Advances in planetary sustainability

In the 21st century, existing human societies and biodiversity on the Earth are under threat because human resource consumption is exceeding or projected to exceed some of the physical and chemical boundaries of our planet (Rockström et al., 2009). Space research and space exploration are an integral part of a sustainable development that mitigates these threats: Space science and exploration allow us to monitor environmental threats and they open up access to global communication and participation for all human societies. In addition, space exploration also promises to expand the existing limitations and planetary boundaries imposed on human development. On the other hand space exploration can also cause additional environmental problems. The best known example for the latter is the anthropogenic space debris orbiting Earth, but similar problems are likely to occur in other places, for instance on the Moon, due to scientific and commercial space exploration in the near future.

Planetary sustainability is a helpful concept to address the promises and challenges posed by space exploration with respect to sustainability. This concept can be understood as a sustainable development that considers the Earth as a planet in its space environment and considers the space environment as an integral part of sustainable development, with scientific, ethical, economic, and legal ramifications.

In this article we review the recent advancements in planetary sustainability. This includes the proposal that the space environment of Earth should be added as an independent goal to the existing 17 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations, considerations of the planned return of humans to the Moon in 2024, and the implications of the increase of commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit.