Space Environmentalism
Space environmentalism, as coined by Lawrence, et al. (2022) in a landmark piece, is the name given to the position that Space should be treated as its own environment, with all of the moral and political considerations that entails.
Mission
The areas of interest to space environmentalism can be divided into three broad categories: (1) low-Earth orbit debris, (2) high-emission launches and reentries, and (3) ground visibility mitigation.
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My aim as a space environmentalist is to evaluate active and proposed missions in each of these domains, with a specific eye towards whether such missions preserve the moral autonomy and interests of all affected persons.
Vision
Proposals for satellite megaconstellations, future launches, and the choice of fuel propellant all have measurable climate impacts. These impacts, particularly as they apply to historically marginalized groups, should be given serious consideration in risk management analyses of current and future missions.
