The final frontier: sustainability in outer space

Kim Ellis in the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the NASA Kennedy Space Center.

When Ellis told the career consultant about her space dream, the consultant suggested a law degree as a good option. Previously, people made jokes about studying space law but, “It has now become sexy.” With space technology seemingly advancing by the day, is there any possibility that laws can keep in step? We need to respect space; it is vulnerable and fragile, and we are not attuned as a world to stopping and considering the best path forward for the sake of humanity. “We need to determine how everyone can benefit from the resource,” she says, “not just the countries and companies that can afford to spend the most.”