A Space 18th SDG for the Future
2025, a crucial year to review both the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Space 2030 Agenda
September 19 2024, 13:00 UTC (15:00 CEST, 9am US EDT)
In advance of U.N. Summit of the Future and 79th General Assembly
context | goals | program| sessions | requirements | format | speakers & panelists | registration | press releases
Context
2025 is a crucial year. United Nations and its subsidiaries will perform two important re-examinations: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the 17 SDGs, issued in 2015), and the Space 2030 Agenda (issued in 2021).
The Space 18th SDG Coalition already developed a substantial critical review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and advanced a fundamental amendment: to add an 18th SDG, focused on Civilian-led Space Development.
The Space 18th SDG Coalition also wants to bring its contribution to the discussion on the Space 2030 Agenda[1]. We want to encourage therefore the Space 18th SDG Coalition’s partner organizations to perform a critical review of such text. Space Renaissance International already initiated the work, and will soon propose a general review and possibly some crucial amendments. As first considerations, we note that the most relevant concern in the Agenda is sustainability, yet space is only conceived as a tool to support sustainability on Earth’s surface. There’s no mention of outer space as an arena of possible expansion and development for human civilization. That is the biggest limit of this Agenda. Space exploration is the only considered concept for activities in outer space. No mention of space settlement, nor of its fundamental contribution to solving the social and economic issues of civilization. A possible amendment might be to add an Overarching Objective 5, on civilian space development, space settlement and industrialization, as key factors of sustainable development, having social, economic, and environmental concerns as primary criteria, in reshaping the Space 2030 Agenda.
Goals of the workshop
The 19 September workshop will therefore have the goal of kicking off a public discussion on the re-examination and possible amendment of the Space 2030 Agenda. To discuss and systematize valid arguments to facilitate discussions in the United Nations environment and connected communities at large, e.g. humanitarian NGOs, Human Rights advocacy, and international collaboration for the shared goals of humanity. Focusing on economic and social matters (ECOSOC priorities), demonstrating key concepts, i.e. why civilian space development is the main and likely only way to make human development truly sustainable; why civilian space development helps all the peoples of Earth – including those living in already-space-faring countries, space-emerging countries, and not-yet-spacefaring countries – to quickly join the space market and enterprise, and to achieve unprecedented social growth. To demonstrate how the incoming cislunar economy will be a terrific channel and generator of thousands of new business opportunities for all the peoples of Earth.
Requirements for Participants
Participants will be requested to register in advance, through a proper online form, providing the title of their speech/presentation, an abstract, and a short bio.
Format
The proposed format is a whole-day workshop, including:
- Session #01 – Symposium for the Future (9:00am – 1:00 pm US EDT)
- Session #02 – Workshop for the Future (2:30pm – 6:30 pm US EDT)
Each presentation in session #01 will have 15 minutes, including Q&A.
Session #02, including 5 tracks, will allow discussion among panelists and all participants.
Our side event at the Summit of the Future, if accepted, will take place in a day between 20 and 24 September.
Abstract
The future of terrestrial civilization appears increasingly precarious. There are several concerning trends. The global military expenditure has reached $2.5 trillion, while the global Space Agencies expenditure is only $100 billion ¾a staggering 4% ratio of public money spending on life vs. death. This imbalance reflects a “syndrome of the closed world” where 8 billion humans struggle to survive on a single planet.[2][3][4][5] The environmental and resource crises are clear signs of this unsustainable situation. Some leaders have responded by escalating conflicts¾the number of global conflicts has risen from 30 in 2000 to 120 in 2024.
There is a strong interconnection between the social and economic development of all peoples on planet Earth, and wars and conflicts. When people see no escape from a hopeless future, they may turn to violence to compete for scarce resources, in a fratricidal struggle. The alternative to such a gloomy future exists: to kick off civilization expansion into the solar ecosystem and to start using resources outside the boundaries of our mother planet. The incoming cislunar economy is a concrete step on such a roadmap.
The path to sustainable space settlement is paved with daunting challenges, but also exciting opportunities. First, we need to ensure sound support for the incoming cislunar economy, developing industrial products and services in the geo-lunar space. This will require consolidated reusable launch vehicles, in-space fuel production, and recovering/reusing orbital debris.
We also need to figure out the best way to establish a permanent human presence¾a combination of O’Neill orbital habitats, and working/exploration/research surface outposts¾on the Moon and Mars. Protecting human life and health from radiation and providing simulated gravity are crucial. We will also need to create green, ergonomic, psychologically healthy habitats, in which environmental beauty and comfort will be primary requirements.
Artificial intelligence, robotics, and other advanced tools will be essential aids in this endeavor. If we start now, by 2050 we could see a thriving cislunar economy, a growing space infrastructure based on lunar and asteroid mining, space-based energy, and closed-loop life support systems. This could help make resource wars obsolete and bring a new sense of unity and purpose to humanity.
Considering the “Overview Effect”[6], experienced by astronauts when viewing planet Earth from a distance, we may think of an Overview Effect 2.0, when lunar pioneers will watch planet Earth in the sky from the Moon. A new romanticism might arise, from shared sentiments of brotherhood, sisterhood, and solidarity in a difficult environment. To survive, they will need to help one another, whatever their various Earthly nationalities might be, thus making terrestrial origin a secondary, non-essential aspect of human history.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a clear example of how living together in outer space can foster collaboration among space pioneers from different countries, even when their countries are militarily opposed on Earth.[7][8] The ISS has proven to be an outstanding model for international cooperation, with each partner contributing critical components and capabilities. This mutual collaboration has not only advanced scientific knowledge but also built valuable global partnerships and personal relationships among the astronauts and cosmonauts. The Apollo-Soyuz rendez-vous in orbit was the first international manned space mission, in July 1975. American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts shook hands, achieving a historic milestone, a symbol of détente between the two superpowers during the Cold War[9]. Twenty years later the joint Space Shuttle – MIR program, also called “Phase One”, allowed the United States to learn from the Russian experiences with long-duration spaceflight, preparing the way for “Phase Two” of the joint project, the construction of the International Space Station (ISS).
As civilization is on the edge of expanding into the solar ecosystem, vigorous space diplomacy will be increasingly important: the geo-lunar space might be a very much larger field for such a spirit of collaboration. Both the Artemis Accords and the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) might be opportunities for fair competition and collaboration, sources of best practices, all essential for the development of a modern space legal system, evolving beyond, and adding to, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
Sustainability must be at the core of space development and settlement. We need to learn from past mistakes and design systems fully oriented to circular economy and a zero-waste mentality. The skills and experience gained by the space communities would certainly improve sustainability back on Earth.
We are living in an age of permanent space revolution, in which new countries enter the space arena each month, and they do not need to go through the long way traveled by the forerunners: they can benefit from the previous experience. This space renaissance process must be 100% inclusive—benefiting all on Earth, not just traditional space powers. We need to build capacity and open opportunities for all countries and peoples. Space technologies like communications and Earth Observation already benefit many. The goal is a future where space development uplifts all of humanity, on Earth and beyond.
Space Renaissance International, the National Space Society, and 88 organizations grouped in the Space 18th SDG Coalition[10] propose adding an 18th SDG, focused on civilian space development, to the U.N. 2030 Agenda. The Space 18th SDG will give space development its deserved status as the key factor of sustainability for future human social and economic development. That will be essential to widen the popular awareness, consensus, and support for civilian space development.
The Space 18th SDG Coalition includes both large and small NGOs, several educational entities, and a number of commercial entities. We believe that our coalition represents, in itself, a model of global cooperation, fostered by the vision of Civilian Expansion into Space, and even of a Large-Scale Space Migration in the future, with different stakeholders from all the countries of planet Earth.
Session #02 Tracks
Session #02 is organized in 5 tracks, about 50 minutes each.
Session #02 Chair: Robert Katz
- Track 1 – Space 2030 Agenda – a Critical Review – Session Chair: Gary Barnhard
- Sustainability is the main concern of the Space 2030 Agenda, issued in 2021. Yet space is only conceived as a tool to support sustainability on Earth’s surface.
- There’s no mention of outer space as an area of possible expansion and sustainable development for human civilization.
- Space exploration is the only considered activity in outer space. No mention of space settlement.
- The social and economic issues of civilization have a very marginal place.
- In general terms, the agenda looks like a collection of worthwhile wishes, missing the most important goal of the space program – space settlement and civilization expansion into space.
- Track 2 – Space for Peace – Session Chair: Alma Opkalefe
- Making resource wars obsolete, by achieving the immense resources of space
- ISS is the only place where the USA and Russia still collaborate: may the Moon be another similar place?
- Will the Artemis and the ILRS programs find ways to collaborate?
- The Moon: a zero weapons environment?
- A new romanticism and human brotherhood in space. Humanist optimistic answers vs. pessimistic static views of human nature.
- Track 3 – Space for sustainable Economic and Social Growth – Session Chair: Victoria Ustimenko
- The key role of the incoming cislunar economy in opening thousands new jobs and business opportunities for enterprises and commerce: an incredible season of social growth for all.
- Permanent space revolution: the space-emerging countries don’t need to go through the long, slow road traveled by the space-faring countries.
- Already-Space-Faring, Space-Emerging, Not-Yet-Spacefaring: refusing any classification of Earth’s countries into A, B, and C series. The people of non-space-faring countries shouldn’t be peasants forever. Many will be peasants in space…
- Building capacities without borders, in an open-world and open-culture context.
- Space development to provide a new industrial development chain to the “post-industrial” countries, contributing to resolving the lack of jobs in the advanced societies.
- Cislunar economy and space industrialization first goals, products, customers, markets: producing fuel in space, orbital debris recovery and reuse, protection of life from the Sun and cosmic radiation, start experimenting with simulated gravity, green environment in space habitats, ergonomic, healthy, and psychologically safe space habitats; AI and big data servers in orbit and on the moon, directly fed by solar power in space.
- The role of traditional space technologies – namely telecommunication and remote sensing – in helping all human activities on Earth
- Peoples become more and more aware of the huge social diversities among different regions of planet Earth, as a baseline to make plans for personal and collective beneficial social growth.
- Earth observation helps agriculture, forest protection and management, monitoring disaster situations, forecasting the weather, understanding the global environment, understanding climate changes and global temperature trends, biodiversity, infrastructure, land use, and physical assets of all kinds.
- Track 4 – Space for Young Generations – Session Chair: Ghanim Alotaibi
- The effect of the global crisis on young generations: concerns for the environment, lack of jobs, wars, missing future, a jack-pot of depressive conditions
- The idea that our children and nephews will have life conditions worse than ours is pervading society and youths in particular
- Civilian space development will bring new hope in the future, prospecting great projects where youths may find reasons to study and work, a new faith in a brilliant future
- Civilian space development will generate millions of new jobs in all countries, in all sectors: industry, services, education, tourism, and logistics, just to mention the main sectors.
- The whole global economy will be impacted, and the main benefits will be for young generations.
- Track 5 – Space for Earth’s environment and sustainable development – Session Chair: Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom
- Space development and sustainability of development: a strict interconnection.
- Civilian Space Development will relieve our planet’s environment from the burden of industrial development, reduce pollution, and improve the natural and humanized environment’s balance.
- Orbital debris represents an increasing risk for space navigation and could close us into a cage, enchaining humanity at the bottom of the Earth’s gravitational well. But also a great opportunity to start cislunar industrialization.
- Irresponsible management of wastes, on Earth, in orbit, and on the Moon, may result in show-stopping conditions for space development itself.
- To make better, in space, than what we have done on Earth. Learning from past mistakes, and identifying best practices, to design our immediate and mid-term future.
- Skills and experience earned in space – e.g. total recycling, circular economy, farming, and vegetable cultivation in closed environments — may help sustainability on Earth too.
Hereafter the “A Space 18th SDG for the Future” next episodes:
- 19 September 2024, U.N. Plaza 777, NYC, “A Space 18th SDG for the Future” Hybrid Workshop 9 am – 6:30 pm (hybrid)
- 20 September 2024, Consulate General of Jamaica, 300 E 42nd St, New York, “A Space 18th SDG for the Future” SOTF Side Event (hybrid)
- 10 October 2024, in the frame of the World Space Week, “A Space 18th SDG for the Future” (virtual)
- 14 – 18 October 2024, International Astronautical Federation Congress 75, Milano (Italy), “A Space 18th SDG for the Future” (hybrid)
Registration
Follow the Livestream on the Space Renaissance YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/rFyAqmb4yhs
Click ‘going’ on the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1156074145490194/
[2].https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2024/in-full/global-risks-2024-at-a-turning-point/
[3].https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/26/future-ai-chilling-humans-threat-civilisation
[4].https://ec.europa.eu/assets/epsc/pages/espas/ESPAS_Report2019.pdf
[5].https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/technological-wild-cards-existential-risk-and-a-changing-humanity/
[6].https://www.space.com/frank-white-overview-effect
[7].https://hir.harvard.edu/a-shared-frontier-collaboration-and-competition-in-the-space-domain/
[8].https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/international-cooperation-and-continuing-exploration-space
[9].https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo%E2%80%93Soyuz
[10].https://spacerenaissance.space/the-space18sdg-proposer-organizations/