ASU Interplanetary Initiative - Space Futures

convening for perspectives

SKETCH OF SPACE

How might we draw upon our collective perspectives to inspire a more positive space future?

We share our insights through art for broader engagement.

2022 ACHIEVEMENTS

EXPLORE

EXPLORE

2023 PREDICTIONS

SPACE ACHIEVEMENTS

2022

TOP THREE COUNTDOWN

Space Solar Project Demo Launch… 3

…will teach us how to solve our sustainable energy problem

The Caltech Space Solar Power Project prototype will test several key components of an ambitious plan to harvest solar power in space and beam the energy back to Earth. A constellation of modular spacecraft will tap into the practically unlimited supply of solar energy in outer space, transform it into electricity and transmit it to wherever is needed over long distances. The mission successfully launched the prototype into orbit in January 2023.

PHOTO CREDIT: California Institute of Technology

Starlink… 2

…will shift how we look at ourselves for decades to come

Operated by SpaceX, a commercial player, the satellite internet constellation Starlink has played a vital role in keeping Ukraine’s military and citizens online as Russia targets its telecommunications and electricity infrastructure. Such an infrastructure that is not under any one government’s control provides unprecedented access to unfiltered information anywhere in the world.

James Webb Space Telescope… 1

…will rewrite the history of the cosmos and reshape humanity’s position within it

The James Webb Space Telescope has been designed to answer many of the core questions that have animated astronomers over the past half-century. It is one of the most ambitious engineering initiatives ever attempted that will rewrite the history of the cosmos and reshape humanity’s position within it. This telescope captures an expanded range of wavelengths, unlocking data that will inform the atmospheric composition of exoplanets and detect biosignatures (potential signs of life).

PHOTO CREDIT: NASA

2022 TOP SPACE ACHIEVEMENTS

SPACE PREDICTIONS

2023

TOP THREE COUNTDOWN

…will be a top priority for all space players

Orbital Debris Remediation … 3

Poorly regulated and debris laden, Low Earth Orbit finds itself at a high risk for a collision event. This growing risk will push for changes in regulation, maturation of debris removal technologies and greater focus across the industry on sustainability. Case in point, this will be the topic for an upcoming XPRIZE.

Starship Going Orbital… 2

…will make things possible that aren’t economically feasible today.

Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry more than 100 metric tons to Earth’s orbit. It will be critical to returning astronauts to the moon and to later deep space travel to Mars. This fully reusable megarocket will drastically change the economics of launching crew and cargo into space.

PHOTO CREDIT: SPACEX

TRIDENT… 1

…will mark the start of the lunar water economy

The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploration of New Terrains (TRIDENT) is an ice mining drill under development for two exploration/In Situ Resource Utilization missions to the Moon one of which, PRIME-1 is expected to launch in 2023 as part of Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. With this drill, we will be touching ice on the surface of the moon for the first time. This will mark the start of the lunar water economy.

PHOTO CREDIT: NASA

And…Psyche

Led by ASU’s one and only, Lindy Elkins-Tanton! This mission will travel to a unique metal asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. What makes the asteroid Psyche unique is that it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.

…will start its journey to a metal world that will reveal many of our solar systems secrets

2023 TOP SPACE

PREDICTIONS

2023 Contributing thought leaders

Alex MacDonald, Chief Economist, NASA

Angel Abbud-Madrid, Director, Center for Space Resources, Colorado School of Mines

Anousheh Ansari, CEO, XPRIZE

Antonino Salmeri, Policy Researcher, Space Generation Advisory Council, Open Lunar Foundation

Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin

Cady Coleman, Global Explorer and Astronaut Exploration Leadership, Arizona State University

Chris Hadfield, President & CEO”Chris Hadfield, Inc.”

Dan Bliss, Professor, Arizona State University

Daniel Faber, CEO, Orbit Fab, Inc.

David Brown, Author

David Mackay, Chief Pilot, Virgin Galactic

David Thomas, Executive Director, MILO Institute at ASU

Edward Garneri, Professor, Arizona State University

Elena Rocchi, Professor, Arizona State University

Erika Wagner, Sr Director, Emerging Markets, Blue Origin

Etosha Cave, Co-Founder and CSO, Twelve

Evgenya Shkolnik, Associate Professor, Arizona State University

George Whitesides, Chair, Space Advisory Board, Virgin Galactic

Glenn Williamson, CEO, Canada Arizona Business Council

Greg Autry, Clinical Professor - Space, Arizona State University

Jacob Malthouse, Executive Director, Open Lunar Foundation

Jacques Masson, Export Control and Risk Manager Officer, ClearSpace

James Schalkwyk, Program Manager, Breakthrough Initiatives

Jessica Rousset, Deputy Director, Interplanetary Initiative, Arizona State University

Jessy Kate Schingler, Director of Strategy, Open Lunar Foundation

Jim Bell, DPI and Imager Lead, Arizona State University

John Thurmond, Advisor-Innovation, Hess Corporation

Jose Acain, Founder and CTO, AstroForge

Kari Love, Red Burns Fellow, New York University

Katherine McConachie, Director of Learning, Interplanetary Initiative, Arizona State University

Kevin Hubbard, PhD candidate, Arizona State University

Kim Macharia, Executive Director, Space Prize

Kris Zacny, Vice President, Honeybee Robotics

Lance Gharavi, Professor, Arizona State University

Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Vice President, Interplanetary Initiative, Arizona State University

Loretta Whitesides, Founder SpaceKind, Yuri’s Night

Mary Robinette Kowal, Author, “Robin’s Roost, Inc.”

Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Professor of Religion and Science in Society, Wesleyan University

Matt Gialich, Founder and CEO, AstroForge

Matt Orley, Illustrator

Meenakshi Wadhwa, Director, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University

Melissa De Zwart, Professor (Digital Technology, Security & Governance), Flinders University

Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University

Nnedi Okorafor, Professor of Practice, Africanfuturism Productions

Paul Westerhoff, Regent Professor & Fulton Chair of Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University

Philip Mauskopf, Professor, Arizona State University

Rejane Cantoni, Independent Artist

Rob Sherwood, Principal Director, Strategy Integration, The Aerospace Corporation

Robbie Schingler, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Planet

Sally Morton, Executive VP Knowledge Enterprise , Arizona State University

Sarah Scoles, Journalist

Scott Parazynski, NASA astronaut (ret), NASA

Scott Webster, Co-founder, Chairman of the Board, Orbital Sciences Corp, Telesat Government Solutions

Shawn Linam, CEO, Qwaltec

Sian Proctor, Astronaut, Maricopa Community Colleges

Simon Pete Worden, Chairman, Breakthrough Initiatives

Tanja Masson-Zwaan, Asst. Professor, Leiden University

Taryn Struck, Sr. Program Manager, Interplanetary Initiative, Arizona State University

Ted Bonk, Technical Fellow, Honeywell

Theodora Ogden, Research Analyst, RAND Europe

Timiebi Aganaba, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University

Tracy Drain, Flight Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL