Description
With humans having ventured into space for over six decades, we have witnessed several phases of international cooperation in space science and exploration, much of which has been driven by space agencies and the national security objectives of their respective governments. As the space sector is growing rapidly, a more diverse set of stakeholders has emerged, including emerging space nations and the private sector. To achieve highly ambitious goals in deep space, such as sending humans to Mars, international cooperation is seen as an essential element of successful missions. However, the shifts and risks associated with geopolitical tensions on Earth raise important questions about the form future international cooperation will take and the logics informing collaborative endeavours. This project seeks to understand how international cooperation in deep space exploration and human settlements will evolve given a complex landscape of organizations and stakeholders. Drawing on an interdisciplinary body of literature, including International Relations, Space Policy, and STS, and a set of expert interviews, this project traces a genealogy of international cooperation in deep space exploration to make sense of the (geo)political dynamics underpinning contemporary and future collaboration in space.
