Earth orbit and rocky bodies are also potential human habitats. NASA’s Artemis program, for instance, due to send humans to the Moon in 2025, will eventually create a lunar base.¹ China has similar plans, with the initial phase involving the creation of a scientific facility in the Moon’s south polar region by 2035.²

In the longer term, Mars could also become a human habitat.

Wherever humans go, they will need power and the capability to build the things they need using local resources in exotic environments. Near-Earth asteroids offer potentially valuable resources for those able to exploit them. Space-based manufacturing techniques will need to evolve to make full use of these resources.

Closer to home, Earth orbits themselves are another resource. The advent of commercial launch services is making access to these locations cheaper and easier. This activity is making orbital real estate an increasingly crowded and valuable resource.

One important cargo will be paying visitors. Space tourism is a well-established business, albeit on a limited scale. That looks set to accelerate, with operators such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin offering paid seats on flights. The future of human space flight is highly dependent on ensuring passenger safety, however. So the way the industry maintains safety and deals with accidents will have a crucial impact on growth.

However these fields evolve, the orbital environment will need to be protected, perhaps in the same way as other global commons, such as the oceans or Antarctica.³ That will require formal global coordination, governance and an appropriate legal framework.

In the 1960s, the space race was driven by geopolitical tensions and played out as a proxy for war. An important question today is how relations between global superpowers will shape the next generation of space exploration, given that the difference between friendly cooperation and antagonistic rivalry is likely to be profound.Earth orbit and rocky bodies are also potential human habitats. NASA’s Artemis program, for instance, due to send humans to the Moon in 2025, will eventually create a lunar base¹. China has similar plans, with the initial phase involving the creation of a scientific facility in the Moon’s south polar region by 2035.²

In the longer term, Mars could also become a human habitat.

Wherever humans go, they will need power and the capability to build the things they need using local resources in exotic environments. Near-Earth asteroids offer potentially valuable resources for those able to exploit them. Space-based manufacturing techniques will need to evolve to make full use of these resources.

Closer to home, Earth orbits themselves are another resource. The advent of commercial launch services is making access to these locations cheaper and easier. This activity is making orbital real estate an increasingly crowded and valuable resource.

One important cargo will be paying visitors. Space tourism is a well-established business, albeit on a limited scale. That looks set to accelerate, with operators such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin offering paid seats on flights. The future of human space flight is highly dependent on ensuring passenger safety, however.

So the way the industry maintains safety and deals with accidents will have a crucial impact on growth.

However, these fields evolve, the orbital environment will need to be protected, perhaps in the same way as other global commons, such as the oceans or Antarctica.³ That will require formal global coordination, governance and an appropriate legal framework.

In the 1960s, the space race was driven by geopolitical tensions and played out as a proxy for war. An important question today is how relations between global superpowers will shape the next generation of space exploration, given that the difference between friendly cooperation and antagonistic rivalry is likely to be profound.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The regions beyond Earth contain a plethora of resources that would be of value both on Earth and in pursuit of human goals in terrestrial orbit and beyond. Harvestable Extraterrestrial resources include valuable minerals, which can be used in fuel, construction and sustenance for space-based communities, as well as solar energy. The Orbital region itself is also proving valuable as real estate, hosting ever more satellites that have an increasing commercial and military significance. An area ripe for development is Space manufacturing, which could significantly reduce the cost and difficulty of space exploration and habitation, as well as providing means to manufacture items that are difficult or impossible to make on Earth. The field of Satellite innovation is seeing significant progress, with an increasing number of agencies working on the ability to manoeuvre one satellite to inspect, refuel or even disable another. Some researchers in the field have expressed concern about the geopolitical implications of such developments.