Filling Space: Democratizing Engagement with Space

What is it like being an Earth observation analyst?

Earth observation is an area of the space sector with many applications. Access to regularly updated basic imagery is very useful – how many times…

Life

Will humans inevitably cause microbial colonization of space?

Editor July 24, 2020 backward contamination bacteria forward contamination holobionts microbes microbial colonization microbiomes microorganisms symbionts symbiosis

One area of concern in space exploration is forward and backward contamination – bringing life forms from Earth to other places or vice versa. There…

Machine Society

How big a deal is space junk and what should we do about it?

Editor July 17, 2020 Australia defunct satellites insurance megasconstellations satellites space debris space junk space situational awareness space traffic The Kessler Effect

Every year, space junk seems to be attracting more attention. As the number of satellites orbiting Earth grows, the chances increase of some of them…

Life

What is astrobiology and how does one enter the field?

Editor July 10, 2020 astrobiology biosignatures geology Mars Mars 2020 NASA organic material planetary science robotic missions SETI

Astrobiology is a rapidly growing area of space science. It is characterized by interdisciplinarity, bringing together perspectives from various scientific fields. It also addresses one…

Society

What impact does US military space infrastructure have on global society?

Editor July 3, 2020 GPS international banking meteorological constellations military superiority NASA space systems the Cold War the Space and Missile Systems Center the US Air Force the US Department of Defense

The US military is one of the most important entities in terms of developing space infrastructure that has global repercussions. Perhaps the most obvious example…

Society

How does one go about becoming a space archaeologist?

Editor June 26, 2020 archaeology Environmental Impact Assessments Flinders University GPS human culture material culture space junk spacecraft the space environment transdiciplinarianism

The more one becomes familiar with space, the more one realizes what a varied subject it is. There are space lawyers, space artists, space social…

Society

What is happening in the space sector in Ghana?

Editor June 19, 2020 All Nations University Egypt Ghana GhanaSat Namibia South Africa the African Space Race the African Union the Kyushu Institute of Technology the Square Kilometre Array

Africa receives less attention than other regions in discussions of the global space sector. But there is significant activity, as exemplified by the Square Kilometre…

Business Machine

How does the business of selling Earth observation data work?

Editor June 12, 2020 business datasets Earth observation EarthCache imagery Planet satellites SkyWatch TerraStream the space industry

There is an ever-increasing number of satellites in orbit around Earth. There are more firms every day that are using satellite-provided Earth observation imagery to…

Business

Can people without technical backgrounds work in the space sector?

Editor June 5, 2020 careers Made in Space opportunities professional development scientists engineers the International Space University the space industry the space sector work

The space sector is often portrayed as being full of scientists and engineers. But it also has job opportunities for individuals without technical backgrounds. Especially…

Sustaining Place

What does ecological economics teach us about living sustainably?

Editor June 4, 2020 Capitalism consumption ecological economics ecology Economics geography pollution production Sustainability the Earth system

Environmental and economic perspectives are often framed as being in opposition; economic activity damages the environment, and environmental concerns prevent growth. There is one field…