Shaping tomorrow’s interplanetary societies with bold, interdisciplinary innovation.
How projects work
We are working toward a future in space that prioritizes people and environments, on and off world. We do this by uniting experts from different fields to research and learn together. Our goal is to explore new ideas and solutions that benefit everyone, driven by our curiosity and desire to make a positive impact.
Our research projects promote equitable access to space, ethical standards, inclusive participation and sustainable solutions.
Pilots
Interdisciplinary and cross-sector teams that are seed funded to address big questions about our future in space.
Fellowship
An annual program for visiting scholars to pursue bold, interdisciplinary projects that advance research areas key to Interplanetary’s mission.
Laboratory
A student-driven facility that supports the full lifecycle of spaceflight hardware and provides services to industry and faculty partners.
Filter your results
Showing 52 results for:
Breakthrough Starshot
How can ultrafast light-driven nanocrafts lay the foundation for a launch to Alpha Centauri?
Century-Scale Space
Can we design space organizations to thrive for over a century?
Charlotte
How can we enhance our understanding of technical terrain environments?
Coconut
How can we enable low-cost data collection from remote, low-power Earth-based locations with innovative solutions?
Commons in Space
How will shared resources in space, from satellites and space debris to mining of celestial bodies, be managed?
Community in a Box
How do we start creative conversations around off-world community-building?
Customer Discovery-Led Study of the Space Economy
Who are the customers of the space economy and what are their needs?
DEIA Service Model Offering
Can we establish a model that turns insights into action and see results that create an inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible environment for the space industry?
Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture
How can we Improve satellite communications with precision pointing accuracy?
Discovery of Life
How will humankind react to the discovery of life off Earth?
Earth Analogs
What can we learn about emotional resilience and mental health in space from Earth analogs?
Earth Operations Center
How do we become better stewards of “Spaceship Earth?”
eLearning in Space
What methodologies, resources, delivery systems and technology will be advantageous to provide an optimum learning environment in space?
Emerging Space Partnerships
How can we accelerate achieving the UN SDGs through commercially led capacity-building partnerships with emerging spacefaring nations?
Equitable Access to Space
How can emerging spacefaring and developing nations share in the benefits of space?
ExoCam
How can we assess the impact of rocket exhaust on regolith to prevent contamination of collected samples?
Five Senses in Space
How do we galvanize public and private support for space exploration?
Global Heat Map of Space Activities
What is the state of “space activities” globally, across countries, agencies and projects?
Human and Robotics
How can we better connect robotics and human space exploration?
Integrating Space in the Local Economy
What are the governance and economic structures we can use to best integrate space into a local economy, using the case of Arizona?
Introduction to Satellite Operations
How do we prepare the next generation of space professionals in the area of space and ground operations?
JEDI Space
How do we build a JEDI (just, equitable, diverse and inclusive) space for all of humanity?
Lessons from the Past
How can lessons of the past inform our decisions for a better space future?
LIghtCube
How can we create opportunities for young generations to directly interact with a satellite?
Lunar MVI
What is the minimum required infrastructure for a sustained human presence on the moon?
LunaRights
How do we establish real property rights in space?
Mars on the Field
How do we galvanize public and private support for space exploration?
Mission: Interplanetary
Moon Dialogs
How do we create governance and coordination mechanisms for the lunar surface?
OrbitScape
How can we build effective maps of space (lunar) orbits?
Pico Balloon
How can we solve weight, stability and data challenges in pico balloons?
Port of Mars
How can we sustain healthy human communities in space?
Preventing Space Wars
How do we reduce the probability of a cataclysmic space war?
Project ENTERPRISE
How can AI and robots work together with humans for future space exploration?
Rapid Responsive Space
Are small satellites the key to rapid responsive space?
Religious Space
What is the relationship between space and religion?
Revolutionizing Power Beaming Technology
Roamer
How do we use space to combat climate change?
Sacred Space
What does religion have to do with space exploration?
Satellite Operations
SIMOC
How do we build a scalable interactive model of an off-world community?
Space Advisory
What would the future of space governance need to look like to best support a prosperous and equitable future?
Space Ecology
What fundamental rules govern the self-sustainability of ecosystems for long-term space settlement?
Space Economy Camp for Writers
What could a sustainable, non-exploitative economic model for space look like?
Space Exploration and Sustainable Development
How does space exploration and development impact progress towards achieving the UN SDGs?
Space for Humans
How can we make complex space sustainability topics accessible and engaging for the public, encouraging new audiences to see their relevance to ecological sustainability and globally society?
Space Intersections
How do leading experts view the intersection of religious and political ideologies in relation to human expansion into space?
Space Travelers Archive
How does being off Earth impact the concept of self?
SpaceHACK for Sustainability
How can we involve students in leveraging space technologies in achieving the UN SDGs?
SpaceWorks
How do we leverage ASU’s exploration assets and NASA missions to offer students a hands-on learning experience in the exploration process?
Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat
How can we monitor sun flares and sunspot activity on low-mass M and K spectral type stars?
VELOS
How can we explore the moon’s permanently shadowed regions to help the future of space travel?
Research project news
ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative adds three new pilot projects that will champion innovative concepts for societal impact
August 28, 2024
Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative continues to drive innovation with its seed funding program by advancing…
Interplanetary Initiative’s pilot project program creates runway for real-world impact
November 27, 2023 | Shireen Dooling
The Interplanetary Initiative at Arizona State University unites academia, industry and government to launch space…
Interplanetary Initiative expands pilot project portfolio, addressing range of topics
June 27, 2022 | Sally Young
Throughout the year, the Interplanetary Initiative has brought together members of the Arizona State University community…
Project impact
The Interplanetary Initiative’s goal is to explore new ideas and solutions that benefit everyone, driven by our curiosity and desire to make a positive impact. Our research projects promote equitable access to space, ethical standards, inclusive participation and sustainable solutions. Explore some of our past projects to learn about their impact.
53
Research projects
111
Collaborating organizations
5.7x
Return on seed investments
Get in touch
Looking for more research opportunities or collaborations? We’d love to hear from you.