Explore what’s possible
At Arizona State
University’s Interplanetary Initiative, we study and solve societal and systems questions that will shape our future in space.
Note from the vice president
Dear friends,
This year, we celebrate the growth of our programs and honor the many collaborators who make our impact possible.
We expanded our learning portfolio to serve learners at various stages, ranging from middle and high school students and teachers all the way to aerospace professionals seeking to level up. Through innovative teaming methods, experts from diverse disciplines and sectors collaborated on 13 seed-funded projects. We introduced the ASU Space Collective to integrate commercial space companies within ASU’s vast space enterprise, unlocking greater value for all. Building on last year’s momentum, we organized and led the second annual Arizona Space Summit, convening 150 space leaders to develop strategies for Arizona’s space sector growth. A final highlight of the year is the launch of Space-Edge, a multiuniversity accelerator helping businesses gain a competitive edge through the space economy.
Thank you for helping shape an inclusive, sustainable and peaceful future for humans in space. Please stay connected for further exciting updates and consider subscribing to our new YouTube channel, “Space for Humans’”
Lindy Elkins-Tanton Vice President, ASU Interplanetary Initiative
Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche mission
Author, ″A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman″ Co-founder, Beagle Learning
Learning
Engagement
Preparing future problem solvers
Accelerating K-12 students and teachers toward success
Exploring diverse learning modalities at ASU
Online training for professionals
Innovating space solutions
Piloting global outcomes
Building space flight hardware
Advancing undergrad research
Project spotlights
Activating global thought leadership
A future-focused collaboration between ASU and partners statewide
ASU’s space resources propel commercial ventures
Collective
10
learning learning programs
1.3K active learner participants student engagement and outreach events reaching 32
7,800+ in gifts for student programs
$100K
$4K in educational grant funding
20
innovation collaboration engagement active research projects
200+
42 65
65
7 $100K
41
media stories and blogs published across ASU News and third party publications collaborating organizations community engagement activities team members social media audience growth disciplines collaborative initiatives with leading organizations gifts and other revenues
30%
Preparing future
from the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to develop a new professional development program to help middle school teachers incorporate microgravity concepts into their classrooms. This project is an exciting opportunity to reach middle school-age students, who are vital to the STEM workforce pipeline and are often underserved with STEM outreach programs.
professional development workshops reaching more than 45 teachers will be hosted at ASU, Stanford University and University of Colorado Boulder in summer 2024.
Engaging high school students
The OpenCitizen program uses an inquiry-based learning and problem-solving approach to help students research and execute a community impact project and build critical workforce skills along the way. This year, we piloted the OpenCitizen Universal Learner Course, which allows high school students to work on OpenCitizen projects in the classroom and earn ASU credit along the way.
high school students participated across four local Arizona schools. 750+
Exploring diverse learning modalities at ASU
| Empowering the next generation of space innovators
The Technological Leadership BS degree program and minor cultivate critical thinking and leadership skills with immersive classroom learning and hands-on research. With intensive internships, our graduates are prepared for the challenges and opportunities in fields like technology, finance, consulting and academia.
BS graduates for the 2023-24 academic year active students in the major active students in the minor
| Building spacecraft for the journey upwards
The Interplanetary Lab offers ASU students hands-on space flight hardware experience, enriching their tech knowledge and boosting academic and professional skills. Partnering with industry experts provides vital insights, networks and career-ready experiences.
students gained access to hands-on experience.
Interplanetary Lab students Sid Vaidy, Dylan Larson, Chandler Hutchens and Marco Lalonde with DORA (Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture)
Preparing future problem solvers
| Launching the next generation of space sector leaders
The ASU Space Student Ambassador Program is designed for ASU undergraduates who are passionate about shaping the future of space. Students gain exclusive access to space events and networks, explore diverse career paths and complete projects that prepare them to become the next generation of space sector leaders.
ASU undergrads across 12 fields of study activated their influence
| Training undergraduates in interdisciplinary space research
The Interplanetary Initiative Undergraduate Research Scholars Program connects current ASU undergraduate students to interdisciplinary research opportunities focusing on our society’s future in space. ASU undergraduate students from all majors, levels and campuses can participate.
ASU undergraduate students (including nine ASU Online students) gained research experience across eight research projects.
Katherine McConachie, senior director of learning, was named recipient of the 2023 ASU President’s Award for Innovation for her significant contributions to the Online Undergraduate Research Scholars Program.
ASU Space Student Ambassadors pose with space industry leaders, including Cady Coleman (first row, far left), U.S. astronaut; Kim Macharia (first row, second from left), executive director at Space Prize Foundation; and Asaad Abdul-Hamid (second row, far left), a doctoral student studying how to manage orbital debris.
Practical online training for professionals
| Master the fundamental skills of satellite operations for mission success
Developed by the ASU Interplanetary Initiative and experts from Qwaltec, Satellite Operations is a beginner-friendly self-paced online course with a comprehensive overview of satellite systems and operational phases. The program is designed for aspiring, new-to-space and entry-level professionals.
| Leadership training for aerospace scientists and engineers
Developed specifically for space sector professionals, the SciTech Space Leadership certificate provides actionable skills and strategies to lead and manage large projects and programs. It’s perfect for engineers and scientists taking the next steps into leadership roles and looking to upskill quickly. The program is designed and taught by ASU faculty in collaboration with space sector leaders from industry, government and academia.
| Accelerating businesses into the new space economy
In collaboration with ASU, Blue Origin, Space Foundation, University of Central Florida, University of Florida and Vanderbilt University, Space-Edge connects businesses to experts and resources that will help them develop and activate effective space strategies.
Innovating space solutions
Launch
What is a pilot project?
A one-year proof of concept conducted by an interdisciplinary team to assess the feasibility of a new idea for wider implementation.
Big Question teaming
Diverse teams form around big audacious questions, set one-year outcomes, activities and milestones.
Moving beyond Interplanetary Initiative
Project continues through partnerships or follow-on funding or both as a first step to scalability.
Seed funding
Projects teams led by an ASU faculty member apply for and secure one-year of seed funding. Projects receive project management support to ensure that goals are met.
Maximixing impact
Project outputs reach as many people as possible through commercialization, open source access, publication, licensing or other appropriate means.
Project types
Pilot project portfolio 2023-24 pilot projects seed funded and activated 12 team members, including 30 students 78 disciplines 53
Interplanetary Initiative seed funding $350K collaborating organizations 45
Pilots Validate Scale
Innovating space solutions
Global heat map of space activities
QUESTION
What is the state of space activities globally, across countries, agencies and projects?
APPROACH
Creating an interactive web tool that tracks global space activities to inform and direct future space funding and development.
PROJECT LEAD
Chris Bryan, assistant professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Incorperated tens of thousands of new articles as resources and a large language model into the search functionality.
Diversity, equity, inclusion and access service model
QUESTION
How do we build inclusive excellence in space for all of humanity?
APPROACH
Developing a tool kit and implementation model for the space sector to meaningfully incorporate DEIA across their businesses.
PROJECT LEADS
Lance Gharavi, Professor, Arizona State University
Ann Kapusta, co-founder, ThinkSpace Consulting
HIGHLIGHT
Created a business plan for companies interested in integrating DEIA initiatives into their operations and built an online database management system overviewing the industry landscape for major DEIA initiatives globally.
Innovating space solutions
Lunar orbital maps
QUESTION
How can we build effective maps of lunar orbits?
APPROACH
Creating an interactive tool visualizing the orbits space between Earth and the moon to inform current and future mission planning.
PROJECT LEAD
Mark Naufel, professor of practice, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Built a web-based tool for visualizing and exploring lunar and cislunar orbits that can be leveraged for educational, mission planning and policymaking purposes.
Lunar rights and resources
QUESTION
How do we establish real property rights in space?
APPROACH
Developing a web-based simulation tool to explore the physical location of lunar resources and how certain regions of the moon may be impacted based on simulated policy parameters.
PROJECT LEAD
Mark Naufel, professor of practice, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Built a web-based tool leveraging existing lunar resource maps to visualize exclusion zones and catalog existing lunar policies, laws and treaties that influence moon governance.
Education +
Space economy camp
QUESTION
What could a sustainable, nonexploitative economic model for space look like?
APPROACH
Hosting a space economy camp where economists and writers collaborate to develop rigorous and consistent economic mechanisms for speculative fiction world building.
PROJECT LEAD
Joffa Applegate, assistant teaching professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Hosted the Space Economy Camp for Writers bringing together 20 science fiction writers and economists to discuss world building for future human settlements in space. The project lead also attended the SciFi Economics Lab Residence in Sicily in May to pitch the project for wider implementation. The team is also developing an initiative called “Choose Your Own Adventure Economics,” a cheat sheet for science fiction writers to incorporate economics accurately into storytelling.
Innovating space solutions
Approximately 250 students from around the world convened at ASU’s Hayden Library and online for the ASU Interplanetary Initiative’s second annual SpaceHACK for Sustainability.
SpaceHACK for Sustainability
QUESTION
How can we involve students in leveraging space technologies in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?
APPROACH
Organizing a series of ‘Sustainability Hackathons’ that bring students and faculty together to leverage satellite data to address the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
PROJECT LEAD
Eric
Stribling,
assistant teaching professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Held the SpaceHACK for Sustainability Hackathon on March 22-23 with students from 12 countries, representing 43 universities, and including 140 students from ASU — 10 from Canada, four from France and 100 from Ecuador. Tracks included research in telecommunications, ocean heating and coastal biomes, and agriculture and water in the desert.
Tech infrastructure +
Space to solve climate change
QUESTION
How can we accelerate the utilization of space resources and in-space manufacturing to address climate change?
APPROACH
Exploring wireless power transfer technology for efficient use on Earth and its potential for future space applications.
PROJECT LEAD
Mark Naufel, professor of practice, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Refined the project scope to focus on power beaming and built a team of advisors to assess the feasibility of this technology.
Public outreach + Innovating space solutions
Sacred space
QUESTION
What does religion have to do with space exploration?
APPROACH
Creating video clips from last year’s series of public talks and publishing a collection of essays exploring the intersections of religion and space exploration.
PROJECT LEAD
Lance Gharavi, professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Created four sets of five videos translating last year’s seminar into bite-size media for consumption by a general audience. The team will gather written contributions for a published volume for wider distribution later in fall 2024.
Lessons from the past
QUESTION
How can lessons of the past inform our decisions for a better space future?
APPROACH
Producing a documentary examining the successes and failures of Earth-based exploration missions and leveraging the latest knowledge to inform future settlements of the moon and Mars.
PROJECT LEAD
Elena Rocchi, clinical associate professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Completed the first 10 minutes of their documentary and built a data visualization tool to organize trends and lessons from the interviews conducted.
development impact progress toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?
APPROACH
QUESTION
How do we galvanize public and private support for space exploration?
APPROACH
Creating a multisensory virtual reality experience walking participants through a history of space and Mars exploration on the Sun Devil Stadium field.
PROJECT LEADS
Laura Cechanowicz, assistant professor, ASU
Robert LiKamWa, associate professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Designed a preliminary prototype of the immersive on-field experience.
Producing a video series that communicates research insights into how space activities impact progress toward the U.N. SDGs.
Developing best practices for sustainability reporting within the space industry through a comprehensive review of environmental, social and governance reports from all major space companies.
PROJECT LEAD
Eric Stribling, assistant teaching professor, ASU
HIGHLIGHT
Created the “Space for Humans” YouTube channel with 14 videos and 175 subscribers in their first two months of operation. The team has also drafted a corporate social responsibility paper to be published by summer.
Mars on the field
Building space flight hardware
Lab project portfolio 2023-24
QUESTION
How can we collect data from remote, low-power Earth-based locations in an extremely low cost manner?
APPROACH
Providing mentorship and management as well as fabrication facilities, vibration testing and thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Sun Devil Satellite Lab, NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative
Coconut CubeSat
Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture (DORA)
QUESTION
How do we improve satellite communications with precision pointing accuracy?
APPROACH
Utilizing systems such as the Attitude Determination and Control System testbed, thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) and vibration table to test satellites and ensure they meet flight standards.
PROJECT PARTNER
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Danny Jacobs, assistant professor, ASU
LightCube
QUESTION
How might we inspire young generations by creating opportunities for them to directly interact with a satellite?
APPROACH
Leading software engineering, integrated subsystems and testing for the mission.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Vega Space Systems, CETYS Universidad
Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)
QUESTION
How might we effectively monitor sun flares and sunspot activity on low-mass M and K spectral type stars?
APPROACH
Implementing the final integration and testing campaigns for the SPARCS spacecraft. Our on-campus vibe table reduces risk of damage and contamination of the sensor.
PROJECT PARTNER
NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lowell Observatory, Southwest Research Institute, University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Evgenya Shkolnik, professor, ASU
Testing
QUESTION
How can we lower the testing barrier of entry for space flight hardware development?
APPROACH
Providing testing services such as vibration, thermal, TVAC and cable performance to groups that may not otherwise have access due to high capital equipment costs and lack of expertise.
PROJECT PARTNERS
ASU Luminosity Lab, ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration, Howe Industries,
Advancing undergraduate research projects
The benefit of partnerships with emerging spacefaring entities
QUESTION
Can we drive more commercially led capacity-building partnerships?
APPROACH
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #17 (Partnerships for the Goals) is critical for emerging spacefaring nations to access the benefits of space to help combat the impacts of climate change and meet the rest of their SDGs by 2030. The commercial space sector, as well as established spacefaring nations and academia, have vital roles to play in helping these nations access space. In collaboration with the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Space Foundation, this project seeks to study the feasibility of commercially led capacitybuilding partnerships.
HIGHLIGHT
Four undergraduate contributors mentored by Jessica Rousset and Chase Kassel (ASU) and in collaboration with UNOOSA and Space Foundation selected to present the project at the International Astronautical Congress 2024 in Milan.
Exploring century-scale space engagement
QUESTION
Can we design space organizations to thrive for over a century?
APPROACH
This study seeks to glean key insights from successful century-old organizations and explore humanity’s historical engagement with the night sky, aiming to translate these learnings into robust strategies for similar large-scale space initiatives.
HIGHLIGHT
Eight undergraduate contributors mentored by Philip Mauskopf (ASU) and Kevin Lewis (Buble Studios) studied biomes, and agriculture and water in the desert.
Experts at the ‘From Lab or Orbit’ workshop discuss the lifecycle of space experiments at the 2023 International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Oct 2.
Project spotlights
Exploring the interplay: Religion, politics and human expansion into space
How will religious and political ideologies define the future of human expansion into space?
In collaboration with Future Tense, Jack Traphagan, Interplanetary Initiative’s 2023-24 fellow, led the first Space Intersections symposium in Washington, D.C., with leading global experts. The exploration will culminate in the publication of “Religion and Space Exploration in Cross-Cultural Perspective.”
WATCH THE VIDEO
Discussion topics
Cosmism, atheism and socialism: Millenarian cosmologies of the Soviet space program.
Postcolonial endeavor in outer space: Cosmic projections of national ideologies.
Ideology and Chinese space expansionism.
Look to the heavens: Religion and space exploration in the U.S. and Russia.
Why are Shingon Buddhists launching a temple satellite?
Does NASA know what’s good for the world? Japanese space expansion, religious ideology and society 5.0.
Orthodox icons in the space age: Saints and cosmonauts.
The space flown body: How medical spaceflight researchers manifest the destiny of human biology.
There will be war.
Space strategy, strategic culture, policy and goals: China and India.
The spirit of space exploration in China and the West.
Project spotlights
The Earth-moon system as our cosmic home
To plan for a multiplanetary-scale civilization with the Earth-moon system as our home, we are creating visualization tools to help with mission planning, policy and strategy for both human and robotic activity on the moon.
Lunar rights and resources identify and inventory all known lunar resources and the rights associated with their utilization as they exist today. This understanding will be used to develop a systematic approach to identifying what “property rights” currently exist with respect to space resources on the moon. This project is creating a living schematic of known lunar resources that will be revisited periodically and will serve as a reference guide for the evolving field of space resource management.
Lunar orbital maps characterize lunar orbits to inform mission planning and efficient transport. This invisible geography will increasingly become a landscape on which human geopolitics will play out.
Making the case that space impacts the lives of real humans
Space For Humans is the Interplanetary Initiative’s newly launched YouTube channel in collaboration with ASU’s EdPLus. Every week, ASU faculty and students translate what is happening in space research and the space industry in punchy and fun segments that relate to the lives of real humans.
LIKE, SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE SPACE FOR HUMANS.
Project spotlights
Imagining how societies in space might work differently
Stories about a future in which people live and work among the stars may be speculative fiction, but there is a straight line from storytelling to real life. The first-ever Space Economy Camp for Writers brought together 20 world-renowned economists and established writers over three days as they imagined worlds set in space animated by new economic models.
Alexander MacDonald, chief economist for NASA, addressed the group of writers, saying, “We don’t go to space because we have machines. We go to space because we have a culture of people who are inspired to build the machines. The narrative creates the future.”
Participant quotes
“Best workshop experience — want to come again.”
“Camp was a wonderful experience that brought so many multidisciplinary perspectives into one space to imagine solutions to problems we can barely see the shape of from where we stand today. The best elements let the storytelling and creativity emerge while we examined the very real challenges of imagining life in space.”
Alexander MacDonald, chief economist for NASA
Over time, the range of values always present between the Notches and increased segregation among the asteroids led to rejection of oversight by Ceres and increased fragmentation of the system. Whole asteroids would eventually become excluded and the 10 Year Light Show was not performed. Trade slowed and travelers stopped coming.
current state of Dandelion Space Station is one
SCAN THE QR CODES TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE ZINES
RITUALIZED MESSAGING
After hundreds of years without contact, a probe has landed. The Keepers of the Flame wish to protect the community from outsiders who do not share their values without compromising their ideal of radical inclusion. They wish to educate and embrace the potential new arrivals, are are excited at the prospect of new, rare resources to share with their community. Should an accord be rejected, those of Mars are prepared to coexist provided there is no distruption of their community. Likescribe! Space Economy Camp's Sustainable, Non-exploitive Mars © 2023 by Interplanetary Initiative is
These selected artiFACTs are presented through the S3TS patented process of stabilization for interhoroculor ephemera. Some interpretation has been provided; however, it is up to YOU to expand this universe.
Donovan Beeson
SCHAFFEN
LAVA TUBE HABITAT
Space Economy Camp's Sustainable, Non-exploitive Moon © 2023 by Interplanetary Initiative is licensed under CC BY 4.0
interpretations by Donovan Beeson
Activating global thought leadership
Discussion topics
Commercial space for research and economic development
Learning from leading space hubs as models for economic development in Arizona
The promise of space for new resources
The current investment climate for space ventures
| A future-focused collaboration between ASU and partners statewide
The second annual Arizona Space Summit aimed to elevate Arizona as a premier hub for the commercial space sector. This effort highlighted Arizona’s robust space ecosystem and economic capabilities, bringing together over 150 leaders from industry, government and academia. Through panel discussions and collaborative sessions, attendees explored strategies for meeting the evolving needs of the commercial space sector and advancing Arizona’s position as a leader in space innovation.
The 2023 Arizona Space Summit report identified opportunities and recommendations for growth, which included the establishment of a state space commission that was signed into law by Gov. Katie Hobbs on the heels of the second annual summit. Look out for the 2024 summit report for new insights and recommendations.
| ASU’s space resources propel commercial ventures
Eight companies joined the ASU Space Collective as inaugural members of a community that seeks to more effectively leverage space assets across ASU and Arizona. The collective supports the advancement of their business goals and integrates them into both the Arizona and global space economy. As members, they gain access to various benefits such as workforce pipelines, faculty engagement, research collaborations and product development opportunities.
ASTROFORGE mines asteroids to extract valuable minerals in space at a lower cost and smaller carbon footprint than the current terrestrial methods.
CROW INDUSTRIES designs, develops and deploys advanced technologies to collect data in extreme environments on and off our planet.
HONEYBEE ROBOTICS is a subsidiary of Blue Origin that builds advanced spacecraft, robotic rovers and other technologies for the exploration of Mars and other planets in deep space.
HOWE INDUSTRIES develops cutting-edge technologies derived from the team’s expertise in nuclear technologies, thermal systems and space propulsion for power production and space exploration.
KATALYST SPACE TECHNOLOGIES upgrades satellites post-launch using inspace servicing, giving operators a second chance to add features that maintain their competitive edge.
LUNASONDE , a space age mapmaker, is the first company to offer subsurface data from orbit.
QWALTEC specializes in satellite operations, offering advanced technology solutions and services in areas such as satellite ground systems, mission operations and satellite communications.
STELLAR ISLE , an Arizona focused venture fund, aims to attract cutting-edge startups from across the globe to our state.
VIRGIN GALACTIC is a spaceflight company that aims to provide commercial space travel experiences for private individuals, research payloads and satellite deployment.
BECOME A MEMBER Contact space@asu.edu for more information.
2023-24 SPACE COLLECTIVE MEMBERS
Collective action for positive space futures
Visionary space leaders convene for solutions
Imagine all the ways of creating positive space futures with experts across a broad disciplinary range. The Space Futures Convening brought together 60 leading thinkers to hone in on the big questions we should answer together.
Utilizing our Big Questions teaming method, the group ideated eight project concepts that will be considered for seed funding:
1 2
Resiliency in space: Lessons from Earth Space travelers archive
What can we learn about emotional resilience and mental health in space from Earth analogs?
This project will pursue in-depth research into four Earth analogs: Antarctica, Inuit community, submarine culture and prisons. Findings will be synthesized into a white paper and presented at conferences through an op-ed. This project will deepen our understanding of resilience across diverse environments, contributing valuable insights to the current body of knowledge.
How does being off Earth impact the concept of self?
Inspired by the Shoah Project and early measurements of sea surface temperatures to track climate change, this project seeks to develop and validate a tool that measures one’s “sense of self.” This indicator will track the transformation of self-perception during off-world experiences. Video interviews will document individuals’ sense of self assessments with the goal of launching an archive of evolving self-perceptions in off-world environments.
Collective action for positive space futures
AstroGrit: A medical model for emotional resilience 3
How might emotional resilience look different in the context of living in space at large distance and time scales?
This project seeks to develop a tool to assess the nuances of emotional resilience in space, particularly focusing on the challenges posed by extended distances and prolonged durations away from Earth. Through literature reviews and astronaut interviews, a list of known and novel factors that impact long-term presence in space will be generated. These factors will inform a potential simulation tool or an expansion of the Integrated Medical Model currently used to assess astronaut medical risks.
4
Lunar MVI: Minimum viable infrastructure
What is the minimum required infrastructure for a sustained human presence on the moon?
A Minimum Viable Infrastructure (MVI) will be defined for several use cases of sustained human lunar presence (e.g., science, mining and interplanetary travel) by identifying a suite of variables for each case (e.g., water, communications, power, security and labor). The use case MVIs will then be overlayed and the resulting Venn diagram will help model the overall MVI which will inform decision-making for establishing and sustaining human presence on the moon.
Motivations for staying: A study of the moon 5 6
Why are we establishing permanent infrastructure on the moon?
The goal is to raise awareness and support by creating a compelling narrative for why we need to invest in infrastructure on the moon that unifies and inspires global action. First, the team will survey the reasons that exist historically and now. A web database and short summary report will be published from surveying technocratic sources and probing cultural sources like art, uncovering diverse narratives. ASU students will lead the organization of the scientific, political, economic and cultural reasons for a permanent presence on the moon. Then, public polling will ask groups of various ages and nationalities how they feel about these narratives. This project will seek to cultivate a shared understanding, highlighting the importance of diverse perspectives in shaping a global narrative to drive steps to becoming interplanetary.
Utility charter
Is everyone invited to help establish long-term infrastructure on the moon?
This project proposes that the signatories of a novel lunar utility charter would be those most eligible to participate in the establishment of long-term infrastructure on the moon (e.g., power, communications, life support and transportation). Through a semester-long class, students will draft model utility charters by researching examples from the terrestrial infrastructure experience and extrapolating to a framework that would work on the moon. Ultimately, collaboration with sci-fi writers will result in published short stories and vignettes of imagined futures in the lunar environment that are guided by these model charters. These outputs will be presented at conferences such as the International Astronautical Congress.
Collective action for positive space futures
7 8
Accountable LEO: A nonregulatory framework
How do we incentivize responsible innovation and accountability in a multinational LEO?
This project proposes to create a nonregulatory incentive framework to drive responsible research, innovation and activities in low Earth orbit (LEO), focusing on domains such as art, education, social pressure, financial/economic incentives and technology. This project will develop and present incentives in each of these areas that can be leveraged to promote a sustainable LEO for all nations and actors.
Model LEO
What alternative governance structures might transform our approach to responsible innovation and accountability in low Earth orbit?
This project seeks to create a multilingual and structured “peace game” named “Model LEO,” designed to engage a global audience by encouraging players worldwide to collaboratively devise innovative solutions in the context of low Earth orbit (LEO). The game will feature all interests in LEO (commercial stations, satellites, debris, etc.) and promote international cooperation in space.
Big questions and big thinkers
Space Futures LIVE brought together seven visiting scholars from diverse disciplines, all united in their mission to shape a positive future for humanity in space. This globally focused talk series delivered expert-driven insights, featuring cutting-edge research, groundbreaking ideas and inspiring stories.
Learn more at asuspacefutures.com.
Interplanetary Initiative team
LEADERSHIP
Michael M. Crow, ASU President Co-chair, ASU Interplanetary Initiative
Lindy Elkins-Tanton , Vice President and Co-chair Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche mission Co-founder, Beagle Learning
Jessica Rousset , Director
Katherine McConachie, Senior Director, Learning TEAM
• Sam Cherian, Lab Student Staff
• Genevieve Cooper, Lab Student Staff
• Lenore Dai, Associate Director
• Shireen Dooling, Project Manager
• Joe DuBois, Engineer Senior Special Projects
• Zachary Felty, Lab Student Staff
• Juana Garcia, Business Operations Manager
• Lance Gharavi, Associate Director
• Kennedy Gourdine, Administrative Student Worker
• Chandler Hutchens, Lab Student Staff
• Daniel Jacobs, Associate Director
• Chase Kassel, Portfolio Manager
• Ashley Lepham , Lab Student Staff
• Christopher McCormick, Lab Student Staff
• Ysabella McAuliffe, Lab Student Staff
• Shanmugam Rengaswamy Murugan, Administrative Student Worker
• Brooke Owen, Senior Student Engagement Program Coordinator
• Sona Seely, Executive Assistant
• Evegenya Shkolnik, Associate Director
• Ishi Shah, Lab Student Staff
• Cassandra Thradgill, Senior Academic Success Advising and Student Engagement Coordinator
• Taryn Struck, Portfolio Manager
• Eric Stribling, Assistant Teaching Professor
• Dens Sumesh, Lab Student Staff
• Sid Vaidy, Lab Student Staff
• Benjamin Weber, Lab Student Staff CONTRACTORS
• Anna Dong, Graphic Designer
• Kelli Fitzpatrick, Technical Writer
• Adrianna Nine, Editorial Writer
• Tim Struck, Visual Designer
ADVISORY BOARD
Lisa B. Callahan , Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Civil Space, Lockheed Martin Space
Rejane Cantoni, Interactive Installation Artist
Justin Chandler, Vice President of Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships, ThinkOrbital
Tracy Drain, Flight Systems Engineer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Tanja Masson-Zwaan , President Emerita of the International Institute of Space Law
Rob Meyerson, Aerospace Consultant
Amy Salzhauer, Founder and Managing Partner, Good Growth Capital
Jessy Kate Schingler, Founder and Chief Policy Analyst, Open Lunar Foundation
John Thurmond, Retired Principal Advisor for Emerging Technology in Geoscience
Scott Webster, Co-founder, Executive and Director, Orbital Sciences Corp.
AFFILIATED FACULTY
• Greg Autry, Thunderbird School of Global Management
• Diana Ayton-Shenker, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
• Jim Bell, School of Earth and Space Exploration
• Cady Coleman , School of Earth and Space Exploration
• Jeffrey Cohen, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Edward Finn , Center for Science and the Imagination
• Robert LiKamWa , School of Arts, Media and Engineering
• Phil Mauskopf, School of Earth and Space Exploration
• Andrew Maynard, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
• Joe O’Rourke, School of Earth and Space Exploration
• Jake Pinholster, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
• Meenaskshi Wadhwa, School of Earth and Space Exploration
Looking ahead
Building upon seven years of increasing momentum, the Interplanetary Initiative is ready to scale its impact through collaborations that have even greater international reach and that advance our understanding of the societal implications of human expansion beyond the Earth.
How might our space activities improve human well-being, ensure social equity for present and future generations, and safeguard the ecosystems we explore and inhabit?
We look forward to engaging with current and new partners to answer this big question.
