What a future in space looks like

[Applause]

today

i want to tell you a bit about an

exciting future

that isn’t getting the attention it

deserves

it’s about the future of space and its

economic potential

already the return of investment from

space

is about 400 billion dollars

by 2030 it is estimated that it will be

about

1.4 trillion dollars

and that is just limited to

satellite-based

support system if we include space-based

resources like lunar resources and

asteroid mining

it is estimated to be in the trillions

of dollar

my work is at the nexus of international

relations

grand strategy and space policy

how i pick this particular academic

discipline

can be traced back to my upbringing in a

very small

rural mountain town in north east india

growing up i had access to my father’s

library

which consisted of exciting and very

deeply philosophical books on world

politics

international relations the scramble for

africa

colonialism and its impact on society

and i was

deeply inspired to follow and continue

with that kind of study now growing up

in northeast india had another very

distinctive advantage

during the monsoons we would lose power

sometimes

to the tune of a month because your

poles broke because of landslides

but that had the advantage for a child

because i got access to the night sky

without the distraction of artificial

lights

including moonlight and starlight and i

was deeply inspired and in awe

today when i navigate the world of

international relations space governance

space policy

including testifying at the u.s congress

i am reminded of those nights often

since 1999 when i started my phd

in international organization from

jawaharlal nehru university new delhi

to becoming a research fellow at india’s

premier think tank

the institute for defense studies and

analysis to today when i’ve started my

own consultancy

my academic philosophy is based on an

inclusive methodology

which is means it’s interdisciplinary so

i study international relations

but i also study ethnic conflicts

conflict resolution

and conflict transformation the theme of

this event is fearless

i want to tell you all a story from my

own life in which i needed to be

fearless

during field work and collection of data

in one of the most

remotest areas in the india-burma border

my vehicle in which i was traveling was

taken into custody

without my consent by an indian armed

secessionist group

who questioned me for four hours about

my work

and why i was there at that time i knew

i was at great risk

but something within me told me that i

have to be fearless i have to remain

calm

and answer their questions in the end

they let me go

in fact they apologize for taking me

into custody without consent

and they said i am their sister and so

that

kind of life and that kind of work is so

important to understand as we shift into

space as well

when i shifted to the united states i

was encouraged

to basically look at space and space

policy by a colleague of mine

who told me that my expertise in

international relations

will help me understand what countries

like china

india and u.s were doing in terms of

space policy

and space governance now coming back a

bit again to the concept of fearlessness

based on which i had to take up a very

new field

i learned about fearlessness from my

father

a man who was orphaned at a very young

age

and yet with his dedication and his

passion he was able to make something of

his life and give us a good life

that kind of motivation and that kind of

concept

is so important for all of us in that

same

vein of inspiration i want to tell you a

story again from my own life

one day i got a call from a very young

student

a female student who told me that she

would like to come and see me in my

office

so when i met her she revealed that she

actually

wanted to give up her life and her

career in terms of

looking at international relations and

academics

because of the fact that she faced

prejudices

in terms of her sex however at her

lowest

ebb and her lowest point she saw me on a

panel

talking about the kind of work she’s

interested in and being able to defend

positions that she thought was valuable

to her

and she said that that inspired her the

fact that another woman

would see me with inspiration deeply

humbled me and deeply affected me

you could also be a part of such a story

you could also use your life as an

inspiration for someone else

who is at their lowest end helping them

to rise like a phoenix

in fact when i think of space policy and

space study

don’t you think a rocket is also like a

phoenix that rises up

against the gravity pull of earth which

does not want to let it go

and yet it needs that kind of

inspiration and force to get into the

night sky

space is pretty inspirational and pretty

exciting

in fact during the cold war we all know

from our history

is that space was all about competition

and great power rivalry

in fact at that time if you remember it

was that particular

beautiful night in october 1957

that humanity’s destiny and

understanding of themselves

changed forever with the blip blip of

sputnik in 1957

to the landing of humans on the force on

the

on the lunar surface for the first time

in 1969

however today the discourse on space has

changed

it’s not just about rivalry and

competition

space today is seen as something that is

going to offer access to humanity

to the resources that are there in the

inner solar system

understanding the limits of our world

being humble about it

opening access to space for those

billions who want to go there

is the discourse that affects societies

and states today professor wang shiji

the founder of china’s orbital rocket

tells it best he says that humanity will

one day

panic when we run out of fossil fuel

and that is why humanity and states

need to collectively invest in renewable

energies like space-based solar power as

well as the energies that are available

in the solar system

now space-based solar power is a

technology that envisions and aspires

to collect sunlight in space because

it’s 24 hours

and does not suffer from the problems of

weather

space has already changed the lives of

people around us

and you can see that in fact when you

use your gps to go from one point to the

other

you’re helping in reducing global

emissions

space helps you monitor your climate

space helps you monitor

weather education e-commerce

you can name it it actually helps

societies who do not have access to the

kind of internet and privileges we have

especially in the developed world now it

is in that vain

i would like to tell you a bit about

what countries are doing in space

so for example i’ll tell you a bit about

what china is doing in space

including asteroid mining now professor

john

lewis the author of mining the sky tells

you

that there are resources out there that

humanity needs to access and learn to

extract

for example he tells you about a very

small asteroid

three five five four amum which is

actually just a mile

in length but has resources to the tune

of

20 trillion dollars including platinum

cobalt

and iron ore so in that context china is

actually hoping to

develop their own asteroid mining

capability last week

china send up a lunar mission to bring

back lunar samples

about 51 years after the apollo landings

gave out gave us our first

lunar rocks india is also investing in a

space capacity especially india’s lunar

mission

in 2008 actually told humanity that

there could be water ice

on the lunar surface so critical for

human sustainability if you want to

become a space faring

civilization india and japan are

collaborating to go to the lunar

south pole by 2025 to prospect for

resources

the united states also has a very

fascinating space program today

in fact the artemis moon mission

is hoping to land humanity’s first

woman on the lunar south pole and the

next man

the air force research laboratory is

investing in the concept called

space-based solar power

as well as the u.s naval laboratory

now it’s not just great powers like

china india or the us that are investing

in space

smaller countries like uae and

luxembourg are hoping to

construct and develop space governance

regimes that are inclusive and diverse

in fact african countries have started

their first african space

mission and african space agency last

year

supported and mandated by the african

union

i feel deeply humbled and fortunate to

be able to share my research

across the world to students global

communities that are interested in an

inspirational future

including the young space generation

advisory council

that are young people wanting to go to

space to include diplomats and students

from africa

asia latin america australia

and so and and finally i would say in

that particular context that i also am

so fortunate to be able to talk to the

young lieutenants

of the united states space force and air

force who wants to actually

secure space for humanity

my work is to craft the most inclusive

vision for humanity in space

however given my expertise in

international relations

i would be remiss if i did not tell you

the possibility of differences

take for example the lunar south pole

you can have country a

that lands there and establishes a zone

of non-interference and a mining

facility

now think of if a country b wants to

land there as well

and country a refuses to give permission

that could lead to differences

and that kind of space governance

regimes based on legality is missing

today in the academic discourse

and that is why my work is basically

motivated

to fill in that particular gap the outer

space treaty

signed in 1967 between the u.s the ussr

and the united kingdom

and has been ratified by 110 countries

today

talks about prohibiting the weapons of

mass destruction in space

but does not tell us how to share

resources

for example if you go up and own

property how are you going to share it

with others given the fact that the

outer space treaty tells us

in article 1 that space is the province

of mankind

the word mankind is legally used in the

outer space treaty

to conclude i would say that it is in

the critical juncture of our lives today

that space has become so critical for

everything we do today including at the

time of covet 19.

we do not want a repeat of the age of

imperialism

and colonization that negatively

affected societies

but we also do not want to limit future

generations and

billions of people around the world who

are inspired

by space and want to have access to it

so my work is about building inclusive

futures

i think you can do it too you can build

futures that talk about inclusivity

diversity not just ethnic diversity but

also knowledge diversity which is so

important

the way we go forward no matter what

obstacles kind might come my way

i’m going to continue my work in this

particular field

especially to represent the voices in

technology

and space that are not heard let

us democratize space thank you

[Applause]