Space Governance & Diplomacy Initiative

The international framework governing space was established when governments were the principal actors and activity in orbit was limited. Today, commercial companies, new spacefaring nations, and new technologies are reshaping the domain.

We examine where existing rules remain effective, where gaps are emerging, and what new approaches could provide greater clarity and predictability.

Commercial actors increasingly provide capabilities once developed and operated primarily by governments. At the same time, new activities—from large satellite constellations to in-space manufacturing, resource utilization, and potentially orbital data centers—raise questions that existing regulatory frameworks were not designed to answer.

We explore how governments can enable innovation while establishing responsible rules for an increasingly commercial space economy.

Space is simultaneously a domain of strategic competition and one of the few areas in which countries have a long history of sustained technical and scientific cooperation, even in the face of geopolitical rivalry.

We examine how diplomacy can build practical cooperation among countries with different interests, capabilities, and political systems, and how partnerships such as the Artemis Accords can contribute to broader international norms.

The governance of space involves an increasingly complex ecosystem of national regulators, international organizations, treaty regimes, standards bodies, commercial actors, and scientific institutions.

We examine how these institutions interact and how international law and governance mechanisms can evolve as human activity expands into new orbital regimes and beyond Earth orbit.

The return of humans to the Moon and eventual expansion toward Mars will create ethical, operational, and governance questions that extend beyond today's orbital environment.

We explore the diplomatic, legal, institutional, and geopolitical implications of sustained human activity beyond Earth, including questions of bioethics of human exploration operations and research, international cooperation, infrastructure, and long-term governance.