Charles Bolden He served as the 12th NASA Administrator, becoming only the second astronaut to hold that position. Bolden is Founder and CEO Emeritus of Charles F. Bolden Group
Ambassador Stuart Holliday Following the President’s nomination and Senate confirmation, he served as U.S. Ambassador for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations (2003-2005). Holliday is CEO of the Meridian International Center, a leading nonpartisan organization advancing global security and prosperity through effective leadership and diplomacy.
President Joe Biden’s announcement that Japanese astronauts will join the upcoming Artemis mission in April 2024 marked a major milestone. It will be the first time a non-American has set foot on the Moon, marking a new era of international cooperation in space exploration.
Before that, a United Nations resolution to prevent the development of nuclear weapons in space, proposed by the United States and Japan, called on all nations not to deploy weapons of mass destruction in accordance with a 1967 treaty. Russia vetoed the resolution — a reminder that space remains at risk of becoming a battlefield. These latest developments underscore the critical role of diplomacy and strategic international partnerships in the evolving space age.
The space race of the 20th century, characterized by competition and high barriers to entry, was transformed. The playing field has expanded, and the absence of traditional gatekeepers in the space creates unique opportunities for collaboration. The United States now finds itself at the helm guiding an international coalition that includes traditional allies, emerging space nations, and innovative private organizations in the complex political landscape of space. This evolution from competition to collaboration represents a significant paradigm shift in the way we approach the final frontier.
For the past 50 years, space exploration has offered humanity a platform to confront some of our most pressing challenges. From climate change research and developing global communications networks to advances in healthcare through zero-gravity research, space has proven indispensable for innovation and development.
By expanding internet access to regions with limited telecommunications infrastructure, projects like SpaceX’s Starlink or the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission are integrating remote communities into the global economy on an unprecedented scale. These breakthroughs are only possible through partnerships with the private sector.
As the era of the International Space Station (ISS) comes to an end, the development of private space stations and the rise of commercial space activities signal a new phase of diplomatic activity in orbit, with companies like Axiom Space leading the launch of the first module to the ISS in 2026 and the station’s completion expected in the late 2020s. This shift will require significant increased collaboration between governments and the private sector to ensure that space remains safe, sustainable, and can continue to provide critical benefits to society as a whole.
However, existing space governance frameworks, including the 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, are outdated and no longer reflect the realities of today’s space activities and technologies. The United States created the Artemis Accords in 2020, a non-binding set of principles and guidelines to promote a sustainable and collaborative future in space, and has so far attracted 39 signatories to begin to fill this gap. The Hague Institute for Global Justice’s Washington Accord seeks to implement private sector norms, recognizing the importance of institutional diplomacy to ensure the stability of a privatized low Earth orbit (LEO) environment.
But space is not a unipolar system, and rival coalitions and alternative norms are emerging in the Global South. In 2023, the U.S. State Department released its first Space Strategic Framework and launched the annual Space Diplomacy Week to broaden the base of like-minded spacefaring nations and outline how we can encourage responsible behavior from all space actors. From a U.S. perspective, it is imperative to engage with emerging spacefaring nations and encourage them to adopt democratic practices.
The United States has prioritized the African continent’s space economy, with Rwanda, Nigeria and Angola all joining the Artemis Accords. However, other African countries aiming for BRICS membership have chosen to enter into space partnerships with China instead. China’s ambition to become a leading power on the Moon through the International Lunar Research Station has raised concerns about sovereignty claims in space, which the Outer Space Treaty strictly prohibits.
Practical modern statecraft must follow the principle of open diplomacy, under which governments alone cannot maintain relations with other nations. Global business executives, state and local leaders, scientists, and technologists must collaborate to shape international relations.
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This also applies to space missions. While astronauts were critical and often the face of the mission, there was a supply chain that got them there in the first place. Think of the scientists and engineers at mission control. Private companies have been contracted to participate in the mission through public-private partnerships. Foreign countries are jointly financing the mission. The success of the mission depends on the level of communication and trust between these actors that diplomacy aims to facilitate.
The United States is responsible for ensuring equal access to STEM education and diplomatic skills training across the country so that our space workforce is better representative of all Americans and equipped with the tools needed to represent our country in space.
In this era of tremendous possibilities in space exploration, it is imperative that we take a unified, diplomatic approach to protecting our space frontier. By encouraging collaboration between nations, industries and innovators, we are not only safeguarding the future of space, but also paving the way for a more interconnected and prosperous world and an era of unprecedented collaboration.