Space advocacy is supporting or advocating human activity in outer space. The advocated purposes range from orbital flight, space exploration, commercialization of space and space settlement, to outright space colonization.
There are many different individuals and organizations dedicated to space advocacy. They are usually active in educating the public[1] on space-related subjects, lobbying governments[2] [3] for increased funding in space-related activities or supporting private space activities.
They also recruit members, fund projects, and provide information for their membership and interested visitors. They are sub-divided into three categories depending on their primary work: practice, advocacy, and theory.
The idea that space flight was possible and necessary was introduced by groups of thinkers, primarily members of the Russian,[4] American, British, and German[5] [6] science communities, who formed in the 1920s the first advocacy groups.[7] Starting in the 1930s, these groups began to share their plans for a future in space to their respective governments and the public.[8]
Influential books and other media began to emerge which included works containing illustrations by Chesley Bonestell (based on Wernher von Braun's designs) such as The Conquest of Space (1949) and magazine articles including the "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" series of article in Colliers magazine between 1952 and 1954. Television shows included Walt Disney's "Man in Space" and "Man and the Moon" in 1955, and "Mars and Beyond" in 1957.
In 2004 most of the leading US non-profit space organizations joined together to form the Space Exploration Alliance. The Alliance was formed to "advocate for the exploration and development of outer space" to members of Congress. The Alliance organizes the annual Legislative Blitz to lobby members of Congress for space exploration, and every space enthusiast is encouraged to participate in the Legislative Blitz by calling, emailing, or personally visiting their Congressperson's office.[9]
An analysis of space advocacy in Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity by Daniel Deudney has identified two different paradigms: the Braun-Tsiolkovsky paradigm (VTP), focusing on migration and militarization of space, and the Clarke-Sagan paradigm (CSP), focusing on space exploration.[10]
According to Mark Hopkins from the National Space Society, each space organization has a different priority and short-term objective, but all organizations share the ultimate goal of building space settlements.[11]
See also: Space ethics, Decolonization of knowledge, Women in space, Ethics of terraforming, Planetary chauvinism and Human presence in space. To reach a more inclusive spaceflight and space science some organizations like the JustSpace Alliance (see Lucianne Walkowicz) and IAU featured Inclusive Astronomy[12] have been formed in recent years. Holding events like the unconference Decolonizing Mars in 2018.[13] Advocates of this issue see the need for inclusive[14] and democratic participation and implementation of any space exploration, infrastructure or habitation.[15] Questioning the decision making of and reasons for any colonial space policy, labour[16] and land exploitation with postcolonial critique. Private[17] and state funded advocacy for space colonization, specifically the rationales and politico-legal regimes[18] behind space exploration, like the "New Frontier" slogan, have been criticized for applying settler colonialism and the manifest destiny ideology, perpetuating imperialism and the narrative of colonial exploration as fundamental to the assumed human nature.[19] [20] [21]
Participation and representation of humanity in space is an issue of human access to and presence in space ever since the beginning of spaceflight. Even though some rights of non-spacefaring countries to partake in spaceflight have been secured through international space law, declaring space the "province of all mankind", understanding spaceflight as its resource, sharing of outer space for all humanity has been criticized as still imperialist and lacking.[22] For example arguments for space as a solution to global problems like pollution and related narratives of survival are considered imperialist by Joon Yun. Having a considerate policy towards space is seen as an imperative to allow a thoroughly sustainable human society also on Earth.[23]
Organizations that are directly involved in space exploration, having their own active projects.
| Organisation | Founded | Purpose and goals | Pursuits | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SETI Institute | 1984, United States | to search for extraterrestrial intelligent life | Runs SETI | ||
| The Planetary Society | 1980, United States | to explore the Solar System, search for near-Earth objects, and search for extraterrestrial life | Launched Cosmos 1 | ||
| Artemis Project | was a private venture to establish a permanent, self-supporting base on the Moon by 2002 | ||||
| Space Studies Institute | 1977, United States | (2012:) to organize and implement The Great Enterprise Initiative, a road map outlining the technologies and capabilities necessary for space settlement. Current projects include "G-Lab, a space-based variable or partial gravity laboratory [and] E-Lab, a terrestrial 'systems-of-systems' integration lab that will bring together promising closed environment life support technologies into a comprehensive life support solution for space settlement."[24] | Runs Space Manufacturing conferences | ||
| British Interplanetary Society | 1933, United Kingdom | to inspire people about space so that humanity builds a future beyond the Earth. It is devoted to initiating, promoting and disseminating new concepts and technical information about space flight and astronautics. It has been running technical studies since the 1930s.It is an international membership society and a UK-registered charity. | 1930s Moon mission, 1970s interstellar probe Daedalus |
Organizations that focus mainly on lobbying government agencies and businesses to step up their efforts.
| Organisation | Founded | Purpose and goals | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air & Space Forces Association | 1946, United States | Promotes dominant U.S. Air & Space Forces | |
| American Astronautical Society | 1954, United States | dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration | |
| National Space Institute | 1974–1987, United States | to help maintain public support for the US space program (later became the National Space Society) | |
| L5 Society | 1975–1987, United States | to promote the space colony ideas of Gerard K. O'Neill (later became the National Space Society) | |
| Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy | 1980, United States | was a group of prominent American citizens concerned with US space policy | |
| Students for the Exploration and Development of Space | 1980, United States | to promote space exploration and development through educational and engineering projects | |
| Space Force Association | 2019, United States | Achieve superior national space power by shaping a Space Force that provides credible deterrence in competition, dominant capability in combat, and professional services for all partners. | |
| Space Frontier Foundation | 1988, United States | to promote large-scale settlement of the inner Solar System, under strong free market capitalism | |
| Mars Society | 1998, International | to encouraging the exploration and settlement of Mars | |
| Moon Society | 2000, International | to encouraging the exploration, economic development, and settlement of the Moon | |
| California Space Authority | 2001, United States | "to foster the development of specified activities in California related to space flight." | |
| Space Exploration Alliance | 2004, United States | An alliance of major non-profit space organizations. | |
| Coalition for Deep Space Exploration | United States | "aerospace industry companies that are collaborating to advance the cause of space exploration." | |
| Penny4NASA | 2012, United States | to advocate for the increase of the NASA budget to 1% of the federal budget, or one penny of every tax dollar | |
| SpacePAC | 2014, United States | Political action committee committed to electing pro-space candidates to office. | |
| Alliance for Space Development | 2015, United States | An alliance of major non-profit space organizations. | |
Organisations involved in educating the public, to boost their understanding and enthusiasm about space.
| Organisation | Founded | Purpose and goals | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Space Society | 1983, Canada | to sponsor, promote and engage in activities designed to promote increased knowledge of space | ||
| National Space Society | 1987, United States | an organization with the vision of "people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth," from the merger of L5 Society and National Space Institute | ||
| International Space University | 1987, France | a university dedicated to the discovery, research and development of outer space exploration for peaceful purposes | ||
| TMRO | 2008, United States | a multimedia, internet based broadcaster dedicated to getting"...the planet excited about living among the stars." | ||
| Space Foundation | 1983, United States | to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity. | ||
| Tau Zero Foundation | 2004, United States | to work together toward practical interstellar flight and to use this quest to teach about science, technology, and our place in the universe | ||
| Initiative for Interstellar Studies | 2012, United Kingdom | Conducts activities and research relating to the challenges of achieving robotic and human interstellar flight. | ||
| Space for Humanity | 2018, United States | An education-oriented non-profit organization expanding access to space, training the leaders of tomorrow, and cultivating a movement towards a more harmonious world. | ||
| Space Studies Institute | 1977, United States | "open the energy and material resources of space for human benefit within our lifetime" | ||
| Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) | 1980, United States | Worldwide student space advocacy. | ||
| The Space Court Foundation | United States | a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit corporation that promotes and supports space law and policy education and the rule of law. | ||
| The Secure World Foundation | United States | promotes cooperative solutions for space sustainability and the peaceful uses of outer space, for the benefit of all countries. |
Organisations that focus on advocating theoretical work.
| Organisation | Founded | Purpose and goals | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance to Rescue Civilization | devoted to the establishment of an off-Earth "backup" of human civilization | |||
| Living Universe Foundation | has a detailed plan in which the entire galaxy is colonized. | |||
| The Mars Foundation | through its Mars Homestead Project, is developing a unified plan for building the first habitat on Mars by exploiting local materials. | |||
| Build the Enterprise | theorises the possibility of building a spaceship similar in appearance to the USS Enterprise from Star Trek using current technology within the next two decades. |