https://spacewatch.global/space-frontiers/spacewatch-global-opinion/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Wed, 02 Sep 2026 05:04:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/space-frontiers/spacewatch-global-opinion/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-a-moon-base-must-learn-to-fail/ Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77169
Written by Rania Toukebri
Permanent lunar presence will depend on more than building the physical infrastructure required to keep humans alive. Once that infrastructure exists, another challenge emerges: keeping an increasingly complex settlement operational when components fail, supply chains are stretched and immediate intervention from Earth is impossible.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-opinion-a-moon-base-is-not-a-spacecraft/ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76947
Rania Toukebri
A permanent Moon base is not simply a collection of spacecraft technologies. Rania Toukebri explores how life support, power, thermal control, mobility and lunar resources must become one integrated infrastructure.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-invisible-crew-that-carried-us-to-the-moon/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75694
Written by Judith Delany
When the Artemis II astronauts returned to Bremen, they thanked the engineers behind Orion's European Service Module. Yet their visit also highlighted a far larger truth: every human space mission depends on an invisible crew of partners, families and loved ones whose sacrifices rarely make the headlines, but without whom exploration would not be possible.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-1200-satellite-question-can-germany-deliver/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75593
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
Germany is planning to build a military satellite constellation that would be the second-largest in the world after Starlink. However, fundamental industrial and geopolitical hurdles lie between the political will for strategic sovereignty and the actual orbit.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-bottleneck-illusion-why-a-fast-rocket-wont-save-us-in-a-space-crisis/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75484
Written by Pietro Guerrieri
Rapid launch is only one part of responsive space. In this opinion piece, Pietro Guerrieri argues that the real bottleneck lies on the ground, where logistics, procedures, and operational readiness determine whether a satellite can truly be replaced when it matters most.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-next-war-could-be-fought-over-food-the-technologies-to-prevent-it-may-already-exist-in-bavaria/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74445
Written by Markus Haeuser
As climate change, water scarcity and geopolitical instability place growing pressure on global food systems, the search for sustainable food production is moving beyond traditional agriculture. Technologies originally developed to sustain human life on the Moon and Mars - from closed-loop resource management to advanced bio-manufacturing - may offer valuable solutions for food security on Earth. Bavaria, with its unique concentration of expertise in biotechnology, industrial engineering, agriculture and space technology, could be uniquely positioned to play a leading role in this emerging field.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-we-can-build-for-space-but-can-we-take-care-of-it/ Tue, 19 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74007
Written by Rosa Schmidt
We are still early in space. Just early enough to shape it. Just late enough to start seeing the consequences.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/artemis-ii-astronaut-photos-perspective-on-space/ Wed, 13 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=73863
Written by Judith Delany
While space is increasingly defined by security, infrastructure, and competition, NASA’s release of 12,000 astronaut-taken images from Artemis II offers a different perspective. These unfiltered moments of Earth and Moon remind us that space is not only operational, but also observational. They highlight both the unity of our planet and the vast unknowns that remain, even in the most familiar celestial bodies.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/04/spacewatchgl-opinion-how-much-is-the-moon-worth/ Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=73212
Written by Renã Luiz Guarda
From Trillions to Governance: The Legal Vacuum in Lunar Resource Extraction]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/04/artemis-ii-day-10-orion-returns-to-earth-completing-first-crewed-lunar-mission-in-over-50-years/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:10:24 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72863
Written by Judith Delany
NASA’s Artemis II mission concluded on 10 April as the Orion spacecraft safely returned its crew to Earth, completing the first human mission to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972 and marking a defining milestone in the agency’s return to deep space.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/04/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-legal-frontier-of-space-based-data-centres-jurisdictional-challenges-in-the-orbital-economy-part-2/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72792
Written by Pankaj Mehta
Data sovereignty encounters fundamental conceptual challenges in space. When data physically exists on hardware orbiting outside any nation’s territorial bounds, it becomes unclear which sovereignty principles apply.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/04/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-legal-frontier-of-space-based-data-centres-jurisdictional-challenges-in-the-orbital-economy-part-1/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72781
Written by Pankaj Mehta
The convergence of artificial intelligence and space infrastructure has catalysed an unexpected development: major technology companies are racing to establish data centres in orbit.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/03/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-next-breakthrough-in-space-medicine-wont-come-from-nasa-itll-come-from-conflict-zones/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72424
Written by Yvette Gonzalez
Crossing the boundary between orbit and earth, meaning space medicine research and humanitarian health might just be the next big leap to take. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/03/spacewatchgl-opinion-gloc-2026-why-kigali-is-the-right-stage-for-africas-space-climate-push/ Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72241 When the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) convenes its Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC) in Kigali from 2–4 June 2026, the setting will carry as much weight as the agenda.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/03/spacewatchgl-analysis-esa-council-345-alignment-delivered-execution-pending/ Fri, 20 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72175
Written by Torsten Kriening
The 345th meeting of the ESA Council concluded yesterday against the serene backdrop of the Bernese Oberland, yet the atmospheric calm of Interlaken belied the high-stakes recalibration occurring within European space policy. I]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/03/spacewatchgl-opinion-europes-space-strategy-at-a-crossroads-is-there-a-plan-b/ Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72133
Written by Gilles Rabin
Behind the familiar rhythm of conferences and announcements, Europe’s space industry is entering a new phase. The emergence of a German-led constellation effort raises a fundamental question: who will shape Europe’s space future, and who will follow?]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/03/spacewatchgl-analysis-we-have-failed-the-end-of-polite-silence/ Thu, 19 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72168
Written by Gilles Rabin
Yesterday, all the key decision-makers in France's space sector gathered at the Salons Hoche in Paris for the annual Perspectives Spatiales conference. What they got was a moment of rare candour that cut through an otherwise familiar programme of panels and talking points.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/03/spacewatchgl-opinion-from-dialogue-to-action-lessons-from-the-second-saudi-space-debris-conference-in-riyadh/ Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=72018
Written by Olga Volynskaya
As space activity grows, so does the risk from orbital debris. The Second Saudi Space Debris Conference in Riyadh explored how cooperation, regulation, and innovation could help secure the long-term sustainability of Earth’s orbit.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/02/spacewatchgl-opinion-stop-hugging-start-communicating-europes-space-autonomy-debate-at-msc-2026/ Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=71378
Written by Torsten Kriening
The 62nd Munich Security Conference has quietly become the place where European space policy gets real. Not the kind of reality you get at space industry conferences, where everyone agrees that space is important and then goes back to their national corners. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/02/spacewatchgl-interview-espis-recipe-for-strategic-relevance-with-hermann-ludwig-moeller/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=71312
Written by Tamara Blagojevic
At the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels, Herrmann Ludwig Moeller, Director of the European Space Policy Institute, joins Tamara Blagojevic of SpaceWatch.Global to examine Europe’s evolving space landscape — and to explain how ESPI has grown into a key policy voice beyond the traditional space bubble.]]>