Registration & light breakfast

Welcoming Remarks

Report on 2024 Beyond Earth Institute Policy Working Groups

Featured Speaker: TBA

Panel: Addressing the Human Factors in Long-Duration Space Habitation

Long-term exposure to the microgravity and radiation environment of space is dangerous to space travelers. Aspiring space settlers put themselves at extreme health risk. Understanding the full scope of these risk factors and mitigating them through engineering, healthful practices, and medical treatment are a priority. This panel will discuss the challenge ahead and some obvious, and not so obvious, solutions that should be explored. Specifically, artificially generated variable gravity technology. NASA has shied away from artificial gravity research in space because of cost. Yet, this technology could not only be the key to long-duration survivability in space, but pave the way for large scale space habitats in free space.

Break

Panel: Expanding in Space with a Sustainable Mindset

Featured Speakers: A New Framework for Rapid Lunar Development and Habitation

After several years of looking at the challenge of financing large-scale space infrastructure and habitats, the Beyond Earth Institute has concluded that a piecemeal approach will not do. We must take a holistic approach. This session will present an organizational framework for lunar development that can enable the exploration and development goals of governments, industry, and academia wishing to participate. If buy-in to this architecture can be achieved, large-scale international lunar development and habitation will be achievable by 2050.

Featured Speaker: Building a Town in Space by Mid-Century

Keeping astronauts alive and healthy aboard the International Space Station is challenging enough. But designing facilities in space that will house populations of hundreds and even thousands stretches the boundaries of what is technically feasible. Yet, if space is to become accessible for all who wish to go, it is not too soon to consider the technical and policy gaps that need to be overcome if we are to realize large-scale human communities in space. This session will examine the steep technical challenges as well as the policies that could help overcome those challenges.

Featured Speaker: The Case for Helium-3 Mining on the Moon

Lunch

Fireside Chat: Jared Isaacman via Zoom

Keynote:  The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds

Panel: The Future of Human Spaceflight and Novel Space Activities

The U.S. and other nations are grappling with rules-setting and oversight responsibilities of the rapidly evolving cluster of new space capabilities. After more than a year of considering options for fulfilling the “Mission Authorization” responsibilities under the Outer Space Treaty for new and novel space activities, including commercial space stations, in-space serving, in-space manufacturing, lunar operations, and space resource mining, the debate in the U.S. remains unsettled. In this session, some of the best minds in the industry will dive into the core issues and discuss the clear options to resolve this puzzle in a way that will enable robust commercial development and habitation in space.

Break

Panel: New Space Statecraft

In the new era of space development, the dynamics of space Statecraft is shifting from U.S.-dominated to rising global capability. In this special dialogue, ambassadors to the United States from select nations will engage in a dialogue on how diplomacy is being reshaped by the broadening range of opportunities for all nations to participate in the space domain.

Fireside Chat: Competition and Cooperation in the Global Space Economy

In a one-on-one discussion, Greg Autry will discuss his new book, Red Moon Rising: How America Will Beat China on the Final Frontier.

Closing Remarks