Responsibility in Space for Sustainability on Earth
Debates on outer space in the social sciences for a long time were driven by a focus on the space race and great power competition, but have become much more nuanced and broadened. Particularly since more states in the world have developed capacities and an interest in engaging in outer space politics, the scope of concepts, ideas and alternatives to thinking about space in terms of geopolitics has broadened. Thus, the importance of space-related activities in international relations has increased, both from a legal and security-related perspective as well as with regard to environmental and sustainability issues.
As outer space has emerged as a distinct arena of political and economic interactions that need legal, normative and political frameworks that are adapted to the specific circumstances, some broader questions also come to the fore. One of them concerns the normative and pragmatic issue of responsibility, which implies further questions such as accountability, adequate behavior and the role of future generations. Whether space pollution is concerned or the extension of terrestrial conflicts into Earth orbit, the implications of private vs. democratically elected and controllable actors controlling a large part of vital digital infrastructure, etc. – the question of responsibility in space policy is present and, in fact, central in the ongoing and often quite open discussions about outer space. Furthermore, international responsibility for outer space activities is key in the considerations of international lawyers, who seek to establish rules and principles for space activities. As a socio-spatial sphere that is far from terra incognita or terra nulla, space has emerged as an additional arena of conflict between the countries of the OECD world and the emerging nations of the Global South.
Against this background, it seems necessary to discuss responsibility and accountability in space. This will be the focus of the side event organized by the AIA at this year’s World Space Forum. We were able to get former ESA astronaut Gerhard Thiele for the keynote speech. In 2000, Thiele flew on NASA’s STS-99 mission, mapping Earth’s topography. He later became Head of the Astronaut Division at the European Astronaut Centre and oversaw ESA’s astronaut selection in 2009. He will draw on his wealth of experience to take stock of his professional life. Our Fellows Chelsea Haramia, Raúl González Muñoz, Adam Bower and Güneş Ünüvar will discuss with him from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Keynote
Astronaut Gerhard Thiele
Gerhard Thiele, born on 2 September 1953 in Heidenheim, Germany, earned a Ph.D. in Physics in 1985. After postdoctoral research at Princeton, he joined the German astronaut corps in 1987. In 2000, Thiele flew on NASA’s STS-99 mission, mapping Earth’s topography. He later became Head of the Astronaut Division at the European Astronaut Centre and oversaw ESA’s astronaut selection in 2009. Since retiring from ESA in 2015, he has been a lecturer at RWTH Aachen University.
Speaker
Chelsea Haramia
Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Spring Hill College, USA
Raúl González Muñoz
Lecturer in Space Policy and Economy at the University of Leicester (UK)
Adam Bower
Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of St Andrews
Güneş Ünüvar
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Luxembourg Centre for European Law (LCEL), University of Luxembourg
Contact
Lisa Hartmann
Public Relations and Events Officer
