9 Key Takeaways From The Power of Geography: Space
I’m currently on holiday in Sweden, so no Geopolitics and Markets Review today. So instead, here’s a post I wrote earlier discussing the key takeaways from the Space chapter in The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall.
1) Countries with Basic Space Capabilities
- ASA – Australian Space Agency
- ISA – Iranian Space Agency
- ISA – Israeli Space Agency
- KCST – National Aerospace Development Administration
- KARI – Korea Aerospace Research Institute
- CNES – Centre national d’Etudes Spatiales
- SSAY – State Space Agency of Ukraine
- ASI – Italian Space Agency
2) Countries with Full Launch Capabilities
- ESA – European Space Agency
- ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation
- JAXA – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- CNSA – China National Space Administration
- NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Roscomos – State Corp for Space Activities (Russia)
3) What are the Artemis Accords? – The Artemis Accords are a draft of rules for space exploration and utilization, which could become important when it comes to mining in space. The accords aim to maintain a peaceful environment between all nations involved through transparency and safety. The accord is so named after Artemis being the Greek goddess of the moon, and to honour the contributions of women to the space program. The Artemis Accords aren’t legally binding but are a set of rules proposed by the United States in 2020. So far, 15 countries have signed on, including the United States.
Photo by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz on Unsplash
4) Water Recovery System on ISS – The water recovery system recycles wastewater, urine, and moisture from within the station into clean drinking water. It recovers around 93% of the moisture within the station. This system would prove useful in any space travel to celestial bodies further away, such as Mars.
5) Outer Space Treaty – Entered into force on October 10th, 1967, the treaty includes 110 countries. It details principles that govern states as they explore and use outer space. The treaty includes many nations that will make use of space in the near future, such as the United States, Russia, and China. It doesn’t allow any country to claim sovereignty over anything in space, and so all space can be explored by any country that has the tools to get there.
6) Libration (Lagrange) Points – There are five points in space where the gravitational forces between the Earth and the Moon can be used to balance a smaller object in a relatively stable position. In the Earth-Moon relationship, there are five such points. The first three lie on the line that travels through the centre of the Earth and the Moon. The other two form equilateral triangles with the Earth and the Moon.
7) Astropolitik – The study of the politics and strategy involved in space exploration and use. The key issues are national security, international cooperation, commercialising space, space law and governance, and the use of space resources. This doesn’t only involve countries now but also private companies, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.
8) Asteroid Mining – Rare earth metals are so aptly named due to being rather rare. They also are frequently used in technologies that are rather important to modern life, such as semiconductors or electric vehicles. Having greater access to these would limit any supply-side issues we currently have. The impact of asteroid mining on commodities trade would be a massive sea change. We are still many years away from this, but the large impact it will eventually is beginning to be recognised. Those countries that have the capabilities to perform asteroid mining will reap the benefits of international trade. This has the potential to limit countries that aren’t particularly high up in the geopolitical power rankings but have access to large amounts of rare earth metals. Consider Chile which just started to nationalise its lithium mines. Governments wish to claim taxes and royalties on the mining of commodities they have in abundance in an aim to keep more capital in the country. When asteroid mining leads to an increased supply of rare earth metals, the impact that nationalisations of commodity mining have will be lessened.
9) Steps of Any New Innovation – Sometimes we can recognise trends so early that it has the same impact as being wrong about it. This is true in investing. Being too early often sees an industry dump many times before becoming a staple technology. This is the attitude towards every new technology, ever:
- This isn’t going to be viable as a new technology, ever.
- It might work but it’s too expensive or requires too much effort.
- I knew it would work!
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