As we prepare for the possibility of future space settlements—whether on the Moon, Mars, or in massive orbital habitats—we face an essential question: how do we protect the health of those we send beyond Earth? My research in the Bass Connections project, Future Space Settlements: Lessons from History, has focused on space health systems, particularly the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to support astronaut well-being in environments where traditional healthcare models simply don’t apply.
Category: Research Stories
While conducting my research on company towns in Latin America, I came across the Guiana Space Centre located in Kourou, French Guiana. This space center is unique as it transitioned from a French cruel penal colony to a spaceport, now known as “Europe’s spaceport”. This development is important in thinking about the ethical, social, and environmental challenges that might occur in a space settlement.
As a member of the Future Space Settlements: Lessons from History Bass Connections, I conducted research into the legal implications of humanity’s long-term presence in space. My research focused on how immigration and citizenship regulations may develop in this domain.
One compelling historical corollary I found was Antarctica’s so-called “baby race”- a geopolitical contest between Argentina and Chile aimed at reinforcing territorial claims by ensuring their nationals were born on the continent.
Within the Technology & Innovation Sub-Team of the Bass Connections Project, I leveraged my background in policy analysis and archival research to survey the innovation patterns in technology and policy of various isolated, extreme, and constrained human settlements across history. In particular, I explored how healthcare practice and management—at the cellular, individual, and human collective levels—have been successfully employed throughout time, and which generalizable patterns and lessons are worth emulating for a future populated human space settlement.
