BIS West Midlands event 14:00-15:15 UT; In the early 2020s, the heads of NASA, Roscosmos and the China National Space Agency criss-crossed Africa, Asia and the Americas trying to sign up countries to join ‘their’ Moon project: Artemis, or the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). How had it come to this?

In this talk, Brian Harvey reviews the politics and diplomacy of the space world today, from the historical context of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of the 1950s, through the various cooperative agencies set up by NASA, the Soviet Union (Interkosmos) and Europe (ESA) to joint projects like the International Space Station (ISS). How do China, India and Japan fit into to this global picture and where will it lead? What are the factors that lead countries to cooperate, compete or even do business across political divides – and what are the benefits or losses to space science as a result?

Speaker: Brian Harvey FBIS is a writer and broadcaster on spaceflight. His most recent books are China in space – the great leap (Praxis-Springer, 2019), also published in Chinese (2022); European-Russian cooperation in space – from de Gaulle to ExoMars (Praxis-Springer, 2021), Atlas of rocket launch sites (with Gurbir Singh; DOM, Berlin, 2022); Japan in space – past, present and future (Praxis-Springer, 2023). Forthcoming: Space alliances – global leaders, friends and enemies (Praxis-Springer, 2028).

Meeting Timetable

• 13:55 – The meeting is available to join
• 14:00 – Welcome
• 14:05 – Cooperation or competition? – the space world of today

by Brian Harvey

• 14:40 ish – Questions and Answers (we enable everyone’s microphone to allow an interactive Q&A session)