By Becky Ball and Harrison Schreiber with Anna Linvill
On April 15-16, 2024, the Duke Rethinking Diplomacy Program’s (RDP) Space Diplomacy Lab (SDL) and Ocean Diplomacy Working Group (ODWG) represented the Rethinking Diplomacy Program at the inaugural Science Diplomacy Summit at the John’s Hopkins University Bloomberg Center on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.
The summit was a two-day affair, attracting more than 700 attendees including high level stakeholders from more than 25 countries, academic institutions, non-profits, and the private sector for its more than 40 thematic science diplomacy sessions. These sessions or “pods” explored how science can serve as a bridge to foster international cooperation and address global challenges in certain key focus areas: Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Information Science and Technology, Climate Change Innovation, Public Health, Space Diplomacy, Data Diplomacy, and Ocean Diplomacy, just to name a few. The keynote address was delivered by U.S. Congressman Bill Foster.
Since its founding in 2020 with the objective of promoting an advanced Anticipatory Diplomacy, the Rethinking Diplomacy Program at Duke University has become a respected voice in the diplomatic and academic community and beyond. In the fall of 2023, RDP Director, Dr. Giovanni Zanalda was honored to be invited to attend the opening of the JHU Bloomberg Science Diplomacy Center. The founder of the center, Dr. Peter Agre and Ona Ambrozaite (PhD candidate in JHU’s Department of Chemistry), co-organizers of the summit, invited RDP to get involved early on with the organization of the event and with the selection of speakers and topics for the Space and Ocean Diplomacy Pods.
Left to right: The second half hour of the SDL session was a fireside chat and Q&A session between SDL affiliated fellow, Dr. Lyndsay Gray (U.S. Department of State), Ambassador Bob Pearson (Duke), and SDL senior fellow Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt (UPENN).
While building bridges between accomplished scholars, scientists, and policy practitioners is a major goal of RDP, the primary purpose of the program is to develop and mentor the next generation of diplomats and policymakers by connecting students to working diplomats, scientists, and private sector leaders in critical fields. Graduate fellow Harrison Schreiber, an active member of the RDP team, and undergraduate fellow Becky Ball, an undergraduate fellow in the Space Diplomacy Lab attended and represented RDP at the summit. Their thoughts and impressions have been combined and lightly edited for clarity in this article summarizing the event.
Day One: Space Diplomacy Lab
On April 15th, Zanalda opened the SDL Space Diplomacy pod with a panel discussion between Karen Feldstein, Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations at NASA, and Carissa Bryce Christensen, CEO and founder of BryceTech. The session was moderated by Dr. Lyndsay Gray, a member of the U.S. State Department, a former AAAS fellow, and a long time affiliate fellow of the Space Diplomacy Lab.
At NASA, Feldstein is responsible for leadership and direction of international and interagency partnerships and policy interactions. In this role, she is responsible for building and leveraging international partnerships to facilitate multilateral policy solutions and cooperation. Currently, NASA is focused on advancing international space cooperation through the Artemis Accords. Based on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the treaty outlines the principles for a safe, peaceful, and sustainable future on the Moon. The United States and signatory nations have committed to responsible, transparent behavior, including the public release of scientific data. At the time of writing, 39 countries have signed the Accords, with Slovenia signing most recently on April 19th. Moving forward, NASA hopes to focus on extending the Accords to developing and not yet space-faring nations. NASA is “broadening and deepening our global reach through the Accords,” Feldstein emphasized. “New partnerships catalyze funding opportunities and space initiatives. We all look forward to celebrating new signatories as the Artemis missions progress.”
From the private sector point of view, Carissa Christensen of BryceTech focused the discussion on the burgeoning lunar economy. Fully two-thirds of the more than two hundred upcoming missions through 2032 are lunar or cislunar, with Artemis as the primary driver. The private sector has expanded to fill in the budgetary gaps of national space programs in the lunar economy. This includes nationally aligned contractors, commercial lunar payload services, and independent commercial exploration and infrastructure companies (e.g. commercial human spaceflight, lunar communications, rovers, and landers). A private company, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, made history in February by becoming the first commercial company to put a spacecraft on the Moon. Christensen noted that although the private space economy is growing significantly, there are significant barriers remaining. There are policy issues of regulating lunar activity, business and economic challenges, and technical challenges of the development of innovative systems to ensure further success.
In a second session, moderated by Dr. Lyndsay Gray, a member of the U.S. State Department, a former AAAS and Space Diplomacy Lab fellow, Dr. Schmitt and Ambassador Pearson emphasized that the time to have high level diplomatic discussions on responsible norms and behavior in human space activities is now. Moving forward, there must be a two-way dialogue between space diplomats and active policymakers. “Transformational policy decisions can only be achieved through a dynamic diplomatic and scientific merging of the minds,” said Dr. Gray during the conversation.
Domestic politics can be part of the solution as well, if policy makers can set aside their differences to make progress. The ORBITS Act, awaiting it hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives, would require regulation and prioritization of debris of greatest risk, updates to existing “space junk” standards, and management of space traffic to prevent collisions. The act has been passed twice in the Senate but has yet to be taken up by the House.
SDL Undergraduate fellow Becky Ball was shocked that this is not a higher priority for lawmakers in Washington. “We should have had these conversations before the past decade’s space renaissance. However, much of the space industry was viewed as sci-fi and has, unexpectedly for some, become a reality. Who predicted ISS debris would strike a home in Florida?”
For Schreiber, one of the major takeaways from the full space diplomacy session with SDL, the German Space Agency and the New Zealand Space Agency was the urgent need to take advantage of areas already ripe for collaboration, including the establishment of protocols for the preservation of historic space sites, such as the Apollo landing areas, and to comply with existing tenets of the Outer Space Treaty. He agrees with the speakers that it would also be prudent to begin enhancing real-time data exchange on satellite constellations as a way to improve space situational awareness and avoid an increase in political tensions.
These guidelines, which cover space debris mitigation and the responsible use of space resources, are crucial for ensuring that space remains accessible and safe for future generations. Additionally, existing international organizations play a pivotal role in fostering space diplomacy. The summit highlighted the efforts of the United Nations in developing guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and the need to go further by having regular, high level international talks like those held on other topics that affect all of humanity, such as the climate and the environment. “As the space domain becomes increasingly crowded with new entrants from both the public and private sectors, the need for robust space diplomacy is more critical than ever…The discussions highlighted the duality of this relationship: while competition drives innovation and rapid advancements, it also necessitates mechanisms for cooperation to prevent misunderstanding,” said Schreiber.
In spite of all the complexities of today’s Space Diplomacy, in his signature fashion, Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt concluded the session by encouraging the audience to “Keep looking up. There is a hopeful future written in our stars!”
Day two: Ocean Diplomacy Working Group
The April 16th Ocean Diplomacy pod session was organized by RDP graduate fellow, and founding member of the Ocean Diplomacy Working Group, Brianna Elliott. The session was entitled, Multilateral Fisheries Negotiations: A Case Study on Ocean Diplomacy, featured Alexa Cole, Director of the Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce at NOAA, and Steve Roady, Senior Lecturing Fellow of Law, Faculty Fellow at Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and Professor of the Practice of Marine Science & Conservation.
Read more event takeaways here: https://washingtondc.jhu.edu/news/three-things-to-know-about-science-diplomacy/
