Responsible exploration of space: Striking a balance between progress and environmental protection

From Peter's trip to the moon, to Starship Enterprise, to Star Trek: our idea of space seems largely romanticized by those stories. The images that arise in the minds of most people are those of a distant mission that lets us escape into unknown, unexplored and untouched expanses. In fact, however, space is anything but pristine, and an industrialization of the so-called "infinite expanses" is already taking place. The consequences of this are anything but romantic, however, because they bring with them downright pollution. This ranges from discarded satellites to abandoned rocket stages. What many people don't seem to realize in this discourse is that the effects of pollution are already negatively impacting our planet. In this panel, we therefore take a critical but equally solution-oriented look at the worrying reality of space pollution and aim to raise awareness of global impacts affecting our Earth and its inhabitants. Possible solutions and initiatives to reduce space pollution and preserve space as a possible future resource provider are well on their way - so we ask ourselves, so what needs to be implemented now to save space and why, although our focus should be on saving our Earth, do we also need to think about space? ORF host Elke Ziegler will discuss this with Andreas Perotti (CMO FACC), Alexander Soucek (Head of Public Intern. Law Division European Space Agency (ESA)) and Sara Dalledonne (Research Fellow & Lead on Regulatory Affairs The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)).

17.05.2023