Celestial Citizen

On this week's episode, I sit down with two space lawyers to discuss the legacy of colonization in outer space, the role that international treaties have played historically on this topic, and how we can commit to an anti-colonial mindset going forward.

One of the guests on this episode is, Julia Malette, a life-long space enthusiast and a practicing attorney in the United States.  Julia graduated from the George Washington University Law School with high honors in 2019.  During law school, Julia was a finalist at the 2018 North American rounds of the Manfred Lachs Moot Court and interned at the FCC Satellite Division.  Julia has also worked with the Satellite Industry Association, as a consultant researcher with LMI Advisors, and is a member of the Maryland Bar.  Julia is also currently the Internship Coordinator for the Space Court Foundation.

I was also joined by, Mclee Kerolle, a graduate of the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University where he wrote his Master's thesis on the regulation of commercial spaceports worldwide.  He also served as the Executive Secretary for the Space Generation Advisory Council and is currently an active member of the Diversity Action Team for (EAGLE) Effective and Adaptive Governance for a Lunar Ecosystem.  Mclee is the Program Director for the Caribbean Space Society, a working group of the Institute of Caribbean Studies that aims to establish a unified Caribbean Space Agenda.  In addition, Mclee serves as the Director of International Outreach and Diversity for the Space Court Foundation.

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On this week's episode, I sit down with Bailey Burns to discuss her important work as a space advocate and communicator, what she is up to at Paragon, her experiences as an analog astronaut with Hi-SEAS, and also her perspective on how the space industry could be more supportive of women.

Bailey Burns is a System Engineer at Paragon Space Development Corporation working on life support for the future of humans in space, including the next HLS lunar lander proposal with Dynetics.  She is also a graduate student studying Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines.  Her focus is on lunar regolith and dust mitigation on the lunar surface. Bailey has also participated in HI-SEAS as an analog astronaut studying lava tubes in a two-week simulated moon base mission.  Bailey hopes to use her platform to show that everyone can bring their own skill set to the new space age, and have fun while doing it, which she does as an official Rubik’s Cube ambassador. 

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On this week's episode, we’ll discuss humanity's future on Earth and in space from an energy and climate policy perspective.  We’ll also cover how space mining factors into visions of off-Earth living and what strategies might be employed for better shared resource management in space.

My guest on the show, Alex Gilbert, is a complex systems researcher focusing on space mining, climate policy, energy markets, and nuclear innovation.  Much of his work centers around evaluating how institutions develop and adopt clean energy and other advanced natural resource technologies at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance.  Alex also collaborates with the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines on research related to energy, environment, and outer space governance and is pursuing a PhD in Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, where he researches space resource governance, environmental protection, and space nuclear power.  He is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University where he co-teaches a course on nuclear power technology and regulation. 

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As we look toward the not-so-distant reality of life on the Moon, Mars, and beyond, an important question emerges - how do we build structures and cities in space that reflect the diverse population and cultures of our planet?  On this week's episode, we’ll discuss an approach to architectural design that specifically celebrates and pays homage to uniquely Black experiences and cultures.  Demar Matthews and his firm, OffTop  Design, are engaging Black communities in the planning process such that they are better represented in their built environment, and in so doing, might better inform how we design and build future structures and cities in space someday.

My guest on the show, Demar Matthews, is a Los Angeles-based architectural designer, theorist, and writer. Demar is the founder and Principal of OffTop Design.  He also works with A+D Architecture + Design Museum in Los Angeles as a curator and exhibitions associate.  Demar received his Bachelor’s from HBCU Lincoln University of PA, and his Master’s of Architecture at Woodbury University where he was awarded the Graduate Thesis Prize for his project Black Architecture: Unearthing the Black Aesthetic.  Demar believes architecture and good design should not only be for the privileged and feels that, "every community deserves to be proud of the built environment around them, and that this environment should be based on the cultures of the people who live there; regardless of income, race, and gender."

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On this week's episode, we’ll discuss the multidisciplinary field of space resources and how the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines is leading the charge on this exciting new academic discipline.  Listen in to learn more about how utilization of space resources will shape the future of humanity and how you can get involved from anywhere in the world.

My guest on the show, Dr. Christopher Dreyer, has a range of interests in the development of space resources and advancement of space exploration of asteroids, the Moon, and Mars.  Dr. Dreyer has two decades of experience in early-phase technology development.  He has extensive experience with experimental methods, vacuum systems, regolith-handling technology, instrument design, and optical/laser spectroscopy methods.  He has developed experimental facilities for resource technology development including, prospecting instruments, resource extraction, surface properties, and resource processing.  He has been actively working in space resource utilization for over 10 years and is a co-founder of the Space Resources Graduate Program at the Colorado School of Mines, the first program in the world dedicated to space resources. 

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What lies ahead as we enter the Space 5.0 Era?  How can space law support equitable outcomes amongst stakeholders in space?  On this week's episode, we'll discuss the future of governance and how it must to evolve to meet the needs of humans living and working in space.

My guest on the show, Dr. Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty, is currently an Assistant Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society with a courtesy appointment at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.  She is an expert on all things space law.  Her research explores participation mechanisms for global space governance and environmental governance.  Her goal is to find ways to account for different perspectives and the participation of diverse actors in decision making.  Before coming to the School for the Future Innovation of Society, Dr. Aganaba-Jeanty worked for the Canadian Space Agency while she was a PhD candidate at the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University.  She also served as Executive Director for World Space Week, Associate Chair of the Space Policy, Law and Economics Department at the International Space University in Cork, Ireland and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.  In 2017 she was the recipient of a Space Leaders award by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and her doctoral research received the George and Ann Robinson Award for advanced research capabilities. 

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What will we eat in space?  How will we grow it?  What psychological and cultural benefits can be derived from future greenhouses in space?  On this week's episode, we’ll discuss space architecture and specifically the design of greenhouses for the Moon and Mars.

My guest on the show, Mahsa Esfandabadi, designs habitats and greenhouses for Mars, the Moon, and zero-gravity environments.  She has over ten years experience working as a professional architect, project manager, and assistant professor.  She has studied the past, present, and future of architecture at the graduate level receiving a masters in  Middle Eastern-Iranian Architecture Studies, a masters in Architectural Engineering, as well as, a masters in Aerospace Architecture.  She is the first Middle Eastern graduate of the AeroSpace Architecture program at the University of Houston, and the first person from the Middle East to serve on the Space Architecture Technical Committee.

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How do humans live off the land in space? On this episode of Celestial Citizen Podcast, we discuss the innovative field of space resources and how a sustainable future off-Earth might be sooner than you think.

My guest on the show, Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, is the Director of the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, where he leads a research program focused on the human and robotic exploration of space and the utilization of its resources.  He is also the Director of the Space Resources Graduate Program, aimed at educating scientists, engineers, economists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers in the field of extraterrestrial resources. Angel has more than 30 years of experience conducting experiments in NASA’s low-gravity facilities, such as drop towers, parabolic-flight aircraft, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station and received the NASA Astronauts’ Personal Achievement Award for his contributions to the success of human space flight. He is currently the President of the Space Resources Roundtable, an international organization focused on lunar, asteroidal, and planetary resources studies and Observer and Technical Panel member of The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group.  Angel also serves as a member of the Committee on Planetary Protection of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 

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Are you interested in the social impact of greater food security, access to nutritious ingredients, as well as, sustainable production methods both on Earth and in space?

In this week's episode, I speak with Elliot Roth about his startup, Spira Inc., and how his team plans to disrupt the global supply chain by replacing harmful compounds with carbon-negative algae to create safer, locally-sourced products. We’ll also discuss how algae-based products can support humanity’s future in space, as well as, Elliot’s recent analog Moon mission with HI-SEAS on Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

My guest on the show, Elliot Roth, is the founder of Spira, a company that is developing algae-based products that will make communities on Earth more resilient and eventual communities in space more viable. After being trained as a University Innovation Fellow at the Stanford d.School, Elliot started multiple entrepreneurial projects including the DIYbio lab known as Indie Lab, TEDxVCU, and 6 failed startups. He graduated from the Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and spent five years consulting in product design and business strategy before starting Spira. Elliot has spoken at Synbiobeta, SXSW, and Thought for Food discussing the interconnectedness of social impact, synthetic biology and food. 

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With all the excitement of this month in full swing - Hope Probe, Tianwen-1, and next up, Perseverance - it seemed only fitting to dedicate an episode to all things Mars! Enjoy this special, early-release episode with "professional martian" and Director of Science Strategy at Planet, Dr. Tanya Harrison.

We discuss the significance of the upcoming Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing on February 18th, how to bring positive change to toxic work cultures in the space industry, and Dr. Harrison's new book, For All Humankind: The Untold Stories of How the Moon Landing Inspired the World.

My guest on the show, Dr. Tanya Harrison, calls herself a “professional martian.” Over the past 13 years she has worked as a scientist and in mission operations on multiple NASA Mars missions, including the Perseverance, Curiosity, and Opportunity rovers. Her specialty lies in geomorphology: the study of a planet’s evolution based on its surface features. She holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Western Ontario, a Masters in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Wesleyan University, and a B.Sc. in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Washington. Currently she is the Director of Science Strategy for the federal arm of the Earth observing satellite company Planet Labs. Tanya is also an advocate for advancing the status of women in science and for accessibility in the geosciences. You can find her prolifically tweeting about the Red Planet—and her experiences with both #WomenInSTEM and #DisabledInSTEM—as @tanyaofmars.

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