as opposed to crewed missions. This position began to change in the mid-1990s with docking of the space shuttle with the Russian space station and several blockbuster space-themed films. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12473">moderate public support</a>, human spaceflight consistently receives the majority share of <a href="https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/nasa-budget">U.S. civilian space funding</a>, suggesting that public opinion and the national space agenda stand apart. The most recent poll results underscore how <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/18801/chapter/2#2">a combination of rationales</a> – including advancing science, national stature, geopolitics, economic interests and national security – rather than public opinion alone have shaped national space priorities throughout time.</p>
<h2>Planetary defense</h2>
<p>Additionally, the recent poll explored people’s expectations for the space industry. It found 60% of people believed NASA’s top priority should be monitoring asteroids that could hit the Earth. NASA does have national responsibility for this job – referred to as planetary defense – but the office receives <a href="https://ww2.aip.org/fyi/2023/fy23-budget-outcomes-nasa">less than 1% of NASA’s budget</a>, or US$138 million out of $25.4 billion in 2023.</p>
<p>Even with its relatively modest budget, the office has made significant progress. This included the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/dart/dart-news">Double Asteroid Redirect Test</a> – the world’s <a href="https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Mission/index.php">first planetary defense experiment</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/nasa-successfully-shifted-an-asteroids-orbit-dart-spacecraft-crashed-into-and-moved-dimorphos-192317">DART intentionally</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-dart-asteroid-updates-b6cfccd90a0450c3cce6048af61a1c01">crashed into an asteroid</a> in September 2022 to understand how the impact would change the asteroid’s orbit. The results of the test could help scientists understand how to deflect asteroids that threaten the Earth.</p>
<p><iframe id="QXuaj" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QXuaj/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Private enterprise in space</h2>
<p>Private activity in space goes back to the 1960s, with the creation of commercial <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/satcomhistory.html">communication satellite companies</a> and growth of large <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/11/20981714/spacex-commercial-spaceflight-space-industry-decade-nasa-business">defense contractors</a>. However, many experts view the wave of companies that started in the 2000s as marking an important change.</p>
<p>While earlier companies often relied heavily on the government to set requirements and fund projects, these “<a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2022/03/new-space-ecosystem-should-be-leveraged-to-provide-transformative-science-advancements-says-new-report">new space</a>” companies set their own priorities and often see the government as only one of many customers.</p>
<p>These companies are bringing new capabilities to the market. For example, <a href="https://www.planet.com/">Planet</a> collects daily images of the Earth, <a href="https://www.umbra.com/">Umbra</a> uses radar to take pictures at night and through clouds, <a href="https://astroscale.com/">Astroscale</a> is demonstrating the ability to remove debris from space, and <a href="https://www.astrobotic.com/">Astrobotic</a> is developing a commercial Moon lander.</p>
<p>Many Americans view private activity in space positively, but a large portion have not yet formed an opinion. While 48% of Americans surveyed said private companies are doing a good job building rockets and spacecraft that are safe and reliable, another 39% were unsure. Similarly, 47% of Americans said private companies are making important contributions to space exploration, but another 40% were unsure. </p>
<p><iframe id="0cdOM" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0cdOM/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Companies like <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-commercial-flight-space-station-launch-private-citizens-saudis-axiom/">SpaceX</a>, <a href="https://www.space.com/blue-origin-ns-21-space-tourist-mission">Blue Origin</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/virgin-galactic-rocketplane-first-commercial-sub-orbital-flight-to-space/">Virgin Galactic</a> are <a href="https://theconversation.com/spacex-inspiration4-mission-sent-4-people-with-minimal-training-into-orbit-and-brought-space-tourism-closer-to-reality-167611">beginning to take tourists into space</a>. Doing so in a safe and sustainable way will be essential to the future perception of this industry. Priorities include carefully designing safety systems and procedures and carrying out careful analysis of any <a href="https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-continues-investigation-into-new-shepard-anomaly/">anomolies</a> that occur during flight.</p>
<p>Overall, Americans are optimistic about the future of space activity. The poll found 55% of Americans expect people will routinely travel to space as tourists within the next 50 years.</p>
<h2>Militarization of space</h2>
<p>A significant portion of Americans (44%) see a more militaristic future for space. They believe the U.S. will definitely or probably fight against other nations in space sometime in the next 50 years. Warfare could include the destruction or disabling of U.S. or other nations’ strategic satellites. </p>
<p>By some definitions, conflict in space has <a href="https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-highlights-the-growing-strategic-importance-of-private-satellite-companies-especially-in-times-of-conflict-188425">already occurred</a>. At the outset of the Ukraine War, Russia carried out a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/05/10/1051973/russia-hack-viasat-satellite-ukraine-invasion/">cyberattack against the ViaSat satellite network</a> used by the Ukrainian military. Russia also regularly <a href="https://www.space.com/russia-jamming-gps-signals-ukraine">jams GPS signals</a> in Ukraine. However, no nation has ever physically attacked another nation’s satellite in space.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2021-12/focus/small-step-toward-asat-ban">no ban on anti-satellite weapons</a>, but in December 2022, 155 nations <a href="https://spacenews.com/united-nations-general-assembly-approves-asat-test-ban-resolution/">passed a United Nations General Assembly resolution</a> calling for a halt to one type of anti-satellite testing. In addition, the United Nations’ <a href="https://meetings.unoda.org/open-ended-working-group-on-reducing-space-threats-2022">open-ended working group on reducing space threats</a> has been meeting since 2022 to help avoid conflict in space.</p>
<h2>Space debris</h2>
<p>Americans are also concerned about space debris – 69% think there will definitely or probably be a major problem with debris in space by 2073. Space debris can include defunct satellites, discarded rocket bodies, or pieces of satellites resulting from accidental collisions or anti-satellite tests.</p>
<p>There is reason for concern. The number of objects in space has grown rapidly, from just over 1,000 in 2013 to <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database">6,718 satellites today</a>. Many countries have <a href="https://spacenews.com/satellite-operators-criticize-extreme-megaconstellation-filings/">announced plans for new large constellations</a> of satellites, with some experts predicting there could be <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105166">60,000 satellites in orbit by 2030</a>.</p>
<p>Right now the United States maintains the most advanced <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2023-03-13/whats-there-where-it-and-whats-it-doing-us-space-surveillance">system for monitoring space objects</a>. It shares <a href="https://www.space-track.org/">information and collision warnings</a> with satellite operators all over the world, but there are no rules that require those operators to take action. As space traffic increases, this ad hoc system will need to change.</p>
<p>The United States is developing a new <a href="https://spacenews.com/commerce-department-outlines-plans-for-basic-space-traffic-management-service/">Traffic Coordination System for Space</a> that will improve data sharing and coordination with commercial and international partners. Countries have been working within the United Nations to develop and implement guidelines for the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/topics/long-term-sustainability-of-outer-space-activities.html">long-term sustainability</a> of outer space activities. </p>
<p>Still, the U.S. will need to coordinate with countries around the world to ensure satellite technology doesn’t outpace safety and give organizations like NASA the ability to continue leading activities in space.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210218/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariel Borowitz receives funding from the National Air and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Teasel Muir-Harmony does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new survey catalogs Americans’ expectations about the future of space, from NASA to SpaceX. Two space policy experts describe how these results stack up against the current state of space affairs.Mariel Borowitz, Associate Professor of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of TechnologyTeasel Muir-Harmony, Curator of the Apollo Collection, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and Affiliate Adjunct, Georgetown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2057702023-07-18T17:11:41Z2023-07-18T17:11:41ZSex in space: why it’s worrying that the space tourism sector hasn’t considered the consequences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533161/original/file-20230621-25-dmpt0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C25%2C4240%2C2807&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouettes-young-couple-under-starry-sky-711974794">AstroStar/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humans have a knack for sharing intimate moments in unlikely places, as membership of the mile-high club demonstrates. So there is a significant chance that the launch of the space tourism sector may be swiftly followed by the first sex in space. </p>
<p>But having <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/7852203">researched the issue</a>, my colleagues and I believe that space tourism companies haven’t adequately prepared for the consequences of people joining what we could call the “Kármán line club” (referencing the 100km-high boundary between Earth and the rest of the cosmos).</p>
<p>Talk of space tourism has always been in terms of the distant future. But sub-orbital space tourism – short flights with only a few minutes of spaceflight and weightlessness – already exists. Tickets range from <a href="https://observer.com/2022/06/blue-origin-space-tourism-pricing-marketing/">freebies, to costing millions of dollars</a>. </p>
<p>Much longer flights are just around the corner. Companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX have well-established track records of developing spacecraft faster than the public sector. SpaceX’s larger and more capable <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/spacex-starship-rocket-launch-space-elon-musk">Starship spacecraft will likely operate routinely</a> in the next few years. </p>
<h2>When, not if</h2>
<p>Flights have been <a href="https://www.space.com/dennis-tito-spacex-starship-moon">reserved and passenger lists assembled</a> for private flights that will loop around the Moon. Spacecraft such as Starship will have the capacity for tens of passengers, in a large cabin environment, possibly with private cabins.</p>
<p>Considering that space travel is no longer reserved for professional astronauts, the various motivations of space tourists and upcoming spacecraft developments, we concluded that in-space sex will probably happen within the next ten years.</p>
<p>The real concern is not the sexual interactions themselves, but rather if they lead to human conception in space. Early orbital space tourism flights are expected to last for days to weeks, so only the early stages of human reproduction could happen in space. </p>
<p>Passengers will not be allowed to board if they are already known to be pregnant, although the space tourism industry does not appear to have considered concealed or unknown pregnancies. Sometimes women <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/31/cryptic-pregnancies-i-didnt-know-i-was-having-a-baby-until-i-saw-its-head">don’t realise they are pregnant</a> until they <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/09/05/woman-unaware-she-was-pregnant-gave-birth-went-back-to-work/">go into labour</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crib mobile in the form of space icons and an astronaut" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532992/original/file-20230620-16-vx045u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We don’t know what would happen to embryos conceived in space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/baby-crib-mobile-handmade-form-space-2245887061">Olenaduygu/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From decades of human spaceflight, we already know weightlessness and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/space-radiation-is-risky-business-for-the-human-body/">increased levels of ionising radiation</a> has a profound effect on our bodies. We don’t know how this will affect the physiological processes of reproduction. </p>
<p>Astronauts routinely suffer <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/station-science-101/bone-muscle-loss-in-microgravity/">muscle and bone wastage</a> as their bodies no longer have to resist the forces of gravity. On Earth, gravity influences the distribution of body fluids, such as blood. A lack of gravity can result in increased pressure inside the skull which can make <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/what-is-spaceflight-associated-neuro-ocular-syndrome">people’s vision blurry</a> and even <a href="https://phys.org/news/2023-06-frequent-lengthy-space-toll-astronauts.html">change the brain’s structure</a>.</p>
<p>Limited experiments on mouse embryos, which include one that used a mini incubator on a satellite, have shown <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa062">changes in embryo viability after they were exposed to space</a>. Knowledge of the impact on human reproduction is effectively zero, but we can assume that there will be effects.</p>
<p>Therefore, there is an unknown potential for developmental abnormalities in human embryos conceived in space. Additionally, there could be an increased risk of <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/">ectopic pregnancy</a> in weightlessness conditions (when the embryo attaches outside the uterus, for example in the fallopian tubes). </p>
<p>Even if space tourists use contraception, we can’t be sure it will be as effective outside planet Earth. There have been no studies on how contraceptives will be affected by space environments.</p>
<h2>Taking responsibility</h2>
<p>For the space tourism industry, there are commercial risks of litigation, reputational damage and financial loss if people conceive during spaceflight – as well as ethical and reproductive rights issues. Our research found little evidence that the sector is taking steps to mitigate these risks. There is little anecdotal evidence from behind the scenes.</p>
<p>There is also a darker side to consider – the risk of sexual assault in space. Imagine trying to evade the advances of a fellow passenger or staff member during spaceflight. You would be completely trapped.</p>
<p>The space tourism industry and other relevant parties should urgently come together to discuss these issues and formulate a strategy to protect all those involved. A simple solution could be a combination of pre-spaceflight counselling with all space tourists about the risks of human conception in space. Legal waivers absolving the space tourism operators of liability if human conception was still to occur could also be considered.</p>
<p>Space tourism is already happening and it seems likely that sexual interactions between some participants will occur very soon. The question is whether the sector will be prepared for the possible consequences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Cullen informally collaborates with SpaceBorn United - an organisation advocating the need to consider the future needs for human reproduction beyond the Earth</span></em></p>Ready or not, sex in space will be happening within the decade.David Cullen, Professor of Bioanalytical Technology, Cranfield UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093002023-07-18T12:27:31Z2023-07-18T12:27:31ZReturning to the Moon can benefit commercial, military and political sectors – a space policy expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536343/original/file-20230707-15-g8cdkp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C1421%2C1012&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Moon marks new territory for commercial, military and geopolitical interests. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia02322-triptych-of-the-moon">NASA/JPL/Cassini Imaging Team/University of Arizona</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">Artemis program</a> aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with the first human landing <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis-iii">currently scheduled for 2025</a>. This goal is not just technically ambitious, but it’s also politically challenging. The Artemis program marks the first time since the Apollo program that an effort to send humans to the Moon has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/02/biden-space-artemis-moon-trump/">supported by two successive U.S. presidents</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aESo-coAAAAJ&hl=en">scholar of international affairs who studies space</a>, I’m interested in understanding what allowed the Artemis program to survive this political transition where others failed. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2023.101548">My research suggests</a> that this program is not just <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-telescopes-on-the-moon-could-transform-astronomy-and-its-becoming-an-achievable-goal-203308">about advancing science</a> and technology or <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-next-four-people-headed-to-the-moon-how-the-diverse-crew-of-artemis-ii-shows-nasas-plan-for-the-future-of-space-exploration-203214">inspiring the public</a>. It also offers practical benefits for the commercial sector and the military and an opportunity to reinforce U.S. global leadership. </p>
<h2>Commercial interest in the Moon</h2>
<p>Several companies around the world, including both startups and established aerospace firms, have begun working on missions to the Moon. Some, like Japan-based <a href="https://ispace-inc.com/">iSpace</a> and U.S.-based <a href="https://www.astrobotic.com/">Astrobotic</a>, are developing commercial lunar landers and have plans to eventually collect lunar resources, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/back-to-the-moon-a-space-lawyer-and-planetary-scientist-on-what-it-will-take-to-share-the-benefits-of-new-lunar-exploration-podcast-202415">water</a> or <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-companies-to-collect-lunar-resources-for-artemis-demonstrations">minerals</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ocDzndmmE8I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">NASA is planning to return to the Moon with Artemis missions. This video describes where on the Moon they may land, and how they’ll decide.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For now, efforts to return to the Moon are largely funded by government space agencies, like NASA or the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/Astrobotic_team_to_study_delivery_of_lunar_resources_mission">European Space Agency</a>. However, many experts talk about the growth of a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.10.005">cislunar economy</a>,” where companies make money through their activities in and around the Moon.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ida.org/research-and-publications/publications/all/d/de/demand-drivers-of-the-lunar-and-cislunar-economy">Expert studies</a> suggest that it will be decades before many activities – like mining lunar resources or collecting solar energy on the Moon – will generate profits. But in the meantime, government space programs can leverage commercial innovation to cut costs, spur innovation and accelerate their programs. And some commercial activity, such as lunar tourism, <a href="https://www.ida.org/research-and-publications/publications/all/d/de/demand-drivers-of-the-lunar-and-cislunar-economy">may be profitable in the near future</a>. SpaceX has already sold one <a href="https://dearmoon.earth/">trip to the Moon</a>, tentatively scheduled for launch in 2024. </p>
<p>Companies entering the market early may have an advantage. Crowding is unlikely to be an issue in the near term – the Moon has a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-big-is-the-moon-let-me-compare-118840">surface area</a> roughly equivalent to the entire Asian continent. Even at the poles, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-identifies-candidate-regions-for-landing-next-americans-on-moon">multiple sites</a> offer access to both water ice and solar illumination. </p>
<p>However, the first companies on the Moon may set precedents for the extent of lunar mining allowed, as well as the safety and sustainability protocols that others coming later may follow. The United Nations has established a <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/copuos/lsc/space-resources/index.html">working group</a> to examine the legal issues related to using space resources, but it won’t finish its first set of proposed principles until 2027. In the meantime, commercial entities are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01441-y">already attempting</a> to land on the Moon.</p>
<h2>Military interest in the Moon</h2>
<p>In 2020, the head of <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-force-sounds-like-a-joke-thanks-to-pop-culture-that-could-be-a-problem-for-an-important-military-branch-155265">the U.S. Space Force</a> referred to the Moon as “<a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/raymond-foresees-cislunar-space-as-key-terrain-guardians-going-to-space/">key terrain</a>,” and the Air Force Research Laboratory is funding an experimental satellite called <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2022/11/oracles-vision-understanding-cislunar-satellite-images-poses-afrls-biggest-challenge/">Oracle</a>, scheduled for launch in 2026. Oracle will monitor the space between the Earth and the Moon. </p>
<p>The U.S. military has decades of experience in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2021.101444">monitoring spacecraft orbiting the Earth</a>. It could use this expertise to <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2022/11/critically-important-new-white-house-strategy-for-cislunar-research-echoes-space-force/">support safety and security</a> as commercial and civil governmental activity near the Moon increases. They could also provide the United States with better intelligence on the space activities of strategic competitors, like <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/news/chinese-spacecraft-makes-first-landing-moon-s-far-side-ncna954066">China</a>.</p>
<p>Some individuals in the space sector <a href="https://spaceforcejournal.org/3859-2/">go further</a> and suggest that the military should watch for weapons hidden in deep space or on the far side of the moon. However, the physics and economics of space suggest that these uses are costly, with <a href="https://www.uscc.gov/annual-report/2019-annual-report-congress">little practical benefit</a>.</p>
<p>While leveraging U.S. military expertise in space makes sense, there are reasons not to take developments in this area too far. Military advances like these – even if done in support of civil and commercial goals – may <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/12/space-force-moon-pentagon-00016818">raise suspicion</a> from other nations, potentially leading to increased military space activity on their part, and ultimately increasing tensions.</p>
<h2>Geopolitical concerns</h2>
<p>The Apollo program is famous for its role in the U.S. and the Soviet Union’s mid-20th century “space race.” The United States’ ability to land humans on the Moon was interpreted by many around the world as evidence of U.S. technological superiority and the <a href="https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/space-race">capabilities of a democratic and capitalist society</a>. Some have suggested that the United States is now in a <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/22/america-is-losing-the-second-space-race-to-china/">new space race</a>, this time with China. China <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/29/china-moon-space-astronauts-lunar/">recently accelerated</a> its plans to send humans to the Moon. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-us-in-a-space-race-against-china-203473">not everyone agrees</a> that such a race is taking place, the use of this terminology by U.S. political leaders, including <a href="https://www.space.com/nasa-bill-nelson-china-space-race-moon">current NASA Administrator</a> Bill Nelson, and its ubiquity in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/16/the-space-race-is-back-on-but-who-will-win">global</a> <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3162196/china-us-space-race-heats-chinese-firm-plans-over-40-launches">media</a> <a href="https://japantoday.com/category/world/a-new-space-race-china-adds-urgency-to-us-return-to-moon">coverage</a> suggest that many will view efforts to land humans on the Moon in this way. If China lands humans on the Moon before the United States, people around the world may see this as evidence of <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/440751-returning-to-the-moon-to-gain-soft-political-power/">China’s role as a global leader</a> and the capabilities of its communist government. </p>
<p>The return to the Moon is not just about competition. It also offers nations opportunities to engage in international cooperation. <a href="https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/220215_Johnson_FlyMe_Moon.pdf?VersionId=eBOSyAKB1ite5cort60IluuBQWvYyADa">More than 20 nations</a> have announced plans to undertake missions to the Moon. Just as the United States is leveraging commercial developments, the U.S. is working with international partners, as well. Europe, Japan and Canada have already joined the United States as partners on the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/gateway">Lunar Gateway</a>, a space station that will orbit the Moon, with the first modules expected to launch in 2025.</p>
<p>The United States is also seeking international support for the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html">Artemis Accords</a>, a set of principles for responsible lunar exploration and development. As of July 2023, 27 nations had signed the accords. This includes not just close allies like the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, but also less traditional partners, such as Rwanda, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates. <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2023/06/india-signs-artemis-accords-tightening-ties-with-us-in-space-race-with-china-sources/">India’s signing</a> of the accords in June 2023 was seen as a sign of strengthening ties between the U.S. and India.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A suited man stands at a NASA podium, with three panelists seated at a table next to him. In the background a green reads " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537534/original/file-20230714-27-mvzy1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Twenty-seven countries have signed on to the Artemis Accords, an international collaboration with the goal of encouraging responsible behavior on and around the Moon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1252567156/photo/in-this-handout-image-provided-by-nasa-nasa-administrator-bill-nelson-delivers-remarks-prior.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=xCp9Lb7jh7zWaj0oMRw9W08h9BjtLyQFl1SWXgceVRs=">Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s worth noting that China’s lunar program also emphasizes international engagement. In 2021, <a href="https://www.space.com/china-russia-moon-base-ilrs">China announced plans</a> to develop the International Lunar Research Station in partnership with Russia, and it has <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/in-china-us-space-race-beijing-uses-space-diplomacy/6284826.html">invited other nations to join</a>, as well. Sweden, France, Italy, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates are all participating in China’s upcoming <a href="https://spacenews.com/china-seeks-new-partners-for-lunar-and-deep-space-exploration/">lunar lander mission</a>. </p>
<p>Ever since humans last left the Moon in 1972, many have dreamed about the days when people would return. But for decades, these efforts have hit political roadblocks. This time, the United States’ plans to return to the Moon are likely to succeed – it has the cross-sector support and the strategic importance to ensure continuity, even during politically challenging times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariel Borowitz receives funding from the the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>While a return to the Moon will allow the U.S. to collaborate with other nations interested in space, this endeavor is also complicated by geopolitical tensions.Mariel Borowitz, Associate Professor of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042482023-04-20T19:59:23Z2023-04-20T19:59:23ZSpaceX launches most powerful rocket in history in explosive debut – like many first liftoffs, Starship’s test was a successful failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522218/original/file-20230420-1011-46fy37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6403%2C4204&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, launched from a spaceport in Texas. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SpaceXStarshipTestFlight/1b6cc6f972fc40678d74b21ec7aae320/photo?Query=starship%20spacex%20launch&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=69&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Eric Gay)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On April 20, 2023, a new SpaceX rocket called Starship exploded over the Gulf of Mexico three minutes into its first flight ever. SpaceX is calling the test launch a success, despite the fiery end result. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PxIOz7cAAAAJ&hl=en">space policy expert</a>, I agree that the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” – the term SpaceX uses when its rockets explode – was a very successful failure.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large rocket standing next to a tower." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522219/original/file-20230420-25-atilr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The full Starship stack comprises a Starship spacecraft (in black) on top of a rocket dubbed Super Heavy (in silver) and is nearly 400 feet (120 meters) tall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/195131646@N04/51912424446">Hotel Marmot/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The most powerful rocket ever built</h2>
<p>This launch was the first fully integrated test of SpaceX’s new Starship. Starship is the <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/">most powerful rocket ever developed</a> and is designed to be fully reusable. It is made of two different stages, or sections. The first stage, called Super Heavy, is a collection of 33 individual engines and provides <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2023/04/17/how-spacexs-starship-stacks-up-to-other-rockets/">more than twice the thrust</a> of a Saturn V, the rocket that sent astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s.</p>
<p>The first stage is designed to get the rocket to about 40 miles (65 kilometers) above Earth. Once Super Heavy’s job is done, it is supposed to separate from the rest of the craft and land safely back on the surface to be used again. At that point the second stage, called the Starship spacecraft, is supposed to ignite its own engines to carry the payload – whether people, satellites or anything else – into orbit.</p>
<h2>An explosive first flight</h2>
<p>While parts of Starship have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/04/16/science/spacex-starship-rocket-launch.html">tested previously</a>, the launch on April 20, 2023, was the <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-rocket-super-heavy-launch-what-time">first fully integrated test</a> with the Starship spacecraft stacked on top of the Super Heavy rocket. If it had been successful, once the first stage was spent, it would have separated from the upper stage and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Starship would then have continued on, eventually crashing 155 miles (250 kilometers) off of Hawaii.</p>
<p>During the SpaceX livestream, the team stated that the primary goal of this mission was to get the rocket off the launch pad. It accomplished that goal and more. Starship flew for <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-first-space-launch">more than three minutes</a>, passing through what engineers call “max Q” – the moment at which a rocket experiences the most physical stress from acceleration and air resistance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cloud of fire and smoke in the sky with pieces falling Earthward." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522220/original/file-20230420-1377-gg5xm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Starship spacecraft and Super Hheavy rocket were unable to separate during the flight, so engineers blew up the full rocket.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SpaceXStarshipTestFlight/d9babe8dbe424e19869d3283a61fc199/photo?Query=starship%20spacex%20launch&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=69&currentItemNo=13">AP Photo/Eric Gay</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to SpaceX, a few things went wrong with the launch. First, <a href="https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1649122093391282197">multiple engines went out</a> sometime before the point at which the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket were supposed to separate from each other. The two stages were also unable to separate at the predetermined moment, and with the two stages stuck together, the rocket began to tumble end over end. It is still unclear what specifically caused this failure.</p>
<p>Starship is almost 400 feet (120 meters) tall and weighs 11 million pounds (4.9 million kilograms). An out-of-control rocket full of highly flammable fuel is a very dangerous object, so to prevent any harm, SpaceX engineers triggered the self-destruct mechanism and blew up the entire rocket over the Gulf of Mexico. </p>
<p>All modern rockets have mechanisms built into them that allow engineers to <a href="https://www.patrick.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2666657/new-flight-termination-system-improves-launch-tempo/">safely destroy the rocket in flight</a> if need be. SpaceX itself has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Vw2ZDe-G0">blown up many of its own rockets</a> during testing. </p>
<h2>Success or failure?</h2>
<p>Getting to space is hard, and it is not at all unusual for new rockets to experience problems. In the past two years, both <a href="https://www.space.com/south-korea-nuri-rocket-launch-failure">South Korea</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-space-rocket-h3-failure-observation-satellite-dc137cb55bb4b72537508f1319989ce1">Japan</a> have attempted to launch new rockets that also failed to reach orbit. Commercial companies such as <a href="https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-elaborates-on-potential-cause-of-launcherone-failure/">Virgin Orbit</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/science/relativity-space-launch-terran.html">Relativity Space</a> have also lost rockets recently. None of these were crewed missions, and in most of these failed launches, flight engineers purposefully destroyed the rockets after problems arose.</p>
<p>SpaceX’s approach to testing is different from that of other groups. Its company philosophy is to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/elon-musk-says-spacex-driving-toward-orbital-starship-flight-in-2020/">fail fast</a>, find problems and fix them with the next rocket. This is different from the more <a href="https://280group.com/product-management-blog/behind-the-product-nasa-sls-vs-spacex-starship/#:%7E:text=SLS%20has%20a%20payload%20capacity,known%20as%20the%20waterfall%20method.">traditional approach</a> taken by organizations such as NASA that spend far more time identifying and planning for possible problems before attempting a launch.</p>
<p>The traditional approach tends to be slow. The development of NASA’s Space Launch System – the rocket that will <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-next-four-people-headed-to-the-moon-how-the-diverse-crew-of-artemis-ii-shows-nasas-plan-for-the-future-of-space-exploration-203214">take astronauts to the Moon</a> as part of the Artemis program – took more than 10 years before its <a href="https://theconversation.com/nasas-artemis-1-mission-to-the-moon-sets-the-stage-for-routine-space-exploration-beyond-earths-orbit-heres-what-to-expect-and-why-its-important-189447">first launch this past November</a>. SpaceX’s method has allowed the company to move much faster but can be costlier because of the time and resources it takes to build new rockets. </p>
<p>SpaceX engineers will look to identify the specific cause of the problem so that they can fix it for the next test launch. With this approach, launches like this first Starship test are successful failures that will help SpaceX reach its eventual goal of sending astronauts to Mars.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Whitman Cobb is affiliated with the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense or any of its components.</span></em></p>The launch of a new rocket is always an exciting event. SpaceX’s ‘go fast and fail’ approach means that even though the test ended with engineers blowing up the rocket, it was a valuable first flight.Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2034732023-04-12T12:11:31Z2023-04-12T12:11:31ZIs the US in a space race against China?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520344/original/file-20230411-24-ym4ttx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=112%2C90%2C4898%2C2937&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Both the U.S. and China have plans to establish bases on the Moon in the near future.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-astronauts-on-the-moon-an-american-flag-in-royalty-free-image/103405591?phrase=two%20flags%20on%20moon&adppopup=true">Caspar Benson/fStop via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Headlines proclaiming the rise of a new “space race” <a href="https://theweek.com/space/1019765/the-new-space-race#:%7E:text=The%20original%20space%20race%20was,with%20a%20new%20competitor%3A%20China.">between the U.S. and China</a> have become common in news coverage following many of the exciting launches in recent years. Experts have pointed to China’s <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/584314-us-china-space-cooperation-is-up-in-the-air-more-than-ever/">rapid advancements</a> in space as evidence of an emerging landscape where China is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/01/we-better-watch-out-nasa-boss-sounds-alarm-on-chinese-moon-ambitions-00075803">directly competing</a> with the U.S. for supremacy.</p>
<p>This idea of a space race between China and the U.S. sounds convincing given the broader narrative of China’s rise, but how accurate is it? As a professor who <a href="https://faculty.af.edu/esploro/profile/svetla_benitzhak">studies space and international relations</a>, my research aims to quantify the power and capabilities of different nations in space. When I look at various capacities, the data paints a much more complex picture than a tight space race between the U.S. and China. At least for now, the reality looks more like what I call a complex hegemony – one state, the U.S., is still <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97711-5_14">dominating in key space capabilities</a>, and this lead is further amplified by a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2021.101444">strong network of partners</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rocket taking off." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520346/original/file-20230411-20-tsr0m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SpaceX rockets carry hundreds of private satellites into orbit each year from the seven active U.S. spaceports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-carrying-a-batch-of-56-starlink-news-photo/1249311447?adppopup=true">SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A clear leader makes for a boring race</h2>
<p>Calling the current situation a race implies that the U.S. and China have roughly equal capabilities in space. But in several key areas, the U.S. is far ahead not only of China, but of all other spacefaring nations combined.</p>
<p>Starting with spending: In 2021, the U.S. space budget was roughly <a href="https://www.thespacereport.org/resources/government-space-spending-increases-19-from-2020-to-2021/">US$59.8 billion</a>. China has been investing heavily in space and rocket technology over the last decade and has doubled its spending in the last five years. But with an estimated budget of <a href="https://www.thespacereport.org/resources/government-space-spending-increases-19-from-2020-to-2021/">$16.18 billion</a> in 2021, it is still spending less than a third of the U.S. budget.</p>
<p>The U.S. also leads significantly in the number of active satellites. Currently, there are <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database">5,465 total operational satellites</a> in orbit around Earth. The U.S. operates 3,433, or 63% of those. In contrast, China has 541.</p>
<p>Similarly, the U.S. has more <a href="https://aerospace.csis.org/spaceports-of-the-world/">active spaceports</a> than China. With <a href="https://aerospace.csis.org/spaceports-of-the-world/">seven operational launch sites at home and abroad</a> and at least <a href="https://www.faa.gov/space/spaceports_by_state">13 additional</a> spaceports <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/worlds-rocket-launch-sites-fullsize.html">in development</a>, the U.S. has more options to launch payloads into various orbits. In contrast, China has only <a href="https://aerospace.csis.org/data/spaceports-of-the-world/">four operational spaceports</a> with <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/worlds-rocket-launch-sites-fullsize.html">two more planned</a>, all located within its own territory.</p>
<h2>Parity with nuance</h2>
<p>While the U.S. may have a clear advantage over China in many areas of space, in some measures, the differences between the two countries are more nuanced.</p>
<p>In 2021, for instance, China attempted <a href="https://www.thespacereport.org/register/the-space-report-2021-quarter-4-pdf-download/">55 orbital launches</a>, four more than the U.S.’s 51. The total numbers may be similar, but the rockets carried very different payloads to orbit. The vast majority – 84% – of Chinese launches had government or military payloads intended mostly for electronic intelligence and optical imaging. Meanwhile, in the U.S., 61% of launches were for nonmilitary, academic or commercial use, predominantly for Earth observation or telecommunications.</p>
<p>Space stations are another area where there are important differences hiding beneath the surface. Since the 1990s, the U.S. has worked with <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/cooperation/index.html">14 other nations</a>, including Russia, to operate the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/facts-and-figures">International Space Station</a>. The ISS is quite large, with 16 modules, and has driven <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/iss-20-years-20-breakthroughs">technological and scientific breakthroughs</a>. But the ISS is now 24 years old, and participating nations are planning to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-provides-updated-international-space-station-transition-plan">retire it in 2030</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram of the Tiangong space station." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520345/original/file-20230411-20-xi403n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Construction of China’s Tiangong space station began in 2021, and the small, three-module station opened for research in December 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tiangong_Space_Station_config_2022_EN.jpg#/media/File:Tiangong_Space_Station_config_2022_EN.jpg">Shujianyang/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Chinese <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/science/tiangong-space-station.html">Tiangong space station</a> is the new kid on the block. Construction was only <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-new-space-station-opens-for-business-in-an-increasingly-competitive-era-of-space-activity-195882">completed in late 2022</a>, and it is much smaller – with only three modules. China has built and launched all of the different parts and remains the sole operator of the station, despite <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/29/c_137213186.htm">having invited others to join</a>.</p>
<p>China is undoubtedly expanding its space capabilities, and in a report published in August 2022, the Pentagon <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2022/08/china-could-overtake-us-space-without-urgent-action-report/376261/">predicted that China would surpass U.S. capabilities</a> in space as early as 2045. However, it is unlikely that the U.S. will remain stagnant, as it continues to increase funding for space.</p>
<h2>Allies as force multipliers</h2>
<p>A major point of difference between the U.S. and China is the nature and number of international collaborations. </p>
<p>For decades, NASA has been fruitfully cultivating <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/nasa-partners-worldwide">international</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3124/commercial-partners/">commercial</a> partnerships in everything from developing specific space technologies to flying humans into space. The U.S. government has also <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2023/02/spacecom-expands-allied-industy-cooperation-gen-dickinson/">signed 169 space data sharing agreements</a> with 33 states and intergovernmental organizations, 129 with commercial partners and seven with academic institutions.</p>
<p>China also has allies that help with space – most notably <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-26/china-russia-alliance-in-space-stumbles-in-bid-to-surpass-the-us">Russia</a> and members of the <a href="http://www.apsco.int/">Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization</a>, including Iran, Pakistan, Thailand and Turkey. China’s collaborators are, however, fewer in number and have far less developed space capabilities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man signing a document with a Brazilian and American flag on the desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520347/original/file-20230411-28-nwvax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In just two years, 24 nations, including Brazil, have joined the U.S.-led Artemis Accords. This international agreement outlines the goals of space exploration in the near future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Assinatura_de_termo_de_coopera%C3%A7%C3%A3o_-_Programa_Artemis_BR_US_(50720570051).jpg#/media/File:Assinatura_de_termo_de_coopera%C3%A7%C3%A3o_-_Programa_Artemis_BR_US_(50720570051).jpg">Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Efforts to return to the surface of the Moon excellently highlight this difference in ally support and synergy. Both the U.S. and China have plans to send people to the surface of the Moon and to establish lunar bases in the near future. These competing lunar aims are often <a href="https://time.com/longform/race-to-the-moon/">cited as evidence of the space race</a>, but they are very different in terms of partnerships and scope.</p>
<p>In 2019, <a href="https://spacenews.com/china-russia-to-cooperate-on-lunar-orbiter-landing-missions/">Russia and China agreed</a> to jointly go to the Moon by 2028. Russia is contributing its Luna landers and Oryol crewed orbiters, while China is improving its Chang’e robotic spacecraft. Their future International Lunar Research Station is “<a href="https://www.space.com/russia-china-moon-research-station-agreement">open to all interested parties and international partners</a>,” but, to date, no additional countries have committed to the Chinese and Russian effort.</p>
<p>In contrast, since 2020, 24 nations have joined the U.S.-led <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html">Artemis Accords</a>. This international agreement outlines shared <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html">principles of cooperation</a> for future space activity and, through the Artemis Program, specifically aims to return people to the Moon by 2025 and establish a Moon base and lunar space station soon after.</p>
<p>In addition to the broad international participation, the Artemis Program has contracted with a staggering <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/solicitations/tipping_points/2020_selections">number of private companies</a> to develop a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-partners-to-advance-tipping-point-technologies-for-the-moon-mars">range of technologies</a>, from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-five-us-companies-to-mature-artemis-lander-concepts">lunar landers</a> to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-icon-advance-lunar-construction-technology-for-moon-missions">lunar construction methods</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/centennial_challenges/nasa-announces-newest-winners-in-break-the-ice-lunar-challenge.html">more</a>.</p>
<h2>China is not the only game in town</h2>
<p>While China may seem like the main competitor of the U.S. in space, other countries have space capabilities and aspirations that rival those of China.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64002977">India</a> spends billions on space and plans to <a href="https://in.mashable.com/science/44883/india-is-returning-to-the-moon-chandrayaan-3-mission-will-launch-this-year">return to the Moon</a>, possibly <a href="https://www.secretsofuniverse.in/lunar-exploration-mission-isro-jaxa/">with Japan</a>, in the near future. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01252-7">South Korea, Israel, Japan, the United Arab Emirates</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/turkey-sets-sights-on-moon-mission-in-2023">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/27263-germany-plans-moon-mission">Germany</a> and <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-told-to-aim-for-a-moon-mission/">the European Union</a> are also planning independent lunar missions. Japan has developed impressive technological space capabilities, including rendezvous proximity technology to send a <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/hayabusa-2/in-depth/">spacecraft to an asteroid and bring samples back to Earth</a>, that rival and even surpass <a href="https://spacenews.com/chinas-shijian-21-spacecraft-docked-with-and-towed-a-dead-satellite/">those of China</a>.</p>
<p>In the past, the space race was about who could reach the stars first and return home. Today, the goal has shifted to surviving and even thriving in the harsh environment of space. I believe it is not surprising that, despite its decisive lead, the U.S. has partnered with others to go to the Moon and beyond. China is doing the same, but on a smaller scale. The picture that emerges is not of a “race” but of complex system with the U.S. as a leader working closely with extensive networks of partners.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Defense, or of any organization the author is affiliated with, including the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force</span></em></p>China has invested massively in its space capabilities in recent years and is now a major competitor with the US. But according to a space policy expert, the US still dominates space by most measures.Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Assistant Professor of Space and International Relations, Air UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022042023-04-05T19:18:01Z2023-04-05T19:18:01ZHow can we make the space sector more sustainable?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518447/original/file-20230330-17-2bzlma.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C1897%2C1474&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's impression of the 30,000 or so space debris orbiting around the Earth.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hopeful_in_nj/3273279798">Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When talking about space, one might think about the stars one sees at night or a good sci-fi film. But space is also crowded with satellites, spacecrafts and astronauts, whose missions can last anywhere from several days to months. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/how-many-satellites-orbiting-earth/">8,216 unmanned satellites</a> revolve around Earth’s orbits to improve our daily lives. Communication satellites contribute to enhancing Internet access in regions deprived of infrastructure (so-called “white areas”); meteorology satellites have become essential for weather forecasts, while navigation satellites (including GPS) are crucial for current and future transportation needs such as automatic driving vehicles.</p>
<p>Technological advances in the sector have unlocked many new business opportunities. The industry can now launch constellations of thousand satellites to reach corners of the earth as it had never before (e.g., <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-junk-astronomers-worry-as-private-companies-push-ahead-with-satellite-launches-137572">Starlink</a>), while new markets such as space mining and space tourism are steadily growing. National champions (including the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/09">United States</a> and <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/elysee/module/19326/fr">France</a>) have also framed the space sector as a top economic priority. It is thought the technological benefits accrued by companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin or OneWeb, launched by billionaires such as Elon Musk, will also be able to trickle down to non-space sectors such as the energy or freight industries.</p>
<h2>Issues for sustainable space</h2>
<p>For all these benefits, civil society appears increasingly concerned about the sector’s ecological footprint.</p>
<p>The first main issue to tackle is <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-debris-what-can-we-do-with-unwanted-satellites-40736">space debris</a> which are defunct human-made objects in Earth orbit that no longer serve a useful function. These objects include non-operating satellites, abandoned parts of launch vehicles, which carry satellites or spacecraft into space, decommissioned satellites, and even debris resulting from the collision between space objects. In practice, this means more than <a href="https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_s_Space_Environment_Report_2022">30,000 harmful space debris</a> and 3,364 non-operating satellites could collide into an estimated 4,859 active operating satellites, with catastrophic implications for our daily lives in sectors spanning transport and security to finance.</p>
<p>Some space activities could also impact the Earth’s environment, including air, water and soil pollution, and outer-space contaminations. Take, for example, the rising popularity of space tourism. Given <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021EF002612">soot from spacecrafts currently warms up the Earth</a> at a rate that is 500 times greater than that released by planes, there is growing anxiety over the sector’s associated greenhouse gas emissions and toxic substances. As a result, the debate over space activities cannot be the prerogative of the space community alone.</p>
<p>In an attempt to resolve these issues, our <a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/tmsd_00063_1">recent research</a> has identified three promising working avenues:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Collaboration</p></li>
<li><p>Green space technology</p></li>
<li><p>Policies aiming at sustainable development</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Tailor solutions for sustainable space</h2>
<p>The collaboration needs to be carried out <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/radm.1254">between five key parties</a>: governments, academia, the industry, civil society, and environmental players such as NGOs. Nevertheless, while the industry has already developed an awareness of the issues at stake, the input of academic institutions has yet to be clarified. In particular, academia could provide new ideas in the areas of debris identification and removal, space traffic management, space situational awareness, and in-orbit servicing.</p>
<p>The second solution consists in developing green space technology that would emit less greenhouse gas emissions and other hazardous chemical substances. According to <a href="https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Clean_Space/Green_technologies">the European Space Agency</a>, these green technologies could minimise the energy consumption throughout the entire life-cycle of a space mission, save up on resources, while also minimising toxic substances to protect human well-being and biodiversity.</p>
<p>Green space solutions to investigate include space traffic management, in-orbit servicing and active debris removal on the one hand. When it comes to the spacecrafts themselves, scientists should also start to imagine greener propulsion, cleaner fuels, and alternatives to toxic material. For example, following the path of SpaceX, all launch vehicle manufacturers are also considering reusable launchers that will reduce CO<sub>2</sub> gas emission in a life cycle.</p>
<p>The final solution consists in developing policies that can at once encourage space commercialisation and enhance sustainable policy regime. One instance of this are green innovation policies assisting low-carbon small and medium enterprises. It will be important to align these policies with the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/">17 pillars of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations</a>. To achieve this agenda, some indicators are emerging such as space sustainability rating and ESG (environment, social and governance).</p>
<p>We think that we are still on time to solve the two main issues in sustainable space: space debris and the sector’s overall ecological impact on Earth. However, space organisations cannot remain idle awaiting that “space shame” – a space version of <em>flight shame</em> (from the original Swedish concept of <a href="https://theconversation.com/flight-shaming-how-to-spread-the-campaign-that-made-swedes-give-up-flying-for-good-133842"><em>flygskam</em></a>) in the aviation sector – propels them into action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nonthapat Pulsiri has received funding from the SIRIUS Chair.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victor Dos Santos Paulino has received funding from the SIRIUS Chair.</span></em></p>How might the space industry reduce its ecological footprint and better manage the debris it leaves in its wake?Nonthapat Pulsiri, Chercheur post-doctorant en stratégie, innovation et entrepreneuriat, Chaire Sirius, TBS EducationVictor Dos Santos Paulino, Professeur associé en management de l'innovation et stratégie, Chaire Sirius, TBS EducationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1993532023-03-03T13:24:40Z2023-03-03T13:24:40ZRadio interference from satellites is threatening astronomy – a proposed zone for testing new technologies could head off the problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513013/original/file-20230301-20-knf7oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1281%2C1281&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Radio observatories like the Green Bank Telescope are in radio quiet zones that protect them from interference.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/green-bank-telescope/">NRAO/AUI/NSF</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Visible light is just one part of the electromagnetic spectrum that astronomers use to study the universe. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-james-webb-space-telescope-is-finally-ready-to-do-science-and-its-seeing-the-universe-more-clearly-than-even-its-own-engineers-hoped-for-184989">James Webb Space Telescope</a> was built to see infrared light, other <a href="https://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/">space telescopes capture X-ray images</a>, and observatories like the <a href="https://greenbankobservatory.org/science/telescopes/gbt/">Green Bank Telescope</a>, the <a href="https://public.nrao.edu/telescopes/VLA/">Very Large Array</a>, the <a href="http://www.almaobservatory.org/">Atacama Large Millimeter Array</a> and dozens of other observatories around the world work at radio wavelengths. </p>
<p>Radio telescopes are facing a problem. All satellites, whatever their function, use radio waves to transmit information to the surface of the Earth. Just as <a href="https://theconversation.com/night-skies-are-getting-9-6-brighter-every-year-as-light-pollution-erases-stars-for-everyone-199383">light pollution can hide a starry night sky</a>, radio transmissions can swamp out the radio waves astronomers use to learn about black holes, newly forming stars and the evolution of galaxies.</p>
<p>We are three scientists who work in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher-De-Pree">astronomy</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y5L4A3gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">wireless</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eEqTPcwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">technology</a>. With <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-earth-166715">tens of thousands of satellites</a> expected to go into orbit in the coming years and increasing use on the ground, the radio spectrum is getting crowded. Radio quiet zones – regions, usually located in remote areas, where ground-based radio transmissions are limited or prohibited – have protected radio astronomy in the past.</p>
<p>As the problem of radio pollution continues to grow, scientists, engineers and policymakers will need to figure out how everyone can effectively share the limited range of radio frequencies. One solution that we have been working on for the past few years is to create a facility where astronomers and engineers <a href="https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/spectrum-innovation-initiative-national-radio">can test new technologies</a> to prevent radio interference from blocking out the night sky.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing what wavelengths of light correspond with different types of radiation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513004/original/file-20230301-22-mo36il.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Different telescopes capture different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, with radio telescopes collecting radiation of the longest wavelengths.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EM_Spectrum_Properties_edit.svg">InductiveLoad/NASA/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Astronomy with radio waves</h2>
<p>Radio waves are the longest wavelength emissions on the electromagnetic spectrum, meaning that the distance between two peaks of the wave is relatively far apart. Radio telescopes collect radio waves in wavelengths from millimeter to meter wavelengths. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An orange ring surrounding a dark center." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513010/original/file-20230301-1800-alvapb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first direct image of a black hole was created using the Event Horizon Telescope, combining observations from eight radio telescopes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_hole_-_Messier_87_crop_max_res.jpg#/media/File:Black_hole_-_Messier_87_crop_max_res.jpg">European Southern Observatory/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even if you are unfamiliar with radio telescopes, you have probably heard about some of the research they do. The fantastic <a href="https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/astronomers-capture-first-image-of-a-black-hole/">first images of accretion disks</a> around <a href="https://theconversation.com/say-hello-to-sagittarius-a-the-black-hole-at-the-center-of-the-milky-way-galaxy-183008">black holes</a> were both produced by the <a href="https://eventhorizontelescope.org/about">Event Horizon Telescope</a>. This telescope is a global network of eight radio telescopes, and each of the individual telescopes that make up the Event Horizon Telescope is located in a place with very little radio frequency interference: a radio quiet zone.</p>
<p>A radio quiet zone is a region where ground-based transmitters, like cellphone towers, are required to lower their power levels so as not to affect sensitive radio equipment. The U.S. has two such zones. The largest is the <a href="https://info.nrao.edu/do/spectrum-management/national-radio-quiet-zone-nrqz-1">National Radio Quiet Zone</a>, which covers 13,000 square miles (34,000 square kilometers) mostly in West Virginia and Virginia. It contains the <a href="https://greenbankobservatory.org">Green Bank Observatory</a>. The other, <a href="https://its.ntia.gov/research-topics/table-mountain/tm-home/">the Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone</a>, in Colorado, supports research by a number of federal agencies.</p>
<p>Similar radio quiet zones are home to telescopes in <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/atnf/mro">Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.sarao.ac.za/science/meerkat/about-meerkat/">South Africa</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/APEMC.2013.7360597">China</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pgysWWwESfU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Large satellite constellations, like those of Starlink, can be seen marching in lines across night skies and harm both visible and radio astronomy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A satellite boom</h2>
<p>On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit. As the small satellite circled the globe, amateur radio enthusiasts all over the world were able to <a href="https://ethw.org/Sputnik">pick up the radio signals</a> it was beaming back to Earth. Since that historic flight, wireless signals have become part of almost every aspect of modern life – from aircraft navigation to Wi-Fi – and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-earth-166715">number of satellites has grown exponentially</a>. </p>
<p>The more radio transmissions there are, the more challenging it becomes to deal with <a href="https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/11467/">interference in radio quiet zones</a>. Existing laws do not protect these zones from satellite transmitters, which can have devastating effects. In one example, transmissions from an Iridium satellite <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12800/spectrum-management-for-science-in-the-21st-century">completely obscured</a> the observations of a faint star made in a protected band allocated to radio astronomy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="One chart showing a single object and another showing a mess of lines." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512917/original/file-20230301-16-2at6pw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two images from the Very Large Array in New Mexico show what a faint star looks like to a radio telescope without satellite interference, left, and with satellite interference, right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">G. Taylor, UNM</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Satellite internet networks like Starlink, OneWeb and others will eventually be flying over every location on Earth and transmitting radio waves down to the surface. Soon, no location will be truly quiet for radio astronomy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The light pollution of a large city against the night sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513008/original/file-20230301-22-stgk35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just as with light pollution, the more development there is on Earth and in the sky, the more radio interference there will be.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Tan_Mountain_Lights.jpg">Gppercy/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Interference in the sky and on the ground</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vla/docs/manuals/obsguide/rfi">problem of radio interference is not new</a>.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, the Russian <a href="https://glonass-iac.ru/en/about_glonass/">Global Navigation Satellite System</a> – essentially the Soviet Union’s version of GPS – <a href="http://www.iucaf.org/sschool/procs/glonass.pdf">began transmitting at a frequency</a> that was officially protected for <a href="https://hal-enac.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01022448/document">radio astronomy</a>. Researchers <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0002516">recommended a number of fixes</a> for this interference. By the time operators of the Russian navigation system agreed to change the transmitting frequency of the satellites, <a href="https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1994PASP..106..807C">a lot of harm</a> had already been done due to the lack of testing and communication.</p>
<p>Many satellites look down at Earth using parts of the radio spectrum to monitor characteristics like <a href="https://land.copernicus.eu/global/products/ssm">surface soil moisture</a> that are important for weather prediction and climate research. The frequencies they rely on are protected under <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-RA.769-2-200305-I/en">international agreements</a> but are also under threat from radio interference. </p>
<p>A recent study showed that a large fraction of NASA’s soil moisture measurements <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2013.2281266">experience interference</a> from ground-based radar systems and consumer electronics. There are systems in place to <a href="https://salinity.oceansciences.org/smap-radiometer.htm">monitor and account for the interference</a>, but avoiding the problem altogether through international communication and prelaunch testing would be a better option for astronomy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A number of satellite dishes in a remote desert." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513011/original/file-20230301-424-ivg4js.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most radio telescopes, like the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile, are in areas far from any source of interference. But a new site designed to test technologies and interference solutions could prevent future problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1111a/">ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), J. Guarda</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Solutions to a crowded radio spectrum</h2>
<p>As the radio spectrum continues to <a href="https://whyy.org/segments/our-gadgets-increasingly-crowd-the-radio-spectrum-theyre-crowding-out-science-too/">get more crowded</a>, users will have to share. This could involve sharing in time, in space or in frequency. Regardless of the specifics, solutions will need to be tested in a controlled environment. There are early signs of cooperation. The National Science Foundation and SpaceX recently announced an <a href="https://beta.nsf.gov/news/statement-nsf-astronomy-coordination-agreement">astronomy coordination agreement</a> to benefit radio astronomy.</p>
<p>Working with astronomers, engineers, software and wireless specialists, and with the support of the National Science Foundation, we have been <a href="https://www.cs.albany.edu/nrdz-ra/index.html">leading a series of workshops</a> to develop what a national radio dynamic zone could provide. This zone would be similar to existing radio quiet zones, covering a large area with restrictions on radio transmissions nearby. Unlike a quiet zone, the facility would be outfitted with sensitive spectrum monitors that would allow astronomers, satellite companies and technology developers to test receivers and transmitters together at large scales. The goal would be to support creative and cooperative uses of the radio spectrum. For example, a zone established near a radio telescope could test schemes to provide broader bandwidth access for both active uses, like cell towers, and passive uses, like radio telescopes.</p>
<p>For <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.005.2200389">a new paper our team just published</a>, we spoke with users and regulators of the radio spectrum, ranging from radio astronomers to satellite operators. We found that most agreed that a radio dynamic zone could help solve, and potentially avoid, many critical interference issues in the coming decades.</p>
<p>Such a zone doesn’t exist yet, but our team and many people across the U.S. are working to refine the concept so that radio astronomy, Earth-sensing satellites and government and commercial wireless systems can find ways to share the precious natural resource that is the radio spectrum.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199353/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Gordon De Pree has received funding from National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher R. Anderson receives funding from the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariya Zheleva receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Many telescopes use the radio spectrum to learn about the cosmos. Just as human development leads to more light pollution, increasing numbers of satellites are leading to more radio interference.Christopher Gordon De Pree, Deputy Electromagnetic Spectrum Manager, National Radio Astronomy ObservatoryChristopher R. Anderson, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, United States Naval AcademyMariya Zheleva, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2007462023-03-01T10:17:19Z2023-03-01T10:17:19ZStarlink: SpaceX’s new internet service could be a gamechanger in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512623/original/file-20230228-16-j6y7vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">SpaceX's Starlink service is slowly arriving in Africa, starting with Nigeria and Rwanda.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s hard for many of us to imagine a world without instant, limitless internet access. Some have even argued that it should, alongside access to clean water and electricity, be considered a <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news-archive/2020/internet-access-is-a-necessity-not-a-luxury-it-should-be-a-basic-right">basic human right</a>.</p>
<p>But in fact only <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/#statisticContainer">64.4% of the global population</a> as of January 2023 are internet users. Asia and Europe are home to most of the people who are connected.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1176654/internet-penetration-rate-africa-compared-to-global-average/">Africa</a> comes in third. However, accessibility varies wildly across the continent. About 66% of people in southern Africa are internet users. In east Africa the figure is 26%; it is just 24% in central Africa. People in rural areas have far less access than those in the continent’s urban areas.</p>
<p>Internet access <a href="https://www.mandelarhodes.org/news-impact/yam/connectivity-now-why-internet-access-in-africa-more-vital-than-ever/">opens up the world</a> in many ways. It can entertain, educate, enable payments and even <a href="https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/3ff0cd3bf0d813bec233f3583aaa4691-0050022021/original/3G-Internet.pdf">bolster democracy</a>.</p>
<p>That’s why advances in providing internet access to people in Africa are worth celebrating. In January 2023, the US company <a href="https://www.spacex.com/">SpaceX</a>, which manufactures and launches spacecraft and communication satellites, <a href="https://gizmodo.com/spacex-starlink-nigeria-africa-first-1850054266">announced</a> that its Starlink service was available in Nigeria. This was a first for the continent. It has also since become available in Rwanda. </p>
<p>Starlink is a satellite-based internet service. It is <a href="https://www.starlink.com/map">set to be rolled out</a> elsewhere on the continent, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya and Tanzania, later this year. More coverage is to come in 2024. </p>
<p>This could be an important way to fill Africa’s connectivity gaps, which have arisen because of poor digital infrastructure and the high costs of investing in fibre optic cables or mobile phone masts, particularly in rural and remote areas. The United Nations has <a href="https://www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/working-groups/DigitalMoonshotforAfrica_Report.pdf">a strategy</a> for reaching universal access across Africa by 2030, but this won’t be possible without innovative approaches.</p>
<p>Starlink is one such innovation. Since all its users are tapping into the same infrastructure, in space, there’s less need for erecting mobile phone masts or laying fibre optic cable <a href="https://qz.com/africa/2171730/starlink-is-coming-to-africa-but-who-will-use-it">on land</a>.</p>
<h2>What is Starlink?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.starlink.com/technology">Starlink</a> is a network of thousands of satellites located close to the Earth – about 550km from the planet’s surface – that provide broadband internet access. </p>
<p>Of course, satellites are already used for internet connectivity. But a traditional internet satellite is a single geostationary object; its position in orbit is fixed in relation to the Earth. These satellites are also located more than 35,000km from Earth, so it takes a long time for the signal to reach the end user. As anyone who has tried to use the internet in a remote area knows, the further a signal travels, the worse it gets, so traditional internet satellites tend to be slow and can be unreliable. They aren’t able to adequately support activities like live streaming, online gaming and video calls. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nanosatellite-launch-is-a-big-step-forward-for-african-space-science-175069">Nanosatellite launch is a big step forward for African space science</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Starlink’s Low-Earth Orbit satellites are able to interconnect and relay signals between each other, creating fast, stable internet service. There are also a lot of them: on 17 February 2023, SpaceX <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/con/star/stats.html">said</a> it had launched 3,981 satellites in total, with 3,639 currently operational.</p>
<p>The company can launch its own satellites on demand and update them with the latest technology as required, which it says <a href="https://www.starlink.com/technology">adds to their reliability</a>. </p>
<p>Much of Africa’s internet access is currently being provided through mobile, wireless internet – signals are relayed from land-based towers. This has less coverage and is slower than satellite internet access.</p>
<p>One area of concern when it comes to Starlink is the cost. For example, at the beginning of February 2023, FiberOne, a broadband internet provider in Nigeria, <a href="https://techpoint.africa/2023/02/01/do-you-really-need-starlink-in-nigeria/">was providing</a> internet with speeds of up to 500Mbps, which is fast. The installation fee was N32,231 (about US$70) and the monthly subscription cost around N100,000 (US$220). Starlink in Nigeria, meanwhile, <a href="https://techpoint.africa/2023/02/01/do-you-really-need-starlink-in-nigeria/">costs</a> about N276,000 (US$599) once-off for the kit and installation, then charges a monthly subscription fee of about N198,000 (US$43). </p>
<p>Starlink is cheaper in the long term than both fibre optic and mobile internet providers. But can an <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354685498_The_Determinants_of_Rural_Households%27_Income_in_Nigeria">average rural Nigerian household</a> with a monthly income of less than N28,000 (US$60) afford it? Given that average incomes are similarly low in most rural and remote parts of Africa, there’s a risk that Starlink’s targeted users on the continent won’t be able to use the service. </p>
<h2>Research uses</h2>
<p>These concerns aside, there’s no doubt that faster internet can propel Africa forward. Despite the shortcomings of mobile, wireless internet, it has been credited with <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/194000/what-does-technology-leapfrogging-really-mean-for-africa.html">greatly advancing Africa</a> technologically. Services like Starlink could fuel even greater growth in several areas. These include education, participation in democracy and governance, disaster risk reduction and mitigation, health, and agriculture. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pasha-34-how-digital-technologies-can-help-farmers-in-africa-122956">Pasha 34: How digital technologies can help farmers in Africa</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As a researcher in planetary and space science whose work <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365809949_Frequency_ratio-based_flood_vulnerability_modeling_over_the_greater_Accra_Region_of_Ghana">includes</a>, among other things, the use of satellite data for monitoring and modelling in relation to geology, I am especially interested in the ways these satellites could be used beyond internet access, for tasks like <a href="https://ts2.space/en/the-role-of-starlink-in-scientific-research/">remote sensing and Earth observations</a>. I hope that Starlink’s arrival in Africa will help usher the continent into a new phase of technological development.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/using-space-to-help-global-development/">For example</a>, satellite images can give information on crop yield, helping farmers to make better decisions on irrigation, fertilisation and harvesting. They also allow for widespread and effective monitoring of reservoir levels, as well as increasing transparency about how much water is available, thereby providing early warnings of shortages and uniform data among countries with common water sources. </p>
<p>Governments, researchers and industries can buy access to specialised Starlink satellites called <a href="https://swarm.space/">Swarm</a> for data they need for these kinds of projects. The sheer number and speed of Starlink’s satellites means they can gather a lot of data, quickly, and offer frequent updates. Starlink’s arrival in Africa is a great opportunity for the continent’s scientists, governments and industries to collaborate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200746/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marian Selorm Sapah does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Internet access opens up the world in many ways.Marian Selorm Sapah, Lecturer/Research Scientist, University of GhanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1918552023-01-30T19:10:08Z2023-01-30T19:10:08ZThe hype is out of this world, but mining in space won’t save the Earth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506962/original/file-20230130-14-h5lwde.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C4%2C2871%2C1612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Planetary Resources</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We know the world must move to cleaner energy sources to head off the worst effects of climate change, but the technology required for the transition is very <a href="https://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/961711588875536384/Minerals-for-Climate-Action-The-Mineral-Intensity-of-the-Clean-Energy-Transition.pdf">mineral-intensive</a>. So where will all these resources come from?</p>
<p>Many in the space industry are pointing beyond Earth. Asteroids and the Moon are thought to contain abundant platinum group elements needed in the transition, as well as other valuable resources. This has prompted <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/09/space-mining-business-still-highly-speculative.html">a push</a> towards commercial mining in outer space. </p>
<p>California-based company AstroForge is the latest company to make strides into the space mining rush. The company last week <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-24/asteroid-mining-startup-astroforge-plans-first-platinum-refining-space-missions">announced</a> plans to launch two missions this year – one to refine platinum from a sample of asteroid-like material, and another to find an asteroid near Earth to mine.</p>
<p>Proponents of mining in space often point to the potential benefits for Earth and its people. But how certain are these benefits? Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922003627#ack0001">research</a> casts doubt on many of them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="three men in suit jackets embrace" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506961/original/file-20230130-22-7k736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proponents of mining in space often point to the potential benefits for Earth and its people. Pictured: Officials from the Planetary Resources company in 2012 after announcing a plan to mine nearby asteroids. The company is now defunct.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elaine Thompson/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A very risky bet</h2>
<p>Space mining supporters often claim a bounty of space resources exist, and exploiting them would generate <a href="https://www.mining.com/infographic-the-facts-and-figures-that-make-space-mining-real/">trillions of dollars</a> in mining revenue.</p>
<p>But information on resources in space is scarce, highly varied and uncertain.</p>
<p>Such statements rely strongly on remote-sensing technology and modelling: techniques that use interpretations, estimates, assumptions and probabilities. Whether mineral deposits lying beyond Earth are commercially viable has not yet been proven. </p>
<p>Work on this is underway. The <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex">OSIRIS-REx space mission</a>, for example, gathered a small sample from near-Earth asteroid Bennu, and is bringing it back to Earth this year so it can be studied. </p>
<p>This year’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-24/asteroid-mining-startup-astroforge-plans-first-platinum-refining-space-missions?leadSource=uverify%20wall">AstroForge</a> missions also aim to firm up the industry’s viability.</p>
<p>But so far, investing in the extraction of space resources is even more speculative than mining on Earth. </p>
<p>Metallic minerals are present in meteorites and other space rocks. But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063322001945">research</a> suggests that, except for platinum group elements, the concentrations of most metals in space materials may be lower than on Earth. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D95QeTK9bEc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">NASA’s OSIRIS-REx space mission will arrive back on Earth this year.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where will the waste go?</h2>
<p>Mining on Earth often requires robust equipment to extract, handle and process large volumes of rock. Most of the rock is disposed of as waste once the material of interest, such as copper, is obtained. </p>
<p>Waste disposal will be even more challenging in space. The full environmental and safety implications are not yet clear. But we know space debris already <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-debris-is-coming-down-more-frequently-what-are-the-chances-it-could-hit-someone-or-damage-property-188062">falls to Earth</a> quite frequently.</p>
<p>For example, space debris found in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales last year <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/03/spacex-capsule-confirmed-as-source-of-debris-that-landed-on-australian-farm">was confirmed</a> as belonging to a craft owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. And in the US state of Oklahoma in 1997, a woman out exercising was <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98700&page=1">reportedly hit</a> in the shoulder by a piece of falling space junk.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1617116866740191234"}"></div></p>
<p>Mining on Earth often <a href="https://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues/faq/how-can-metal-mining-impact-environment">damages the natural environment</a>, impacting land, waterways, air quality and ecosystems. </p>
<p>In places where mining is tightly regulated, environmental and human safety concerns must be addressed. But there are also countless examples around the world where mining regulation is lax. </p>
<p>To date, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-mining-is-not-science-fiction-and-canada-could-figure-prominently-155855">no regulations</a> or adequate waste management plans for mining off-Earth. Space mining has a lot to learn from the best practices and missteps of mining on Earth. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/space-debris-is-coming-down-more-frequently-what-are-the-chances-it-could-hit-someone-or-damage-property-188062">Space debris is coming down more frequently. What are the chances it could hit someone or damage property?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Space is not a supermarket</h2>
<p>In 2017, US space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922003627">stated</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every kind of element that you need is available in space in very large quantities. And so, over the next couple of hundred years, that will allow us to both continue to have a dynamic, expanding, growing, thriving, interesting civilisation, while still protecting this planet. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>So will space really provide all the minerals Earth needs in coming centuries?</p>
<p>The current hype around off-Earth extraction centres on platinum group elements such as palladium, rhodium and platinum. These elements are present in metallic asteroids.</p>
<p>Platinum is used in catalytic converters to <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2014/3064/pdf/fs2014-3064.pdf">decrease emissions in car exhausts</a>, as well as in medical equipment and electronic devices. </p>
<p>But we need a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57234610">much broader spectrum of commodities</a> for the low-carbon transition. For example, large quantities of lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements are needed to make batteries and magnets. </p>
<p><a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ac235f">Researchers claim</a> to have uncovered two metal-rich near-Earth asteroids that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/10/19/the-age-of-space-mining-just-got-closer-as-scientists-discover-two-asteroids-whose-precious-metals-would-exceed-global-reserves/?sh=54d1f6ca713b">could contain</a> very large quantities of iron, nickel and cobalt.</p>
<p>But the technology for accessing these minerals is still a long way off (if it happens at all). But the renewable energy transition must happen urgently – and for now, the minerals will be extracted on Earth.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="aerial view of a lithium mine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506967/original/file-20230130-22-2ulu5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Large volumes of lithium are needed in the clean energy transition. Pictured: a lithium mine in the Northern Territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fleet Space Technologies</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new colonialism</h2>
<p>The current space race reflects a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-billionaire-space-race-reflects-a-colonial-mindset-that-fails-to-imagine-a-different-world-165235">colonial mindset</a> in which the powerful rush to stake a claim in new territories – and whoever gets there first gets the riches.</p>
<p>This narrative is one of “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1c1daa87-c48e-4d19-a574-046eadb5b665">techno-futurism</a>”, where progress is measured by wealth generation, which in turn relies on technology development. </p>
<p>Should this <a href="https://theconversation.com/lunar-gold-rush-is-about-to-start-and-we-could-exhaust-the-solar-system-in-fewer-than-500-years-117450">gold-rush style bonanza</a> prove viable, only a small proportion of people would pocket the profits. The gap between the very rich and the rest of society would only widen.</p>
<h2>Look down, not up</h2>
<p>Viable and responsible space mining is a very distant prospect. But climate change is an urgent problem that needs solutions right now. </p>
<p>Despite the many downsides, mining on Earth remains essential to the transition to a low-carbon energy economy.</p>
<p>Rather than space mining, positive environmental and social outcomes on Earth are better achieved by ensuring terrestrial mining is done in the most <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051429">sustainable</a> way possible. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-lithium-for-clean-energy-but-rio-tintos-planned-serbian-mine-reminds-us-it-shouldnt-come-at-any-cost-167902">We need lithium for clean energy, but Rio Tinto's planned Serbian mine reminds us it shouldn't come at any cost</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191855/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juliana Segura-Salazar received funding from European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant No 730411 (2016–2020): IMP@CT, Integrated Mobile modularised Plant and Containerised Tools for selective, low-impact mining of small high-grade deposits. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:k.moore@exeter.ac.uk">k.moore@exeter.ac.uk</a> received funding from University of Exeter Global Partnership in Earth Humanities; a NERC Discipline Hopping for Environmental Solutions grant ‘Mining unCommon Ground’; European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant No 730411 (2016–2020): IMP@CT, Integrated Mobile modularised Plant and Containerised Tools for selective, low-impact mining of small high-grade deposits. </span></em></p>Proponents of mining in space often point to the potential benefits for Earth and its people. But this research casts doubt on many of them.Juliana Segura-Salazar, Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandKathryn Moore, Senior Lecturer in Critical and Green Technology Metals, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1958392022-12-27T09:01:24Z2022-12-27T09:01:24ZFive space exploration missions to look out for in 2023<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499222/original/file-20221206-15-k3429v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=396%2C0%2C3426%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artist's impression of Starship cruising past the Moon.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Space Exploration Technologies Corp./SpaceX Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s been an eventful year for space exploration, with successes including the completion of Nasa’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/artemis-1-maiden-flight-of-spacecraft-set-to-take-humans-back-to-the-moon-heres-what-needs-to-go-right-189081">Artemis 1 mission</a> (<a href="https://theconversation.com/artemis-how-ever-changing-us-space-policy-may-push-back-the-next-moon-landing-155981">finally</a>), the inauguration of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/james-webb-telescope-a-scientist-explains-what-its-first-amazing-images-show-and-how-it-will-change-astronomy-186668">James Webb Space Telescope</a>, and the completion of China’s <a href="https://www.popsci.com/science/tiangong-chinese-space-station/">Tiangong space station</a>. </p>
<p>2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for.</p>
<h2>1. Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer</h2>
<p>In April, the European Space Agency (Esa) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (<a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice">Juice</a>), in what will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter. Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an <a href="https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/juice/trajectory-browser">incredible flight path</a> through the Solar System. The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. </p>
<p>After four years of moon flybys, Juice will then enter into orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System – becoming the first spacecraft ever to reach orbit around the moon of another planet. The icy moons of Jupiter are interesting as they are all believed to host oceans of liquid water beneath their <a href="https://www.space.com/europa-ice-study-earth-underwater-snow">frozen surfaces</a>. Europa, in particular, is regarded as one of the most <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-four-most-promising-worlds-for-alien-life-in-the-solar-system-146358">likely abodes in the Solar System</a> for extra-terrestrial life. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fw17N3rdN7s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Juice will be equipped with ten scientific instruments including ice-penetrating radar to study the internal oceans. This use of radar is a practical first step in mapping the sub-surface oceans, paving the way for more exotic future missions involving submersible vehicles – some of which have already been <a href="https://phys.org/news/2010-04-dual-drill-jupiters-europa-ice.html">put forward</a>. The launch window runs from April 5 to April 25.</p>
<h2>2. SpaceX Starship</h2>
<p>Although no date has been announced by aerospace company SpaceX at the time of writing, the first orbital test flight of the super-heavy <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/">Starship spacecraft</a> is highly anticipated to occur in early 2023. Starship will be the largest spacecraft capable of carrying humans from Earth to destinations in space (the International Space Station is larger, but it was assembled in space). It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever to fly, capable of lifting 100 tonnes of cargo to low Earth orbit. </p>
<p>Starship is the collective name for a two-component system consisting of the Starship spacecraft (which carries the crew and cargo) and the Super Heavy rocket. The rocket component will lift Starship to some 65km altitude before separating and returning to Earth in a controlled landing. The upper Starship component will then use its own engines to push itself the rest of the way to orbit. </p>
<p>Several short test flights of the Starship portion of the system have been made with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Vw2ZDe-G0">varying degrees of success</a>. But the upcoming flight will be the first time the whole system will be used to reach space as one. This first orbital flight was originally scheduled to launch in September 2022, but has been delayed several times.</p>
<h2>3. dearMoon</h2>
<p>The long-awaited <a href="https://dearmoon.earth/">dearMoon project</a>, which will take members of the public on a six-day trip around the Moon and back, is due for launch on Starship and was originally planned for 2023. The exact date will depend on the successful test of Starship, but has been on the books since 2018. It will be the first true deep space tourism launch. </p>
<p>Financed by business entrepreneur <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusaku_Maezawa">Yusaku Maezawa</a>, a competition was set up to select <a href="https://www.space.com/yusaku-maezawa-dearmoon-contest-seeking-crewmembers">eight members</a> of the public (and an unknown number of crew) to join Maezawa on the trip – all completely paid for. The winners and criteria used have not been disclosed, although it is suspected the guests may be <a href="http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-030221a-spacex-maezawa-dearmoon-signup.html">established or aspiring artists</a>.</p>
<p>This mission will mark a big change in the way we think about space, as previously only astronauts picked using incredibly stringent criteria have been able to go into deep space (note: we are not counting brief <a href="https://theconversation.com/virgin-galactic-and-blue-origin-can-they-be-more-than-space-joyrides-for-millionaires-164513">10-minute jaunts</a> up to 100 km). A full trip of several days poses extreme risks, both in terms of health and engineering. </p>
<p>The success or failure of the dearMoon mission could affect whether deep space tourism becomes the next big thing, or it is relegated back to being a pipe-dream.</p>
<h2>4. Asteroid explorer returns to Earth</h2>
<p>The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer, mercifully more commonly known as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/about">OSIRIS-REx</a>, is a Nasa mission to near-Earth asteroid <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/bennu-top-ten">Bennu</a>. A key goal of this robotic mission was to acquire samples of Bennu and return them to Earth for analysis.</p>
<p>OSIRIS-REx is now fast returning to Earth with up to a kilogram of precious asteroid samples stored aboard. If all goes well, the capsule will detach from the spacecraft, enter the Earth’s atmosphere and parachute to a soft landing in the deserts of Utah on September 24. Asteroid sample return has only been achieved once before, by the Japanese Space Agency’s <a href="https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-missions/hayabusa-2-japan-asteroid-return-mission/">Hayabusa 2</a> mission in 2020. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of Bennu taken by OSIRIS-REx in 2018." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364767/original/file-20201021-19-7q2p3u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bennu the golden space rock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bennu is an approximately diamond-shaped world just half a kilometre in size, but has many interesting characteristics. It is believed to have broken off from a much larger asteroid in the first 10 million years of the Solar System. Some of the minerals detected within it have been <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-019-0722-2">altered by water</a>, implying that Bennu’s ancient parent body possessed liquid water. </p>
<p>It also has an abundance of precious metals, including gold and platinum. Finally, Bennu is classed as a potentially hazardous object with a (very) small possibility of Earth impact in the next century. </p>
<h2>5. India’s private space launch</h2>
<p>While SpaceX is the most prominent private space launch company, there are many others developing their own series of launchers around the world. <a href="https://skyroot.in/">Skyroot Aerospace</a>, which successfully launched its Vikram-S rocket <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/india-launches-first-privately-made-rocket-into-space-2022-11-18/">in November 2022</a>, is soon to become the first private Indian company to launch a satellite. </p>
<p>The rocket itself reached 90km in altitude, a distance that would need to be improved upon to get a constellation of satellites into orbit. Skyroot’s first satellite launch is planned for 2023, with a goal of undercutting the cost of private space launch rivals by producing its 3D-printed rockets in a matter of days. If successful, this could also provide a route for cheaper launches of scientific missions, enabling a faster rate of research.</p>
<p>Clearly, interest in the space sector remains high. With many bold advances and launches due in 2023, we are entering a new phase akin to the “Golden era” of space launches in the 1960s and ’70s.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From space agency missions to private space launches, 2023 will be an exciting year in space.Gareth Dorrian, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Space Science, University of BirminghamIan Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1935042022-11-14T13:27:22Z2022-11-14T13:27:22ZArtemis launch delay is the latest of many NASA scrubs and comes from hard lessons on crew safety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494754/original/file-20221110-19-3rys3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C49%2C2479%2C1778&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The space shuttle Atlantis was one of the last major launches aboard a NASA rocket.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=47195">NASA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I love a good space launch, and I have been eagerly awaiting NASA’s powerful new <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html">Space Launch System</a> rocket to take off as the first part of NASA’s ambitious Artemis Mission to put U.S. astronauts back on the Moon. But this launch has already been <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/">pushed back four times this year</a> – twice due to <a href="https://www.space.com/artemis-1-launch-scrub-hydrogen-leak">technical issues</a> and once apiece for a <a href="https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/09/24/nasa-delays-the-artemis-1-moon-mission-for-third-time-tropical-storm-approaches">tropical storm</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/artemis-launch-delay-nasa-tropical-storm-hurricane-nicole-florida/">a hurricane</a>.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://und.edu/directory/michael.s.dodge">professor of space studies</a> who teaches courses in space law and history. One lesson I’ve learned is that as successful as the U.S. and other nations have been at launching rockets into space over the decades, a huge number of launches get delayed due to weather or safety concerns. Of <a href="https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/space-shuttle-missions-summary.pdf">NASA’s 135 Space Shuttle missions</a>, only about <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/for-space-shuttle-delays-are-typical/">40% launched on time</a>. </p>
<p>While Artemis 1 is continuing the long tradition of delayed NASA launches, there are good reasons for the high level of caution that underlies these delays. But as private space launch activities continue to grow, the odds of watching an on-time launch are slowly improving.</p>
<h2>Delays, scrubs and safety</h2>
<p>Launches that don’t go off on time are classified as either postponements, scrubs or delays. Postponements refer to pushing a planned launch date back to a later date. <a href="https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/space-shuttle-missions-summary.pdf">Scrubs</a> are when a mission is halted on the day the launch is supposed to occur and rescheduled for a later date. Scrubs are usually a last-minute decision triggered by bad weather or mechanical issues causing safety concerns. A delay is when a <a href="https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/space-shuttle-missions-summary.pdf">launch occurs later in a day</a> than originally planned, but does happen in the same day.</p>
<p>The ill-fated launch of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986 experienced all of these hold-ups. First, the mission experienced two postponements for a total of three days to accommodate the landing of the space shuttle Columbia. The launch was also scrubbed twice due to weather and technical problems, and finally the mission experienced two delays on the day of the actual launch. Sadly, the shuttle and astronauts aboard were <a href="https://time.com/3685686/1986-challenger-disaster/">lost in an explosion 74 seconds after launch</a>. </p>
<p>This first Artemis launch has experienced both postponements and scrubs, but part of the reason there have been such long stretches of time between launch attempts is due to the concept of <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/What_is_a_launch_window">launch windows</a>. Due to the rotation of the Earth and position of the Moon, launching a rocket at certain times requires substantially less fuel than launching at other times. If a launch misses its window, you usually can’t simply launch again the next day.</p>
<p>While the repeated postponements and scrubs of Artemis 1 are disheartening, these delays are for good reason. NASA wants to ensure a safe and successful mission.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bz-meWefjk4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Artemis 1 launch scheduled for Sept. 3, 2022, was scrubbed after the team spotted a hydrogen leak while fueling the rocket on the launch pad.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A culture of safety</h2>
<p>Postponements, scrubs and delays tend to occur due to bad weather conditions, mechanical issues or health concerns of the crew – any of which could threaten the safety of the craft and the people aboard. NASA has learned the hard way to be cautious of these scenarios. </p>
<p>The first lesson came in January 1967, during a test for the Apollo 1 mission. The rocket in question was meant to go on an early test flight for the first U.S. missions to the Moon. Astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee and Gus Grissom were all killed when a <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo1info.html">fire started in the crew cabin</a> during a launch pad test. After the tragedy, NASA created its <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/Apollo204/response.html">Office of Flight Safety</a>.</p>
<p>Most of NASA’s launches went well after the Challenger disaster. But the <a href="https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html">breakup of shuttle Columbia after entering the Earth’s atmosphere</a> in February 2003 was a notable exception that killed all seven astronauts onboard. That disaster in particular caused NASA to pause operations and take stock of its launch strategies. In a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/columbia/home/CAIB_Vol1.html">truly stinging report</a> from an internal investigation, NASA highlighted its own “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2003/08/27/nasas-broken-safety-culture/2befb939-3e22-41e8-9376-b548f685a821/">broken safety culture</a>” and a failure to learn from the mistakes of the Challenger disaster. </p>
<p>In the years since, NASA has demonstrated a concerted effort to learn from the mistakes of the past. It’s not surprising that it will delay launches if there is a need to check on the safety of craft or crew. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two rockets on launch pads in the distance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494753/original/file-20221110-13-nbypli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NASA’s Space Launch System in the distance and a SpaceX Falcon9 in the foreground represent two sides of modern spaceflight: a large, long-term project and a small, efficient, reusable workhorse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/51986745354/">NASA/Joel Kowsky</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Contemporary trends</h2>
<p>Space launches are happening more frequently every year. This increase is mostly driven by the rise of private space companies like SpaceX serving as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-awards-spacex-more-crew-flights-to-space-station/">re-suppliers for the International Space Station</a> and <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl4-31/">carrying satellites into orbit</a>. All signs suggest that the <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/587630-2021-more-space-launches-than-any-year-in-history-since-sputnik/">upward trend in launches will continue</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike government agencies, private launch companies have a strong profit motive to launch frequently. While specific data on private industry’s launch schedules is hard to come by, it does seem that, more often than not, SpaceX launches, for example, go off on time. This may be due to the fact that the high volume of launches using the Falcon9 rocket – around <a href="https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/7017">50 this year alone</a> – has given the company’s engineers plenty of time to iron out mechanical issues. While other companies trail SpaceX in volume, they are catching up. Blue Origin, for example, completed its <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/ns-22-mission-updates/">22nd mission to space in August 2022, carrying six passengers</a>.</p>
<p>Despite their general success, private companies are not immune to technical issues, weather or health concerns that can lead to postponements, scrubs or delays. In early October 2022, SpaceX scrubbed a launch of one of its Falcon9 rockets <a href="https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2022/10/06/spacex-scrubs-falcon-9-liftoff-after-automatic-abort/8137920001/">to allow for additional vehicle inspections</a>. SpaceX also postponed a launch due to the same hurricane that has <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/11/07/subtropical-storm-nicole-delays-spacex-launch-artemis-1-moon-rocket-stays-on-launch-pad/">pushed back Artemis again</a>. And in 2021, a launch was delayed when a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/nasa-delays-launch-spacex-mission-citing-medical-issue-with-1-4-crew-members-2021-11-01/">medical issue came up with one of the NASA astronauts</a> that was bound for the International Space Station.</p>
<p>As more rockets get lined up for both governmental and private needs, delays and scrubs for launches will continue to be a fact of life for anyone launching rockets to space. The feeling of tension, frustration and excitement that I feel when waiting to see that brilliant flash of ignition and a rocket headed to the heavens is a feeling many have endured. During the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/freedom7.html">long delay for the 1961 Freedom 7 Mercury mission</a>, astronaut Alan Shepard was strapped in his capsule with little to do but wait for several hours. Eventually he got fed up and told NASA to “fix your little problem and light this candle.” After a while, NASA gave the go-ahead, and <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/alan-shepard-freedom-7">Shepard became the first American to fly to space</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193504/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Dodge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After its fourth delay, the Artemis 1 launch is now scheduled for Nov. 16, 2022. NASA has a history of missing launch deadlines, but the private sector is slowly making launches more reliable.Michael Dodge, Associate Professor of Space Studies, University of North DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886612022-10-03T19:03:10Z2022-10-03T19:03:10ZDoomsday bunkers, Mars and ‘The Mindset’: the tech bros trying to outsmart the end of the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487689/original/file-20221003-21-qpxfiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C237%2C5447%2C3391&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Peter Thiel: his plan to build a bunker-type lodge in remote NZ was stymied.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carolyn Kaster/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Douglas Rushkoff’s newest book, <a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/survival-of-the-richest-9781922585790">Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires</a>, grew out of a brilliant 2018 <a href="https://onezero.medium.com/survival-of-the-richest-9ef6cddd0cc1">Medium article</a> of the same name, which went viral and had people (aka his US editor) clamouring for a full-length treatment. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires – Douglas Rushkoff (Scribe Publications)</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485544/original/file-20220920-3608-9z7s5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In both pieces, Rushkoff recounts being invited to speak about “the future of technology”, only to find himself at a luxury desert resort in an undisclosed location, speaking to a select audience of five unnamed hedge fund billionaires. Within minutes, the conversation takes on a distinctly prepper-ish tone. One of the CEOs tells Rushkoff about his newly completed underground shelter, then asks, “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the event?” </p>
<p>Rushkoff is bemused, but also grimly amused by it all. “Here they were, asking a <a href="https://theconversation.com/karl-marx-his-philosophy-explained-164068">Marxist</a> media theorist for advice on where and how to configure their doomsday bunkers,” he writes. “That’s when it hit me: at least as far as these gentlemen were concerned, this was a talk about the future of technology.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-threats-of-nuclear-war-and-climate-disaster-growing-americas-bunker-fantasy-is-woefully-inadequate-179625">With threats of nuclear war and climate disaster growing, America's 'bunker fantasy' is woefully inadequate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The Mindset</h2>
<p>So far, so head-spinningly good. Unfortunately, however, Rushkoff moves away from the billionaires and their intriguingly delusional self-preservation tactics, into a realm of high ideas. </p>
<p>Over the next 12 and a half chapters, Rushkoff offers a Grand Unified Theory of tech billionaire ideology. Inspired by a 1995 article, “<a href="https://www.metamute.org/editorial/articles/californian-ideology">The Californian Ideology</a>”, he chooses to call this “The Mindset” – a frustratingly vague term that doesn’t really clarify things. </p>
<p>At times, “The Mindset” is roughly synonymous with the ideology of libertarianism; at others, it is much more amorphous – referring to everything from growth-based capitalism, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-queen-has-left-her-mark-around-the-world-but-not-all-see-it-as-something-to-be-celebrated-190343">colonialism</a>, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-narcissism-a-mental-health-problem-and-can-you-really-diagnose-it-online-188360">narcissism</a>. And as Hugo Rifkind notes in <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/survival-of-the-richest-escape-fantasies-of-the-tech-billionaires-by-douglas-rushkoff-review-how-the-elite-prep-for-the-end-of-the-world-38s2wlg7j">The Times</a>, “while the Mindset is interesting, it’s not nearly as interesting as the bonkers escape plans to which it leads”.</p>
<p>If you’re after a primer on the various ills of late capitalism, then strap yourself in and enjoy this wide-ranging, freewheeling romp by one of the US’s most entertaining digital culture raconteurs. </p>
<p>His subjects include – but not are not limited to – monopolies, financialisation, behavioural science, “scientism” (<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-selfish-genes-contain-the-seeds-of-our-destruction-but-there-might-be-a-fix-77927">Richard Dawkins</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/steven-pinker-lauds-reason-but-people-need-freedom-this-might-not-end-well-91928">Steven Pinker</a> et al.) and the sex crimes of <a href="https://theconversation.com/jeffrey-epsteins-arrest-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-human-trafficking-is-the-worlds-fastest-growing-crime-120225">Jeffrey Epstein</a>. There’s the 1980s business savvy of General Electric CEO Jack Welch and “the Western, linear drive towards progress”. Our estrangement from nature. The persistence of Aristotelian plot structures. And even “Western language systems, which tend to be more noun-based than many of their counterparts”.</p>
<h2>Relentless and breathless</h2>
<p>Rushkoff is an accessible, pithy writer, with no shortage of examples, analogies and anecdotes to string together. That said, his relentless synthesising and breathless proclamations also make the book feel a bit shambolic, a bit over-reachy. (For instance, “The Mindset prefers straight lines, linear progress and infinite expansion over the ebbs and flows in the real world.”) </p>
<p>This is especially so if you’re searching for the what-it-says-on-the-label bits – the tech bros and their bizarre survival plans. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8bceePdFruU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Inside seasteading – one of the ‘bonkers escape plans’ billiionaires are considering.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Case in point: Rushkoff tells a quite-long story about arguing with Richard Dawkins about morality at a Manhattan dinner party in the 1990s. Great. He then claims that Stephen Pinker and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Dennett">Daniel Dennett</a> believe “the brain is mere hardware” and “humans are just robots running programs”. Sure. Next, he points out that Dawkins, Pinker and Dennett were all photographed on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet on their way to a TED talk. Guilt by association fallacy, but okay. As a finale, Epstein is described as “truly the model, self-sovereign, transhumanist billionaire prepper”. </p>
<p>Here’s the problem: while Jeffrey Epstein was a lot of terrible things, he wasn’t a prepper, in the proper sense of that word. There’s no record of him saying he thought society was about to collapse, or that he was making any just-in-case plans. More generally, none of the aforementioned four are Silicon Valley titans, or billionaires – they’re three scientists and one <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/14/jeffrey-epstein-net-worth-is-he-billionaire-or-not/1708479001/">multimillionaire</a> Wall Street financier/paedophile. And they’re only tangentially relevant to the matter at hand. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C132%2C4173%2C2285&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C132%2C4173%2C2285&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485546/original/file-20220920-3577-9pb278.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jeffrey Epstein’s stone mansion on Little St James Island, in the US Virgin Islands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gabriel Lopez Albarran/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-survive-a-tactical-nuclear-bomb-defence-experts-explain-181340">How to survive a tactical nuclear bomb? Defence experts explain</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Libertarian tech bros</h2>
<p>Also, given how much other ground is covered, it is a little surprising that Rushkoff doesn’t name check that ur-text of cyber libertarianism, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sovereign-Individual-Survive-Collapse-Welfare/dp/0684810077">The Sovereign Individual: How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State</a> (1997), by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg. </p>
<p>Davidson and Rees-Mogg dream of a time when individuals will be freed from the shackles of government, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiatmoney.asp">fiat currency</a> (government-issued paper money, not backed by a commodity such as gold) and law in general. (William Rees-Mogg’s son, UK politician Jacob Rees-Mogg, was one of the most vocal cheerleaders for <a href="https://theconversation.com/boris-johnson-and-partygate-he-who-lives-by-the-brexit-sword-dies-by-the-brexit-sword-175323">Brexit</a>.) </p>
<p>In this thrilling new age, a “cognitive elite” will be able to rule – or ignore – the rest of the world, as they see fit. The Sovereign Individual is a hugely influential text in the start-up world; early Facebook backer, Paypal co-founder and conservative libertarian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel">Peter Thiel</a>, who is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/18/peter-thiel-refused-consent-for-sprawling-lodge-in-new-zealand-local-council">infamous in New Zealand</a> for buying his citizenship and attempting to build luxury bunkers in the wilderness wrote the foreword to the 2020 reprint. </p>
<p>Survival of the Richest contains an excellent anecdote about Rushkoff being in a Zoom meeting with some tech developers on 6 January 2021, which is derailed by the breaking news of an attempted coup at the Capitol building (if you think <em>that’s</em> bad, wait till you hear how the programmers react!). </p>
<p>There’s this jaw-dropping factoid: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Jeff Bezos has a yacht with a helipad that serves as a companion yacht to his main yacht, which has large sails that would get in the way of his helicopter during takeoff and landing. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are some extremely sharp reflections on artificial intelligence: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Whether AI will develop human and superhuman abilities in the next decade, century, millennium, if ever, may matter less right now than AI’s grip over the tech elite, and what this obsession tells us about The Mindset. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Regarding the prospect of artificial intelligence putting millions of people out of work in the near future, entrepreneurs such as Reid Hoffmann (LinkedIn CEO) and Mark Cuban (startup dude, billionaire) are worried that unemployed humans might coalesce into vengeful, billionaire-resenting mobs and attack them. Though they’re not worried about ruining all those people’s lives in the first place. </p>
<p>But – and this is a little ironic – there’s precious little biographical detail about Mark Cuban, or Reid Hoffmann, or any of the other bros in the book. Their function is purely as symbols of rapacious greed: embodiments of The Mindset. They are not examined as deeply flawed, but nonetheless complex human beings. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dh1JZVjKUAo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Journalist Baz MacDonald searches for evidence of the survival bunkers being shipped to New Zealand.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-we-owe-future-generations-and-what-can-we-do-to-make-their-world-a-better-place-189591">What do we owe future generations? And what can we do to make their world a better place?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Dismissive rather than curious</h2>
<p>In some ways, this is a question of method, and access. While Rushkoff mixes in some pretty wild company on his global speaking gigs, and has serendipitous encounters with some outlandish figures, he’s not doing any journalistic or enthnographic legwork here. </p>
<p>In short: he hasn’t interviewed any of tech billionaires he writes about. He doesn’t really know what motivates them – or at least, not all of it. When it comes to these wealthy, selfish people’s strategies to survive “the event”, Rushkoff is dismissive rather than curious. He is adamant that a billionaire’s prepper scheme – any scheme – just won’t work. </p>
<p>In Chapter One, he contends that “the probability of a fortified bunker actually protecting its occupants from the reality of, well, reality, is very slim”, because “the closed ecosystems of underground facilities are preposterously brittle”. If your underground hydroponic garden is overrun by mould or bacteria, there’s no “do-over”; you’ll just die.</p>
<p>Similarly, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>small islands are utterly dependent on air and sea deliveries for basic staples […] the billionaires who reside in such locales are more, not less, dependent on complex supply chains than those of us embedded in industrial civilization. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/floating-cities-the-future-or-a-washed-up-idea-116511">Seasteading</a> – the libertarian idea of building autonomous, floating mini-states, which operate outside of state control – is mentioned, but not discussed in any detail. And the modest proposals of Elon Musk, Richard Branson, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-solar-system-belongs-to-us-all-not-just-jeff-bezos-173610">Jeff Bezos</a> et al. to <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-become-a-space-tourist-you-finally-can-if-you-have-250-000-and-a-will-to-sign-your-life-away-160543">commercialise space travel</a> and colonise Mars are rejected with the observation “only trillionaires will actually make it to space to terraform planets, anyway”. </p>
<p>This might be true enough – but it’s also the ostensible subject of the book, and as such, perhaps worth spending a bit more time on. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uEwSpQWnS-w?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How Space X and NASA plan to colonise Mars.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Billionaire bunkers as metaphors</h2>
<p>For Rushkoff, then, “the billionaire bunker strategy is less a viable strategy for apocalypse than a metaphor for this disconnected way of life” – a canny insight, to be sure. But those bunkers aren’t <em>only</em> metaphorical; they’re also very real, and large, and expensive, and fascinating in their logistic intricacies and (im)possibilities. </p>
<p>If Survival of the Richest had told us more about this insane infrastructure, and about the people who dreamed it up, we might be able to better understand the <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/tech-old/1638425/jeff-bezos-world-record-space-penis/">unmistakably phallic spaceships</a> as symbols, too. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1162&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1162&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485550/original/file-20220920-26-ermdgr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1162&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Readers with specific interest in doomsday bunkers, and what they might represent in ideological terms, should seek out Bradley Garrett’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/bunker-9780141987552">Bunker: Building for the End Times</a> (2020). Mark O’Connell writes insightfully about Peter Thiel’s New Zealand boltholes as a symptom of extreme libertarian misanthropy in <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558414/notes-from-an-apocalypse-by-mark-oconnell/">Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back</a> (2020).</p>
<p>Those wishing to learn more personal details about the computer nerds and venture captial bros who hold such outsized sway in contemporary life should read Max Chafkin’s 2021 biography <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609711/the-contrarian-by-max-chafkin/">The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power</a>, or Ashlee Vance’s 2015 book <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/elon-musk-ashlee-vance?variant=32161254965282">Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Is Shaping Our Future</a>, as well as David Runciman and John Lanchester’s incisive essays about <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n18/david-runciman/competition-is-for-losers">Thiel</a> and <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n17/john-lanchester/let-s-all-go-to-mars">Musk</a> respectively in the London Review of Books. </p>
<p>Or, what the hell, rewatch <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/70132721">The Social Network</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Doig does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Douglas Rushkoff’s Survival of the Richest is less about tech billionaires and their ‘bonkers’ escape plans than it is an entertaining primer on the various ills of late capitalism.Tom Doig, Lecturer in Creative Writing, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1902372022-09-14T20:03:05Z2022-09-14T20:03:05ZStarlink, Amazon and others are racing to fill the sky with bigger satellites to deliver mobile coverage everywhere on Earth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484478/original/file-20220914-3906-ocbavo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3329%2C2161&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on September 10 — with 34 Starlink satellites and a rideshare package for AST SpaceMobile. (Craig Bailey/Florida Today via AP)</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Craig Bailey/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elon Musk’s space tech company SpaceX is rapidly advancing towards its goal of establishing Starlink – a massive satellite network capable of providing high-speed broadband internet across the world. </p>
<p>Starlink claims the network is <a href="https://www.starlink.com/map">already servicing</a> more than 30 countries with high-speed internet, including the United States, parts of Australia and most of the United Kingdom. There are about 2,500 Starlink satellites in orbit, with plans to eventually create a constellation of 42,000. </p>
<p>The satellites are in “low Earth orbit” at an altitude of about 550 kilometres. This relative proximity provides the benefit of low latency (less delay in data processing), faster internet, and service for areas that cable internet can’t service.</p>
<p>Beyond internet, however, Starlink and a number of other satellite network providers are also in a race to establish global mobile phone service connection. Some of the latest proposals could be game changers, especially for people on the move and in remote parts of the world. But there are several hurdles to jump first.</p>
<h2>Mobile phone service from space is coming</h2>
<p>This <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-blue-walker-3-launch-rocket-landing">weekend</a> Starlink launched one of its <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/">Falcon 9</a> rockets for the 14th time, sending another 34 Starlink satellites into space. </p>
<p>The same rocket also carried a very different payload into orbit – a satellite called the <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-bluewalker-3-starlink-satellites-launch-success">BlueWalker 3</a>. It’s the largest commercial antenna array ever launched into space. </p>
<p>Operated by American company AST SpaceMobile, the BlueWalker 3 is expected to provide global satellite phone service (distinct from internet) directly to standard mobile phones from space. </p>
<p>For now, satellite-to-phone connections still require special dedicated handsets, such as through the Iridium network. Iridium provides satellite phone services via its 66 satellites in low Earth orbit (at an altitude of 780km).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1521238299289001985"}"></div></p>
<p>AST SpaceMobile will need to launch at least 100 more satellites to obtain global coverage. It has partnered with a number of mobile service providers, who will participate in connectivity tests starting next year. Currently, no date has been set for when the service will become commercially available.</p>
<h2>T-Mobile, Apple and Verizon</h2>
<p>Musk too plans to expand his Starlink network to provide satellite mobile phone connection directly to mobile devices.</p>
<p>In August, Musk announced a partnership between Starlink and US telecommunication provider T-Mobile. This will link T-mobile users directly to Starlink satellites, providing a limited service of text, MMS, voice messaging and potentially some messaging app connectivity to most of the US (including outside standard service areas). </p>
<p>The service is <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/25/23320722/spacex-starlink-t-mobile-satellite-internet-mobile-messaging">expected</a> to launch in beta phase by the end of 2023, pending the deployment of second-generation Starlink satellites with larger antennas. However, at this stage it’s only intended as a connection of “last resort”, providing coverage for rescue and emergency services in areas currently without coverage. There are no plans for expansion beyond the US.</p>
<p>These announcements come around the same time as the launch of Apple’s iPhone 14 – the first regular smartphone to allow direct <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-iphone-satellite-service-kicks-off-smartphone-space-race-11662901201">satellite connectivity</a>. </p>
<p>From November, iPhone 14 users will be able to <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426">send short SOS messages</a> where no other connection is available. The connection, which uses the Globalstar satellite network, will rely on access to clear skies and may not be available at all times and in all locations.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/space-debris-is-coming-down-more-frequently-what-are-the-chances-it-could-hit-someone-or-damage-property-188062">Space debris is coming down more frequently. What are the chances it could hit someone or damage property?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similarly, US-based mobile phone service provider Verizon has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/26/verizon-partnering-with-amazon-project-kuiper-satellite-internet.html">partnered</a> with Amazon’s proposed Kuiper satellite network to provide mobile services. But the Kuiper network has yet to launch any of its <a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/amazon-sets-the-stage-for-five-years-of-project-kuiper-satellite-internet-launches/">planned 3,200</a> broadband satellites, so it’s unclear when the additional capacity for mobile phone service connection would roll out.</p>
<p>Moreover, all of these arrangements will involve working out the complicated allocation of mobile phone spectrum licences across the globe. </p>
<p>A licence to operate in the US would not necessarily give access to such rights in another country. For example, America can grant AST SpaceMobile a licence to provide satellite mobile phone connectivity to people in America, but Australia would have to grant a different licence for it to service people in Australia.</p>
<p>Starlink is <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-dish-network-5g-plan">lobbying</a> to prevent changes to the allocation of the 12GHz spectrum in the US. Last year, the US Federal Communications Commission proposed opening up the 12GHz frequency band (currently used for space-based services) for more widespread use on Earth for 5G mobile connection.</p>
<p>Starlink satellites use this band to communicate data to the ground, so this change would lead to significant interference in its services.</p>
<h2>Internet on the move</h2>
<p>Starlink internet users within Australia can’t currently obtain a fully mobile service. With some exceptions, such as mobile homes, their service is locked to a single location where their satellite dish is placed. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, things seem to be advancing. In June the US Federal Communications Commission granted Starlink a licence to operate in moving vehicles, including cars, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/fcc-approves-spacex-starlink-service-to-vehicles-boats-planes.html">boats, planes and trucks</a>.</p>
<p>And cruise operator Royal Caribbean (which <a href="https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en">services</a> Australia) recently <a href="https://www.rclinvestor.com/press-releases/release/?id=1613">began</a> installing Starlink terminals on its fleet, after successful internet trials on a <a href="https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/06/28/i-tried-elon-musks-starlink-internet-royal-caribbean-cruise-ship">cruise</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>SpaceX is also in negotiation with several commercial airlines regarding its internet service, which will be installed on <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/25/spacex-signs-hawaiian-airlines-for-free-starlink-wi-fi-on-flights.html">Hawaiian Airlines flights</a> beginning next year. </p>
<p>Subject to licensing approvals, the Starlink network will also provide internet for its <a href="https://www.drive.com.au/news/tesla-cars-starlink-satellite-support-usa/">Tesla vehicles</a> – with emergency phone connection only available in the US.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Kt3xmojOSY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The BlueWalker 3 and 34 Starlink satellites were launched on Saturday, and could be seen from Earth.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What about Australia?</h2>
<p>Australia, with its vast remote areas, would certainly benefit from mobile phone coverage provided by a low Earth orbit satellite network. It would particularly benefit emergency services, remote communities, long-haul travellers and adventurers. </p>
<p>There are no clues as to when such a rollout may happen here. Yet, with the speed at which these developments are occurring, it seems likely Australians will get access to satellite-to-phone connections sooner rather than later – subject to the necessary licensing approvals.</p>
<p>In the interim, many are concerned about the congestion and light pollution that will arise due to the deployment of so many satellites. The BlueWalker 3, at 64 square metres, has <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2337336-huge-satellite-could-outshine-all-stars-and-planets-in-the-night-sky/">only added to</a> these concerns.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-satellites-are-polluting-australian-skies-and-threatening-ancient-indigenous-astronomy-practices-173840">Thousands of satellites are polluting Australian skies, and threatening ancient Indigenous astronomy practices</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190237/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa de Zwart is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Leo Labs and Deputy Chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia. She received funding from the Australian Research Council for a project on the regulation and use of Low Earth Orbit. </span></em></p>Starlink has plans to connect phones, planes and even cruises to its space satellites. But there are hold-ups.Melissa de Zwart, Professor (Digital Technology, Security and Governance), Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1894472022-08-26T19:05:48Z2022-08-26T19:05:48ZNASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the Moon sets the stage for routine space exploration beyond Earth’s orbit – here’s what to expect and why it’s important<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495693/original/file-20221116-24-4yuyjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C4346%2C3591&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NASA is going back to the Moon.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/52503608660/">NASA/Bill Ingalls</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>NASA’s Space Launch System rocket <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/11/16/artemis-i-liftoff/">lifted off</a> from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early hours of Nov. 16, 2022. The rocket carried the Orion Crew Capsule as the centerpiece of the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1">Artemis 1</a> mission. The journey to the Moon and back is a shakedown cruise with no people aboard – it will test how the Orion Crew Capsule holds up in space. The mission is a key step toward returning humans to the Moon after a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-17">half-century hiatus</a>. The launch was initially scheduled for the morning of Aug. 29, 2022, but was <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/">postponed three times, twice for technical reasons and once for Hurricane Ian</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>The spacecraft is scheduled to travel to the Moon, deploy some small satellites and then settle into orbit. NASA aims to practice operating the spacecraft, test the conditions crews will experience on and around the Moon, and assure everyone that the spacecraft and any occupants can safely return to Earth.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/burns/">Jack Burns</a>, a professor and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jack-Burns-5">space scientist</a> at the University of Colorado Boulder and former member of the Presidential Transition Team for NASA, to describe the mission, explain what the Artemis program promises to do for space exploration, and reflect on how the space program has changed in the half-century since humans last set foot on the lunar surface.</em></p>
<h2>How does Artemis 1 differ from the other rockets being launched routinely?</h2>
<p>Artemis 1 is the first flight of the new <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html">Space Launch System</a>. This is a “heavy lift” vehicle, as NASA refers to it. It is the most powerful rocket engine ever flown to space, even more powerful than <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-was-the-saturn-v-58.html">Apollo’s Saturn V</a> system that took astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s and ‘70s. </p>
<p>It’s a new type of rocket system, because it has both a combination of liquid oxygen and hydrogen main engines and two strap-on solid rocket boosters derived from the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html">space shuttle</a>. It’s really a hybrid between the space shuttle and Apollo’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-was-the-saturn-v-58.html">Saturn V</a> rocket. </p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/nasas-artemis-1-mission-to-the-moon-sets-the-stage-for-routine-space-exploration-beyond-earths-orbit-heres-what-to-expect-and-why-its-important-189447&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Testing is very important, because the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/about/index.html">Orion Crew Capsule</a> is going to be getting a real workout. It will be in the space environment of the Moon, a high-radiation environment, for a month. And, very importantly, it will be testing the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/heat-shield-milestone-complete-for-first-orion-mission-with-crew">heat shield</a>, which protects the capsule and its occupants, when it comes back to the Earth at 25,000 miles per hour. This will be the fastest capsule reentry since Apollo, so it’s very important that the heat shield function well.</p>
<p>This mission is also carrying a series of small satellites that will be placed in orbit of the Moon. Those will do some useful precursor science, everything from looking further into the permanently shadowed craters where scientists think there is water to just doing more measurements of the radiation environment, seeing what the effects will be on humans for long-term exposure.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing the earth, moon and flight path of a spacecraft" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481324/original/file-20220826-26-zbdpp3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The plan is for Artemis 1 to lift off, travel to the Moon, deploy satellites, orbit the Moon, return to Earth, safely enter the atmosphere and splash down in the ocean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/artemis-i-map">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s the goal of the Artemis project? What’s coming up in the series of launches?</h2>
<p>The mission is a first step toward <a href="https://www.space.com/artemis-3-moon-landing-mission">Artemis 3</a>, which is going to result in the first human missions to the Moon in the 21st century and the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-17">first since 1972</a>. Artemis 1 is an uncrewed test flight. </p>
<p>Artemis 2, which is scheduled to launch a few years after that, will have astronauts on board. It, too, will be an orbital mission, very much like <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-8.html">Apollo 8</a>, which circled the Moon and came back home. The astronauts will spend a longer time orbiting the Moon and will test everything with a human crew. </p>
<p>And, finally, that will lead to a journey to the surface of the Moon in which Artemis 3 – sometime middecade – will rendezvous with the <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/index.html">SpaceX Starship</a> and transfer crew. Orion will remain in orbit, and the lunar Starship will take the astronauts to the surface. They will go to the south pole of the Moon to look at an area scientists haven’t explored before to investigate <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/ice-confirmed-at-the-moon-s-poles">the water ice there</a>.</p>
<h2>Artemis is reminiscent of Apollo. What has changed in the past half-century?</h2>
<p>The reason for Apollo that Kennedy envisioned initially was to <a href="https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-missions/jfk-space-race-moon-shot-speech/">beat the Soviet Union to the Moon</a>. The administration didn’t particularly care about space travel, or about the Moon itself, but it represented an audacious goal that would clearly put America first in terms of space and technology. </p>
<p>The downside of doing that is the old saying “You live by the sword, you die by the sword.” When the U.S. got to the Moon, it was basically game over. The United States beat the Russians. So it put some flags down and did some science experiments. But pretty quickly after Apollo 11, within a few more missions, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2013/09/ending-apollo-1968/">Richard Nixon canceled the program</a> because the political objectives had been met.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a large rocket with two boosters attached to its sides standing between two massive gantries" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481319/original/file-20220826-14-lqw3h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NASA’s new Space Launch System is seen here being moved from the rocket assembly building to a launchpad.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/KSC-20220816-PH-JBS01_0092/KSC-20220816-PH-JBS01_0092~thumb.jpg">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So fast-forward 50 years. This is a very different environment. The U.S. is not doing this to beat the Russians or the Chinese or anybody else, but to begin a sustainable exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.</p>
<p>The Artemis program is driven by a number of different goals. It includes <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190025283/downloads/20190025283.pdf">in situ resource utilization</a>, which means using resources at hand like water ice and lunar soil to produce food, fuel and building materials.</p>
<p>The program is also helping to establish a lunar and space economy, starting with entrepreneurs, because SpaceX is very much part of this first mission to the surface of the Moon. NASA doesn’t own the Starship but is buying seats to allow astronauts to go to the surface. SpaceX will then use the Starship for other purposes – to transport other payloads, private astronauts and astronauts from other countries.</p>
<p>Fifty years of technology development means that going to the Moon now is much less expensive and more technologically feasible, and much more sophisticated experiments are possible when you just figure the computer technology. Those 50 years of technological advancement have been a complete game-changer. Almost anybody with the financial resources can send spacecraft to the Moon now, though not necessarily with humans. </p>
<p>NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/commercial-lunar-payload-services">Commercial Lunar Payload Services</a> contracts private companies to build uncrewed landers to go to the Moon. My colleagues and I have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/abdfc3">radio telescope</a> that’s scheduled to go to the Moon on one of the landers in March. That just wouldn’t have been possible even 10 years ago.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7toE-Cd5S2w?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Artemis is an ambitious program, but technology has advanced tremendously in the 50 years since humans last went to the Moon.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What other changes does Artemis have in store?</h2>
<p>The administration has said that in that first crewed flight, on Artemis 3, there <a href="https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-astronauts-for-moon-landing-unveiled">will be at least one woman</a> and very likely a person of color. They may be one and the same. There may be several. </p>
<p>I’m looking forward to seeing more of that diversity, because young kids today who are looking up at NASA can say, “Hey, there’s an astronaut who looks like me. I can do this. I can be part of the space program.”</p>
<p><em>This article was updated on Nov. 16, 2022, to indicate that NASA launched the rocket.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Burns receives funding from NASA for science research.</span></em></p>When the Orion Crew Capsule orbits the Moon there will be no one on board. But the mission will mark a key step in bringing humans back to Earth’s dusty sidekick.Jack Burns, Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1809902022-04-08T14:25:53Z2022-04-08T14:25:53ZAxiom launch: why commercial space travel could be another giant leap for air pollution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457152/original/file-20220408-41099-9cm6ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C2995%2C1989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">SpaceX is seeking to expand its remit to include commercial low-Earth orbit launches.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/16236321533">SpaceX/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-axiom-ax1-mission-ready-to-launch">Axiom-1 mission</a> to send four private astronauts to the International Space Station is the first of many missions planned by NASA to expand the ISS for <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-first-commercial-destination-module-for-international-space-station">commercial use</a> as part of what’s being called the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/low-earth-orbit-economy">low-Earth orbit economy</a>. </p>
<p>The commander of the Axiom-1 mission has emphatically stated that this is not an example of <a href="https://www.inverse.com/innovation/axiom-space-ax1">space tourism</a>, as the crew have undergone training and the mission includes plans to conduct biomedical research. </p>
<p>Crew members – all men aged 52 to 71 – reportedly paid a whopping <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/26/22250327/space-tourists-axiom-private-crew-iss-price">US$55 million (£42.3 million)</a> per ticket, an amount that would no doubt fund a formidable biomedical research programme here on Earth. But beyond the ludicrous ticket price, I’m concerned about the potential environmental impacts of such space jaunts. </p>
<p>The mission is using a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, with the crew located in the Crew Dragon spacecraft at its apex. The rocket has two stages: the reusable booster that holds most (about four-fifths) of the fuel and that returns to Earth for reuse, and a discarded second stage. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A capsule approaches a larger structure in space, marked with a Dragon logo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457153/original/file-20220408-34202-rdmf2d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An artist’s impression of the SpaceX Crew Dragon craft docking with the International Space Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SpaceX_Crew_Dragon_docking_with_the_International_Space_Station.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The booster reaches an altitude of about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBEH4t05AvM">140km</a> before returning to Earth. The energy required to propel the spacecraft to the ISS is achieved from the <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/">combustion reaction</a> between rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen, releasing byproducts hazardous to the environment. </p>
<p>Rocket launches and returning reusable components release air pollutants and greenhouse gases into multiple atmospheric layers. In the middle and upper atmosphere, these can persist for <a href="https://www.essoar.org/doi/10.1002/essoar.10510460.1">years</a> compared with equivalent pollutants released at or near the Earth’s surface, which linger for weeks at most. This is because there are fewer chemical reactions or weather events to flush pollutants out of middle and upper layers. </p>
<h2>Potent pollutants</h2>
<p>The kerosene fuel used by SpaceX Falcon rockets is a mix of hydrocarbons, composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms. These react with liquid oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO₂), water vapour (H₂O) and black carbon or soot particles that are released from the <a href="https://aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/RocketEmissions_0.pdf">rocket exhaust</a>. </p>
<p>CO₂ and H₂O are potent greenhouse gases, and black soot particles are very efficient at absorbing the sun’s rays. That means all these chemicals contribute to warming the Earth’s atmosphere. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ax-1-why-the-private-mission-to-the-international-space-station-is-a-gamechanger-180589">Ax-1: why the private mission to the International Space Station is a gamechanger</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Nitrogen oxides (NOx), reactive air pollutants, also form during launch due to very high temperatures causing a bonding reaction between usually stable nitrogen and oxygen molecules. NOx is also produced when the rocket’s reusable components <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016EF000399">return to Earth</a>, due to extreme temperatures produced by friction on its heat shields as they whizz through the mesosphere at 40km-70km. </p>
<p>When these particles make contact with the ozone layer (in the stratosphere), they convert <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.ea.07.050179.002303">ozone to oxygen</a>, depleting the fragile sheath that protects the planet from the sun’s harmful UV radiation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A countdown timer in front of a small lake, a rocket visible in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457150/original/file-20220408-25034-2ng7uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Countdown begins for the commercial launch destined for the International Space Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/51989259502/">NASA HQ Photo/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although total CO₂ emissions from this launch will be small in comparison to those from the global aircraft industry, emissions per passenger will be around <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-tourism-rockets-emit-100-times-more-co-per-passenger-than-flights-imagine-a-whole-industry-164601">100 times</a> those from a long-haul flight. </p>
<p>Soot emissions are also much less than those from the aircraft industry, but when released into the middle and upper atmosphere, soot has a warming effect <a href="https://www.essoar.org/doi/10.1002/essoar.10510460.1">500 times greater</a> than at levels closer to Earth. This is in part because there are typically no clouds and few to no aerosols competing with soot to absorb the sun’s rays. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-how-it-could-play-out-in-space-with-potentially-dangerous-consequences-178557">Ukraine war: how it could play out in space – with potentially dangerous consequences</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The potential opportunities of creating industry and trade networks within low-Earth orbit have been likened by an Axiom co-founder to the early days of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/first-private-astronaut-mission-space-station-readies-launch-2022-04-04/">developing the internet</a>, now an almost universally accessible technology. If we extend that analogy to imagine similarly high levels of access to the low-Earth orbit economy, rocket launches are likely to become far more common than just the <a href="https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_chr/lau2021.htm">146 launches</a> achieved in 2021.</p>
<p>Such a scenario would substantially alter Earth’s climate and undermine our significant progress in repairing the ozone layer. At the very least, research is urgently needed to assess the consequences of a flourishing low-Earth orbit economy for our planet down below.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eloise Marais receives funding from the European Commission and the UK Natural Environment Research Council. </span></em></p>Expanding the low-Earth orbit economy through increased commercial spaceflight will only push our planet further into its climate crisis.Eloise Marais, Associate Professor in Physical Geography, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.