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Stewardship of space as shared environment and heritage

Nature Astronomy volume 7, page 236 (2023)Cite this article

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Low Earth orbits are increasingly congested, impacting astronomical observations and dark skies. Globally coordinated regulatory policies and mitigation strategies are among urgent next steps to protect this shared environment and intangible heritage.

At this critical juncture for LEO, binary thinking and piecemeal incremental legislation continue to be a grave disservice. Instead of the artificial separations of scientific versus cultural practices or legislating narrow parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, we must respect and protect the integrative continuum in which all these concerns exist. Astronomers need to account for the aggregate effects of growing numbers of LEO satellites (see accompanying Perspective in this issue). We must also lead dialogue on all available options for broad access to affordable broadband, and advocate for equitable outcomes for education and economic development.

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  1. Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Co-Director of the Tracy Seeley Center for Teaching Excellence, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Aparna Venkatesan

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  1. Aparna Venkatesan
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Correspondence to Aparna Venkatesan.

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Competing interests

The author is an unpaid member and co-Chair of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference and Space Debris, whose scope of concern includes the topics covered here. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the positions of the AAS or of the University of San Francisco.

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Venkatesan, A. Stewardship of space as shared environment and heritage. Nat Astron 7, 236 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-01915-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-01915-z

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