ISU Adelaide Conference 2022

The International Space University (ISU) Adelaide Conference is on again this year, with an exciting line-up of speakers across two days at the beginning of February. The ISU is a space education institution headquartered in France which was founded in 1988. Its Southern Hemisphere program, including the ISU Adelaide Conference, has been co-delivered with the University of South Australia for the past 10 years. Each year, the conference and its speakers discuss prominent topics within the space community with a focus on diverse viewpoints and constructive dialogue.  

With the number of satellites in the skies set to explode into the tens of thousands over the next few years, space junk is becoming an ever more important topic that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The topic this year for the ISU Adelaide Conference is space junk, its dangers, its mitigation, and what actions are needed now and into the future. 

Space junk has begun to crowd our skies, presenting a potential hazard to new and currently operating satellites, and even possibly escalating to one day creating a thick layer of debris in orbit, preventing us from launching into space at all. 

“Managing space debris is crucial for sustainable space operations. This complex endeavour requires a comprehensive approach including innovative technologies, space missions and a sustainable international set of regulations and standards,” said Dr Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of ISU.

"Space junk is creating an environmental crisis in Earth orbit and time is running out to fix it. What is the point of the Outer Space Treaty claiming that space belongs to all of humanity if a few nations are ruining it for everyone? Nothing short of global cooperation will be enough,” said space archaeologist and Associate Professor Alice Gorman.

The ISU Adelaide Conference speakers, panellists, and session facilitators will present a variety of views on space junk, including Indigenous, archaeological, legal, and industry-based. 

Speakers at this year’s ISU Adelaide Conference include:

• Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency
• Dr Alice Gorman, Associate Professor at Flinders University and space archaeologist 
• Dr Moriba Jah, Associate Professor at University of Texas, space environmentalist and Chief Science Advisor at Privateer
• Dr Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of ISU and International Astronautical Federation
• Dr Will Crowe & Dr Hiranya Jayakodi, Co-Founders of Sydney-based HEO Robotics
• Ceridwen Dovey, Essayist and winner of the 2021 UNSW Bragg Prize for Science writing
• Deen Sanders OAM, a Worimi man and Partner at Deloitte
• Chris Blackerby, Chief Operating Officer for Astroscale Japan

Catch these speakers and many more discussing the issue of space junk at the ISU Adelaide Conference online on the 4th and 5th of February.