An architect, foodie, diplomat, physicist, scientist, and ecosystem builder walk into a Zoom room to talk about space...
With a starting premise like that, you know you are in for something great.
To prepare for the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Melbourne 19-22, we held a Road to GEC session with an amazing panel to gain insights about leveraging the space innovation ecosystem for Earth.
Our panelists included:
- Xavier De Kestelier - Head Of Design at Hassell.
- Stephanie Wan - Associate Director, Space Industry Lead at KPMG, and
- Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom - Co-Founder & CEO at SpaceBase Limited.
You can watch the full session below as well as read the recap.
Describing the space innovation ecosystem
We started by asking the panelists to describe the space-focused innovation ecosystem using a metaphor of a vehicle. The responses highlighted the value of seeing the situation from different perspectives.
Not human-centric, difficult to use, extremely technical.
Sturdy enough, gets you there, a base for innovators to build on.
Been around for a while, some false starts, but now at a stage of exponential rate of change.
The descriptions paint a picture of a technical field with potential barriers to entry, but where there are foundations for innovators and entrepreneurs to build on with emerging signs of exponential growth.
A space sector for Earth or Earth sectors in space?
What does it mean to go to space to help Earth? The answer was not as straightforward as you might think.
Xavier reflected that not everything designed for space needs to have an immediate application on Earth. In fact, trying to find an immediate Earth application may inhibit designs made for the space environment.
People have this obsession of having to show that space is valuable back on earth. I don't think that's always necessary. Sometimes we just develop technology just for space.
I'll have this thing where we've done 3D printing habitats on Mars, for example. The immediate reaction I get is people going, "Wouldn't it be fantastic to use this technology to build houses for homeless people?"
No, because homelessness is not about buildings at the end of the day. A technique that works really well on Mars, we have better techniques on Earth. I don't think we always need to be obsessed by bringing technology back. It's okay to just develop stuff for space. - Xavier De Kestelier
The uniqueness of space sector designs does not diminish the cross-application of technologies. Many of our everyday luxuries and necessities are thanks to the space sector. Emeline highlighted the taken-for-granted benefits of the space industry in everyday life.
People take for granted what space has contributed to day-to-day life. From GPS to navigation to weather, these are technologies we are using we take for granted and think are not space-related. Without satellites, we won't have all these technologies. People think of the definition of space as rocket ships when 75% of the global space economy is downstream. The biggest part of the space industry flying under the radar. - Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom
Another reason for Earth's application of space technology may have little to do with practical benefits and more to do with funding and survival of the technology or startup. Stephanie described the need to appeal to politicians and thereby voters on the value of space technology for Earth applications.
If you like space, then you're bought in. But you also have to deal with politicians that have to vote for a budget to make things happen. A regular person on the street is trying to relate space back to Earth and asking "How are my taxpayer dollars being used on Earth?" That's the real justification that space enthusiasts have to do when requesting money unless you find a billionaire to fund your hopes and dreams of building something in space. - Stephanie Wan
Pursuing space to make you stronger on Earth
Apart from the application of shared technologies, perhaps the real value of a space pursuit is the stretch goals that drive resilience and sustainability. Creating solutions for space challenges thinking and forces innovation in a way that goes beyond aiming for our backyard or even another country. Designing for the environment of space with its limited resources may also help create solutions that address the growing populations and scarce resources here on Earth.
Stephanie shared her personal journey of growth in working in the constraints of the space sector:
For me personally, working in the space industry for the last 10 years has made me think harder about how to design more sustainably. It's not a particular technology, but an attitude. We've done collaborations with fashion designers, for example, to design clothes out of parachutes because why wouldn't our Martian habitats not reuse their landing parachutes? Or looking at ways of 3D printing furniture and stuff out of recycled plastics. When we live on another planet, we are going to be so careful about all the materials we bring and how we reuse and adapt and upcycle many times over. It's more like a thought process than technology. - Stephanie Wan
Practical applications and collaboration
Stephanie continued with a couple of practical examples in her personal interest area of food and agriculture. Her examples also highlight the value of programs, events, and collaborations that help focus collective impact and technology development.
The NASA Deep Space Food Challenge partners with the Canadian Space Agency and offers an international prize. It's about creating a closed-loop food system that can be very low maintenance and provide maximum nutrients in a small, portable size to put on a spacecraft and go on a one-way trip to Mars. Ideally, it would last while you're on Mars as well so you're not always going to be carrying pockets of seeds and be a farmer while you do other experiments and steering the ship. I think about how this could be applied back on Earth for the food systems so more people get access to higher nutrient foods they could grow themselves or be self-replenishing.
At the University of Adelaide, they are looking at duckweed for maximum nutrients. It is unique in the sense that it's everyday-looking pond scum. Clearly, the university's not going to feed you whatever is off the river, but the way it propagates and multiplies so quickly is a sustaining food source. Back in May, there was a Tasting Australia event where they had a Thai chef do a three-course tasting on different ideas of infusing duckweed into the menu because it was what he had growing up in Thailand. There are a lot of different foods like that that we forget about, whether it's plant-based or even insect protein which people are exploring as a sustainable product. - Stephanie Wan
Emeline continued with an example in New Zealand from the infrastructure sector with low-carbon concrete's dual-purpose application and a distinction between a near and long-term focus.
In terms of ecosystem building, we're focused on developing in emerging countries. The point is to make sure that the entire world gets to play and has the opportunity to leverage space technology for the future either as an industry for economic development in the short term or going into the solar system in the long-term. The new players right now are looking at creating space ecosystems to solve their near-term challenges and problems.
We focus on leveraging space technology for planet Earth. Climate change for example is one of those problems that we all have regardless of your country or space industry level of development. There is a lot of opportunity for countries to leverage space to solve the grand challenges they have today. There is also what we call dual use. But dual use not for military and defense, but dual use for terrestrial and space purposes.
One example is a company in New Zealand where their original focus was to create carbon-negative cement. Cement is one of the biggest polluters on Earth. If you can disrupt that, then that would be a game changer. At the same time, if you look at the up-and-coming lunar missions and economy, we need landing pads on the moon and Mars. Landing pads are going to be on a critical path for making sure that there won't be interference between missions and countries. That's on a critical path and is an example of an application that is longer-term but has Earth applications needed today. - Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom
Stop thinking that there are space companies and non-space companies
The examples highlight that all companies are space companies. Not only that but the conversation highlighted that perhaps the distinction between the two is not helpful. Panelists emphasised an integrated view from perspectives of design, careers, and community.
The space industry is really an extension of every terrestrial industry applied to extreme environments. Every stakeholder and every facet of creating an industry has the same thing that's happening in the space industry. We should stop thinking that there are space companies and non-space companies.
I often get questions of "How do you design for space?" and "How do you start?" The environment is different, it's harsher, but we deal with these things all the time.
How do you get everything to the Moon or Mars? You think about how to build a building in central London. Do you think we designed a building so everything fits on trucks and is able to arrive on site in a certain way? Of course, we do. The process is the same, but we have to think about it slightly differently. I wish more industries would be comfortable entering the field of space. - Xavier De Kestelier
A question that often gets asked about the space industry is why spend money attempting to travel to space and explore other worlds when there are immediate challenges on Earth. Considering this, Xavier shared his views on the expected realities of space migration.
Why spend millions of people to inhabit Mars if we have so many problems here on Earth? People think we are going to another planet and send thousands of people. I don't think that's is ever going to happen. My analogy is always Antarctica. We have a base in Antarctica for research and exploration. Very important research happens there and we need humans there to do that research.
I believe that will be the same thing on the Moon and Mars. There will be some level of tourism, but we try to be extremely sustainable and light-footed on the surface of Antarctica as possible. I believe that's what we need to do. I never wanted to design to have thousands of people live on another planet. Hundreds, maybe. I don't think Mars and the Moon are fantastic places to live anyway. Perhaps for research, yes, but not more than that. - Xavier De Kestelier
A focus on space can create a barrier between those who see themselves in and out of the space industry, as Stephanie described.
I tell people that whatever you need on Earth, you also need in space. If you want to become a trash collector, you will need that in space. Jobs are equal.
A challenge with folks in the space industry is that it's a bubble. We love hanging out with each other, going to conferences around the world together, and it becomes very close-knit. You forget the real people you need to serve are actually out there.
We even use the word space as the leading word of every sentence. I give people a challenge, asking "Can you talk about what you do in the space sector or justify why space is important without using the word 'space' in the leading sentence?" It's hard because we like this Kool-aid and it's comfortable and fun. We need to talk to more people 'out there'. - Stephanie Wan
The discussion highlighted that while the space industry has specific technical considerations and creates new opportunities, it also comes with its own language and culture. A primary value is in creating a challenge that inspires, brings in others, develops innovation in existing sectors, and creates new proficiencies in established professions. Xavier summed up this distinction.
I get a load of questions by graduate architects who love space and they ask me "How do you become a space architect? What courses do I follow?"
The first thing is always "Don't try to become a space architect. First of all, try to become a good architect. And then work in space."
The most important thing is to be good at what you do and your particular profession. People who try to do space stuff can want to become technical, almost becoming engineers. There are enough system engineers out there to collaborate with. We don't need to become more space. It's okay to be in the profession that you have, with the experience and knowledge that you bring to the space industry without needing to be an engineer.
I agree that it is quite a close-knit organisation that talks in certain ways. It is the reason I explicitly do not call myself a space architect because I think I bring something different. - Xavier De Kestelier
Where to from here: Funding, leadership, and open innovation
So where do we go from here? The panel highlighted three key areas for future focus.
Funding was highlighted as a priority from both government and industry. The funding needs to focus early-stage firms as well as from diverse sources including government, risk capital such as venture capital and angel investment networks, and traditional capital sources such as banks.
Funding from different funding sources has always been the most sought-after. Government plays a big role, especially for those that are just beginning. You really need the political will with the backing of funding to make it happen. How can you incentivise the government to have a more space-leaning strategy for every country that would be interested in participating?
Create opportunities through grants, investment, and as a customer to help the nascent industry that is creating this innovation. For New Zealand and Australia, we need more funding for the idea stage where there are startup companies that need help to get to a prototype as opposed to just ideas.
It is great that statistically there is more diversity in funding from VCs. It used to be just VCs and angels. Now there's now even traditional funding sources like banks that are beginning to look into the industry. Originally this was too risky an industry. If there is any way that we can change how funding is being distributed to the industry, that would be fantastic. - Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom
Government funding is a needed source of growth capital. But just as there is a need to integrate space technologies across sectors, so also are there opportunities to identify funding from other focus areas from traditional tax incentives and focus areas such as agriculture, climate, defence, and mining.
What I've seen at least in Australia is a reduction in grants and funding. But from my background in helping with grants and R&D tax incentives, there are more opportunities. A lot of these space companies or those that label themselves as space companies only target space grants and space funding.
There was a carbon soil detection fund grant in Australia and one company won around $9.8 million, which is more than most space companies would get from an Australian government, to build a satellite for doing SAR activity. It is not a space company and they were not targeting a space grant. That's how they got money.
I think funding is there, you just have to look differently with a different lens. And of course, more is always better. - Stephanie Wan
Government is more than a funding source. It is a powerful force for leadership and direction. Government also plays a significant role in supporting cross-country collaborations necessary for the complexity and scale of the space exploration challenge.
What I think we need is better direction. We need a light and roads to know where we are going. One thing that was really good in the previous US administration was space policy directives and a lot of movement. They had the Artemis Accords that helped to give people that vision, to help the architects draw out and visualise.
When you are going out into the ocean on a boat, ideally you'll have lights to light up the path and hopefully see an island to land on. That is what governments miss. Not just a space strategy, but weaving the future outlook of space technology into all the other agencies, not just the space agency. For example, in the Department of Agriculture like the weather BOM is already doing that, but it can't just be a siloed activity. - Stephanie Wan
Collaborative, open innovation challenges provide good frameworks to bring together government, research, industry and corporates, and emerging startups. These collaborative models are maturing and, while some may be small, help bridge gaps in market access and address silos from large established companies.
I do see change happening. My first project more than 10 years ago was with a tender process that was very painful for a non-space engineer to get into. We fell into this research project by accident which was great. But I did see a change happening at NASA and at ISA. We got involved through their centennial challenges which was to expand the involvement of other types of companies into the space industry.
And then ISA in the last few years have a new funding system called Open Space Innovation Platform where ISA doesn't set what the research is but give a theme and lets other companies, industry, and universities come up with ideas, and then select ones they think are valid. It is still limited funding. They are about 2000 euros or something each time. We are doing two of those which is great.
I do believe that there need to be larger amounts, but I think that approach is great because it uses the creativity and the knowledge of a much wider group of industries that can get involved in space. I have seen a shift happening in the last decade, but I would love more of that.
I would also love the bigger space engineering companies to start thinking that way as well. They sometimes think as only technology-driven. They need to think a little bit wider and involve different types of industries. I love the virtual integration of the space industry. You have SpaceX for example which is fantastic, but it does sometimes limit and become focused. It is great if you want really clear goals, but it does stop other kinds of influences coming in. A more open approach, I would say. - Xavier De Kestelier
Add your ideas to address space challenges at the GEC
The session provided an amazing hour in conversation with industry leaders about challenges and opportunities for the global space sector. But we also acknowledge that the challenges are more complex and large in scope than any one perspective. We need collective wisdom and ideas for collective impact.
With that in mind, we invite you to add your ideas to address space challenges leading up to and during the GEC through the Nectir challenge platform.
The Nectior platform includes five space-focused challenges for you to add ideas. These challenges focus on topics raised in this conversation, including:
- Government space sector policy and programs;
- Unlock private sector value in the space sector;
- Space sector integration across industries and impact areas;
- Advancing space sector technology capability; and
- Space sector culture, communication, and awareness.
You can register on the platform to add your ideas and collaborate with others here: https://genaustralia.org/program/challenge-collaborator/
We look forward to connecting with you and a global delegation as we work together across sectors and areas of impact in the global innovation ecosystem to Transform your World.