We are in the opening phases of a climate change crisis. Since 2015 the world’s nations have backed the Paris agreement to reduce pollution over the world and invest green, ecological, sustainable solutions. The ultimate goal is to recover the Earth and our children’s future from the crisis we now confront. Part of the ecological solutions are based on architecture and problem solving to reduce pollutants that increase the snowballing effects of global warming.
Fixing the Earth requires mutual collaboration and is an international goal. In space, however, it’s a fresh beginning. We need to capitalize on this opportunity by implementing enviro-friendly and ecological solutions in our space enterprises. With the ongoing space race, we should expect to reach the moon and Mars, and this time to stay, by the end of 2040 if not earlier. To do that responsibly will require significant investments and a deliberate plan.
Two Israeli companies decided to focus their efforts and ideas on finding enviro-friendly solutions for a future space base community on other planetary bodies.
Nir Dubrovsky, CEO at PCM sustainable space and a space-tech entrepreneur, indicates that his new start-up will focus on developing clean and environmentally-friendly designs for space habitats. Some of the products reflect nature here on Earth, and others are innovative designs to protect future space habitats from dangerous ionizing radiation and harmful dust particles. In addition, the company will focus efforts to harness the environment for the benefit of the habitat by developing some innovative ideas, while keeping the comfortability and mindset of the future settlers.
Michal Ziso, ZISO an innovative space architect share her thoughts:
“When thinking about sustainable architecture in space, I see it as humanity’s opportunity to learn from earth’s mistakes and do things differently and better by being cognizant of resources and potential environmental impacts. Designing for space allows us to explore forms of closed-loop systems which are independent structures, or habitats, self-reliant by energy and food production as well as waste recycling systems, as a sustainable form of building and living which we may later translate to resilient structures on earth. As we are designing new forms of living for extreme space environments, we can also use this opportunity to create human centered and inclusive designs as part of a greater and important effort of democratizing access to space.”
To summarize, the investment in ecological, environmentally-friendly infrastructures on an alien world will benefit future settlers and explorers and will help to keep future settlements safe and healthy. It may even lower overall costs as we find ways to leverage ecological systems to ensure a sustainable future not just on Earth, but as we move to the stars.
Roy Yaniv, PhD
Scientist, specialist and entrepreneur in atmospheric sciences and space.
