SGI Initiatives to Combat Threats to Outer Space

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A United Nations convention should be convened immediately to address, by treaty, how nations, corporations, and operators move objects and human beings in space. Just as with the maritime and airspace domains, an international space traffic management organization should be created to enact binding rules and standards for all countries. 

A United Nations convention should immediately be convened to address and reverse, by treaty, the current militarization of outer space. These treaties must: (1) clearly define and limit so-called defensive space objects and activities, (2) define and constrain dual use technologies, and (3) create an international monitoring and compliance organization.

A United Nation's convention should be convened to prevent, by treaty, the handful of powerful, elite countries and corporations from: (1) occupying and controlling all of Earth's orbital space and (2) racing to occupy, extract, enclose, and privately capture resources on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. An international organization should be created to manage all space resources. 

NOTE: SGI also supports the Moon Treaty, which lays out a just framework for the development of the Moon and other celestial bodies. However, the Moon Treaty does not address orbital resources and, therefore, is insufficient by itself.

The global community, through the United Nations, should establish an international moratorium on the construction of human occupied bases or installations on any celestial bodies. This moratorium should also prohibit the extraction of any in-situ resources. The moratorium should remain in place until binding international treaties, laws, and rules are enacted to ensure that these activities are carried out in a just, peaceful, democratic, equitable, and sustainable manner.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, and other space treaties, laws, and guidance are insufficient to meet the current threats. All countries should commit to a comprehensive slate of United Nations resolutions, conventions, and protocols to address each existing threat. Voting on critical measures should be by majority or weighted majority processes to break consensus logjams.

Nations, groups, organizations, individuals--we all need to come together to decide what a just outer space looks like. Philosophy forces us to answer big questions--what is just? What constitutes the public good? What is the good life? We have failed to sufficiently ask these questions about outer space, with the predictable result: it is dominated by the powerful and the greedy. This failure to create a moral/ethical framework has placed the entire domain, and all of us on Earth, at great peril.

Most individuals are unaware of their daily reliance on space systems, the fragility of these systems, and the extreme threats that put them at risk of destruction. We must engage in a robust public education campaign to inform people of these facts and the steps they may take to support the development of comprehensive international space governance.

It is not enough to develop international treaties to protect outer space. Nation-states are the jurisdictions with primary authority and control over what occurs in space. Concurrently, each nation must develop and enforce statutes, regulations, and policies that align with internationally determined rules, goals, and objectives and ensure compliance by government agencies, individuals, and corporations.

To support space governance initiatives nationally and internationally, SGI will: lobby government leaders and bodies; draft, promulgate, and file citizen petitions, ballot initiatives, resolutions, and endorsements; lead letter writing campaigns; and other collective actions. SGI advocates and lobbies on its own behalf and on behalf of others to achieve more robust space governance.

SGI provides a regular Substack newsletter for the purpose of informing and educating the debate, deliberation, and consideration of space governance issues. The newsletter includes articles and analysis by SGI and by other experts from across the space domain. SGI also leverages the SGI Blog, LinkedIn, X,  and Instagram to inform the public and address current space topics and issues.

SGI will produce and host a podcast, The Socratic Space™, to help inform and educate the public on space governance issues and topics . The podcast will also be a key tool to help propel and drive the political movement for change. Hosted by Doug Ligor, the podcast will feature expert guests from across the space, governance, and philosophy disciplines. Stay tuned!

Named for the Greek Goddess of law, legislation, governance, and good order, The Eunomia Accords™  are intended to be a direct counter the U.S. Artemis Accords and China/Russia's International Lunar Research Station agreement. SGI will draft The Accords with support from space experts that support the effort. The Accords will then be offered for signature by willing representatives of states and organizations.

Start with our templated letter and then personalize it to your specific leaders to demand that they take up measures in support of space arms control. If you are a U.S. citizen, you can find the contact information for your congressperson here: representative and senators. Please cc SGI on your correspondence so we can keep track of the campaign's progress!

Start with our templated letter and then personalize it to your specific leaders to demand that they take up measures in support of an international space traffic management system. If you are a U.S. citizen, you can find the contact information for your congressperson here: representative and senators. Please cc SGI on your correspondence so we can keep track of the campaign's progress!

Start with our templated letter and then personalize it to your specific leaders to demand that they take up measures to support equitable and just collection, use, distribution, and governance of space resources. If you are a U.S. citizen, you can find the contact information for your congressperson here: representative and senators. Please cc SGI on your correspondence so we can keep track of the campaign's progress!