The global space community is at a crossroads in terms of defining the future of the exploration of the universe. Everybody’s attention is focused on Mars, but how will it be possible to go there, within which time scale and with which partners? Intuitively we all look to the United States for leadership in space. However, as the US currently provide little leadership, much thought is going into whether China is a more auspicious partner. There are various groups trying to see whether it is possible to establish a ‘global roadmap’ which will allow an overall cooperative approach to exploration, but progress is very limited in this connection. This means that by default the global community might slide into a competition scenario, “a new space race”.
The seminar will look at the lessons to be learned from exploration’s past and will try to apply them to the future. It will examine Europe’s possible role as an active participant in exploration, but also as a possible match-maker and bridge-builder between two juggernauts, the United States and China. Finally, the roles of Russia, India, Brazil, South Korea, etc. will be taken into consideration.
Headlines of the seminar:
1) The Players of the Past – The Players of Today – The Players of the Future
2) Where Can We Go, and What Are the Steps on the Way?
3) Technical Challenges, Societal Benefits, Efforts Required and Time Scale
4) The Lessons of History
5) Europe as an Actor – Europe as a Bridge Builder
6) What are the Cultural Benefits and Risks of Cooperation and of Competition?
7) Can we all Compete and Cooperate at the Same Time?
8) Is there a Likely Way Forward?
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Peter HULSROJ
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Director, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna | |
Chair | |
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Shuang Nan ZHANG
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Professor and Director, Center for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing | |
Chair | |
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Director, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna
| 1982-1985 | Advokat (attorney), the law firm Bech-Bruun, Copenhagen |
| 1985-1989 | Contracts Officer, the European Space Agency, ESTEC, Noordwijk |
| 1989-1991 | Contracts Officer, EUMETSAT, Darmstadt |
| 1991-2004 | Head of the Contracts & Legal Affairs Division, EUMETSAT, Darmstadt |
| 2004-2008 | Legal Adviser, Preparatory Commission, The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Vienna |
| 2008-2011 | Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations, ESA, Paris |
| since 2011 | Director, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna |
Professor and Director, Center for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
| 1989-1992 | Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennesylvania |
| 1992-1998 | Senior Scientist, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA |
| 1998-2002 | Professor, University of Alabama in Huntsville |
| 2002-2009 | Distinguished Professor, Tsinghua University |
| since 2009 | Distinguished Scientist, Institute of High Energy Physics and National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
