The Beyond Earth Institute Leadership Council is the principal means for the Beyond Earth stakeholder community to engage with each other and help to shaper the organizations policy priorities.
Creating a legal and policy framework that will enable the creation of economically vibrant communities beyond Earth is a building process that will take time and iterative effort. It requires ongoing stakeholder engagement to drill down on the critical issues repeatedly until clear policy choices emerge. It requires the collaboration of all stakeholders who believe humans must expand beyond Earth for humanity to continue flourishing.
Leadership Council Annual Cycle of Activities
Current Beyond Earth Leadership Council Members
Membership Benefits and Application Form
The Beyond Earth Institute (BE) establishes the Leadership Council (LC) as the main way stakeholders engage with BE to to gain knowledge and insight into issues vital to BE’s mission. The LC’s Working Groups will help shape policy recommendations for BE to research and promote to the space policy .
LC membership consists of companies and entities that share the vision of BE, possess subject matter expertise, and sincerely wish to contribute to crafting a comprehensive policy and legal framework that will accelerate society toward a space migration future.
Membership in the LC does not require that member organizations support all the policy recommendations that emerge from deliberations.
All entities are welcome to apply for membership in the BE LC including private companies, non-government organizations, academic institutions, government entities, and independent experts. International participation is welcome without restriction. Applicant organizations must have some direct professional involvement in or expert knowledge of the topics and issues under study by BE.
The bulk of the activities of the LC will take place through participation in the subject matter Working Groups. Representatives of member organizations will serve on one or more WGs. Members may place multiple representatives on one or more WGs. At the beginning of each year, the number and topics for the working groups will be selected based on member input. For 2023, there will be five working groups.
WG descriptions and expectations are detailed below.
Commercial Space Stations Working Group
For commercial space stations to be successful, a range of policy and regulatory considerations will need to be addressed including ITAR registration, NASA’s long-term commitment to using commercial space stations, and investment-stimulating policies to increase private entrepreneurship, among other topics.
Health, Safety, and Reliability Working Group
Safety and reliability for human spaceflight are the underpinnings of the future expansion of human presence in space. Creating the right culture for safety, investing in human factors research and development, and innovating food production in space are a few areas we’re addressing, among other topics.
Cislunar Economy Working Group
The Moon is our doorstep to the Solar System. Developing a robust cislunar economy will require a new policy framework if we hope to move beyond “flags and footprints.” This WG will consider property rights in space, appropriate ongoing government investment, international norms and standards, strategic and security considerations, and shared infrastructure and communications capabilities, among other topics
Advanced Financing Options Working Group
Putting large numbers of humans into space safely and reliably will require massive investment demanding well-understood ROIs. This WG explores both traditional and non-traditional financing models that can enable a sustained and growing in-space economy and eventual new civilizations, among other topics
Participation in the LC Working Groups is primarily limited to LC Members. However, select Individuals
from the government, academia, and non-governmental organizations may participate on an invitation-
only basis at the request of and concurrence with the LC members. Such individuals will bring essential
knowledge and perspectives to the subject matter discussions.
Have questions? Contact David Bullock at david@beyondearth.org.
