The Orbital Reef destination will be backed by industry leaders and teammates including Sierra Space, Boeing, Redwire Space and Genesis Engineering.
ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative leads the Orbital Reef University Advisory Council — a consortium of more than a dozen international universities. The group will establish guidelines and standards of conduct for ethical research on the station, provide consulting for those new to space research, channel academic research onto Orbital Reef, inform the academic user experience aboard the station, and conduct STEM outreach and education programs.
“Something that we’re very passionate about at Arizona State University and Interplanetary Initiative is bringing together universities, government and the private sector for a positive human space future,” said Elkins-Tanton, who is also a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration. “We’ve been practicing this for a long time, so bringing together a network like this to support Orbital Reef is right in our wheelhouse.”
The Interplanetary Initiative is building a positive future of humans in space that benefits society both on- and off-planet.
“Shifting our mindset to see ourselves as a team of crewmates aboard a space vessel — Earth — opens the door to shared purpose and better cooperation,” said Jessica Rousset, deputy director of Interplanetary Initiative.
The initiative works to identify key needs for human success in space and then form interdisciplinary teams to solve them. This includes collecting insights from the humanities and social sciences as well as traditional STEM fields and inviting diverse voices to help set the course toward an equitable tomorrow. Additionally, the initiative creates public-private partnerships so that any group or industry can be part of shaping this space future.
ASU KEDtalks: Weekending on the moon from ASU Research on Vimeo.
The initiative is also home to a 6,800-square-foot lab that functions as a research and development workspace. There, external partners connect with ASU students, faculty and staff to design, build and test space hardware and software. Giving students the chance to gain experience working with this technology supports the development of a robust workforce for the growing space industry — and forges a path for more endeavors like Orbital Reef.
At the heart of the Interplanetary Initiative’s current research are questions like: How can we sustain healthy communities in space? How will we manage shared resources in space, from satellites and space debris to minable asteroids? How can we better connect humans and robots in space exploration? And how would humankind react to the discovery of alien life? Finding answers will help prepare humans for a more active role in space, inform Orbital Reef and inspire the university consortium’s efforts.
Ultimately, Orbital Reef will have significant implications not just for science or business, but for the people of this planet.
“Humans are compelled to explore; it’s in our bones. We will become an interplanetary species,” Elkins-Tanton said. “We have an opportunity to use the inspiration of space exploration to take better care of the Earth by involving all of society and driving technological advances that will help solve problems here below.”
Read more about how ASU is forging connections to advance the next chapter of the space industry.