by Chase Kassel
Spotlight
SPACE ECONOMY CAMP FOR WRITERS
This project is rapidly progressing toward the execution of their camp, which will be held at ASU SkySong from November 9-12, 2023. From 80 total applicants, 20 individuals were selected for participation in this one-of-a-kind event.
The camp is featuring worldbuilding facilitators such as Micaiah Johnson, Mary Robinette, DongWon Song, and Erin Roberts, and economists Marco Janssen, Dr. Jason Barr, Alexander MacDonald, and Alberto Cottica, to empower storytellers to imagine worlds and futures with new economic models for space. Learn more about these incredible participants by clicking the link.
The team secured $10,000 in external funding from Breakthrough Initiatives to offset costs of the upcoming camp.
On October 11, 2023, members of the team Kim Macharia and Tracy Drain co-facilitated a discussion at The Economist’s Space Economy Summit in Los Angeles to promote the camp with 20 participants, including finance and business development professionals. The topics ranged broadly from the need for increased public engagement and policies for navigating future geopolitical tensions to the plausibility of implementing a range of science fiction topics.
On the move
CUSTOMER DISCOVERY-LED STUDY
Secured two critical collaborations with MilkyWayEconomy and NewSpace Finance as partners and co-authors on their space economy report. Both organizations will provide market, investor, and finance information on the growing global commercial space economy.
Learn more
| DEIA SERVICE MODEL OFFERING Completed their industry landscape analysis and current state of DEIA projects and programs. The team has begun market research to start identifying components of a DEIA offering that will add unique value to the market and will support more inclusive practices in the space industry. Learn more |
| GLOBAL HEAT MAP OF SPACE ACTIVITIES Their student worker, Mohamed Chehab, a Computer Science undergraduate at ASU, fixed several bug issues within the website user interface and began working on other website tool enhancements, such as adding VC articles and new tagging capabilities. The team added an additional 20,000+ article dataset into the website tool, greatly increasing its functionality. Learn more |
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Established a collaboration with the Astra Carta, a document led by King Charles III of the United Kingdom that outlines a framework and principles for space sustainability. Through this collaboration, the team participated in the Astra Carta Zero Draft consultation workshops that examined the integration of sustainability and space exploration lessons learned. The project lead has also secured a partnership with AstroForge for $10,000 in matching funds for developing their prototype timeline digital tool, a key milestone for the project.
Learn more
LUNAR ORBITAL MAPS
Led by the ASU Luminosity Lab, this team has completed a full user interface mockup tool for visualizing cislunar and Lunar orbits. By engaging potential customers and partners, the team has identified the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), an open source software system for space mission design, optimization, and navigation as a method to integrate real space objects into the tool.
Learn more
LUNAR RIGHTS AND RESOURCES
Led by the ASU Luminosity Lab, this team has completed the primary user interface for the schematic and conducted an advisory team demonstration on October 19, 2023 for proof-of-concept feedback. This tool builds off existing Lunar resource maps by overlaying international and domestic space policies and treaties to simulate the impact of future resource extraction and scientific missions to the Moon.
Learn more
MARS ON THE FIELD
Having successfully hosted an MVP demonstration for their initial VR experience in FY23, the team is crafting a core narrative experience that builds on the technology by focusing on the human story of Mars.
Learn more
SACRED SPACE: RELIGION & COSMIC SPACE EXPLORATION
Focused first quarter efforts on building the team necessary to execute on distilling the content from the success of the FY23 symposia.
Learn more
SPACE EXPLORATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Wrapping up the development of space CSR criteria from FY23 to be published later this year. The team will be presenting a paper entitled, “From Apollo to Artemis: A product archeology study of gender-inclusive technologies for human spaceflight” at the upcoming Society for Social Studies of Science Conference from November 8-11 in Honolulu, HI.
Learn more
SPACE TO SOLVE CLIMATE CHANGE
Led by the ASU Luminosity Lab, this team has narrowed the scope of their project to focus on a single concept related to wireless power transfer and how the technology can be developed for more efficient use on Earth for future space applications.
Learn more
SPACEHACK FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Selected to receive two student interns through ASU’s NASA Space Grant program. The team has also secured an informal agreement with La Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) in Ecuador to host a concurrent hackathon on their campus and is working closely with the ASU MILO Space Science Institute to further develop this and other international relationships.
Learn more