Helen Rankin

Space Poverty: The new space race for equal opportunities in an emerging sector

Konnichiwa Spacehackers!

I’m excited to be writing to you from Japan. It’s been a childhood ambition to visit and I’m pleased I never gave up on my dream. Inspiration is everywhere! From the natural scenic beauty, to the harmony of art and science and the individual style and welcoming charm of the people, Japan is definitely an experience you won’t want to miss.

I’ve been particularly inspired by the knowledge sharing and practical support given by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), through the KiboCUBE joint initiative with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), to help developing space nations design, build and launch their own satellites. Technical capacity building programs like this widen participation in space and are a reminder that space equality is possible.

In this space poverty Q&A special edition of the Spacehackers newsletter we’re asking: what can we do now to ensure equal opportunities for non-space faring nations in the future?

We’ll take a fresh look at space equality, share links to apply for the latest round of KiboCube and watch video case studies from Guatemala and Mauritius KiboCube participants, and give you an exclusive sneak peek at the Inverness Quadrant for Space Poverty (Inverness Quadrant). There’s also a link to register free for the first Space Knowledge Summit. So, pop the kettle on and let’s dive in…

Space Poverty Q&A

1. Is space poverty a real thing?

Yes. There is an existing imbalance between countries with space capabilities and those who are developing or have none. The Space Poverty Research Institute (Inverness House) has a clear definition of space poverty: ‘Space poverty exists where nations or individuals have limited authority or opportunities in the governance and benefits of outer space.’

2. Haven’t we got more immediate problems than ‘space poverty’?

Yes. The challenge is to take care of the immediate problems and, at the same time, prevent future problems from occurring. Equal access to space needs equal access to decision making about the future use of space, the laws to govern and jobs to be created. Maybe we’ve been engineering inequality into our systems and, if so, can we design out space poverty from the start?

3. Why does space poverty matter?

95% of countries do not have independent access to space. Space equality is the first principle of the first space law, The Outer Space Treaty 1967. It states that ‘the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind’. As of May 2023, less than half of UN Member States had successfully launched satellites† and a 2011 OECD report recorded only 10 countries have demonstrated successful independent launch capabilities.

4. What’s being done to tackle space poverty?

A lot. But, inequality to the benefits of space still exists. Given the nature of space exploration, the industry is naturally collaborative and motivated to act. Governments, academics and business are already taking steps to increase capacity building and widen participation in space, specifically in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Through the Access to Space for All initiative, UNOOSA has taken the lead on developing the technical know-how of satellite development and space exploration for UN Member States who have zero or developing space capabilities. This is a joint initiative between UNOOSA, space agencies and research institutions. I recently had the opportunity to attend the first Access to Space for All Expert Meeting and was inspired by the presentations from Guatemala and Mauritius, who both successfully built and launched satellites with support from domestic and foreign universities and foreign space agencies. I recommend you watch the replays if you can (see case studies section below for links).

5. How can non-STEM specialists get involved?

As a fellow Spacehacker, you already know that the Spacehackers programme has a focus on space law, social impact and finance. For the first time this year, we’ve launched the Space Knowledge Summit, a new annual global gathering, free to all, to collectively tackle the socio-economic challenges of the growing space sector. Our mission is to normalise the sharing of knowledge to increase capacity building, widen participation and ensure equal access to space for all.

This year, the theme is ‘Access to Space for All: Equal Employment Opportunities in Outer Space’. You’re all invited and I look forward to seeing you there!!! spaceknowledgesummit.com

“As access to the benefits of space is not yet universal, further efforts are required to promote the use of spacebased applications.” Mr. Niklas Hedman, Acting Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)‡.

Access to Space for All Case Studies & KiboCube Application

• Register for the latest round of the KiboCube programme
• Download all the speaker presentations and downloads
• Watch the video case study from Guatemala: CubeSat Queztal-1: Outreach Activities
• Watch the video case study from Mauritius: Space Unit of The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council

Exclusive Sneak Peek: Inverness Quadrant for Space Poverty

As I mentioned earlier, the Outer Space Treaty is an international law that requires all people benefit equality from space exploration and activities. Our founders had the job of getting that law agreed and it’s our job to figure out how to make it work. One of the challenges is to agree what ‘benefit’ means and to measure ‘equality’.

This has been the focus of my research for the upcoming Space Knowledge Summit – to find a fresh way to assess outer space wealth/capital and equality.

We’ll publish the full report in October during World Space Week but I didn’t want to keep you waiting. So here, for the very first time, is an exclusive sneak peek at the new Inverness Quadrant for Space Poverty (Inverness Quadrant).

The Inverness Quadrant is a visual snapshot that shows the distribution of privilege, power and profit from outer space activity. It plots the benefits and access to outer space on a country level and provides clear universal definitions of space poverty. The Inverness Quadrant is based on two fundamental ideas:

1. Space wealth can be measured in terms of waste creation and waste processing, where nations that are more active in outer space are the waste creators; and
2. Space governance cannot be dominated by countries with independent access to space.

A diagram of the Inverness Quadrant can be found in the cover art of this Spacehackers newsletter. The X-axis plots access to outer space (dependent to independent) and the Y-axis plots benefits of outer space (waste process to waste creation). Here are the definitions of the four space poverty states:

• Zero poverty: Highly active in outer space exploration and exploitation, and has high authority.
• Suspended poverty: Highly active in outer space exploration and exploitation, but has low authority.
• Relative poverty: Excluded from outer space exploration and exploitation, but has high authority.
• Absolute poverty: Excluded from outer space exploration and exploitation, and has low authority.

I’ll present the full results at the Space Knowledge Summit, in the meantime I’ll leave it with you to analyse who goes where.

Until next time, Helen :)

#inspiregenerations

Source:

† Stasko, M., 2023. 'Effective Outreach - Access to Space for All Expert Meeting' [Seminar], Online: UNOOSA. https://youtu.be/wNOXQd6SRF4?t=202

‡ United Nations (2022), Access to Space for All Initiative [Online]. Available at https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/Access2Space4All/AccSpace4All_Brochure_final.pdf (Accessed 22 July 2023).

by Helen Rankin