Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

Drawing on hard-won lessons from Antarctic research stations and frontier mining towns, panelists will examine how governance must evolve at each stage, from mission-style leadership reliant on Earth, to role specialization and local decision-making, to fully autonomous towns with their own institutions.

Perspectives from the report takes a bottom-up, functional approach to governance, and  speakers will look at what a community needs day to day while staying grounded in existing frameworks like the Outer Space Treaty and Artemis Accords.

Whether you're an aerospace planner, policy thinker, or simply curious about how humans might govern themselves off-world, this session offers a roadmap for building resilient, enduring communities beyond Earth.

Featuring insights from:

• Tyler Bender, Policy Analyst, Beyond Earth Institute

• Melanie Saunders, Human Spaceflight Expert, The Aerospace Corporation

• Dallas Bienhoff, Space Systems Architect, Off-World, Inc.

• John Reed, United Launch Alliance, Chief Rocket Scientist