The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) is proud to be a signatory of the Zero Debris Community Update published by ESA concurrently with the release of the Zero Debris Charter to the public.
Released on the occasion of the Space Summit 2023, the Charter is a first-of-its-kind initiative in terms of covering technical requirements, policy considerations, and capability development commitments.
The Zero Debris Charter was written by and for the global space community with the aim of shaping the global consensus on space sustainability. By gathering a wide and varied array of space entities to define ambitious and measurable space debris mitigation and remediation targets for 2030, the Zero Debris Charter has already:
- Built a diverse community of actors in Europe and beyond, committed to further advancing space safety and sustainability, including industrial players of all sizes, government agencies, international organisations, universities and research centres, non-profit foundations and more.
- Developed a precise and common vision of space sustainability for 2030 – combining far-reaching guiding principles and highly ambitious yet realistic technical targets on which to build an ambitious Zero Debris roadmap, driving global space debris mitigation and remediation efforts.
The Charter was concluded in October 2023 following the Paris Air Show in June 2023 where ESA, accompanied by representatives of Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space and OHB, announced the launch of the Zero Debris Charter initiative, under the umbrella of the PROTECT Accelerator.
The Charter, in full, can be read below:
Recent ESPI engagement in the field of space safety and sustainability includes:
- Announcement of a new Centre of Excellent for Space and Sustainability to be housed at ESPI with support from Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK).
- ESPI Report #86: “Space Safety and Sustainability Momentum”.
- ESPI Report #88: “Space Spectrum Management: Foundations for an Informed Policy Discussion Towards WRC-23 and Beyond”.
Learn more about ESA’s Zero Debris approach here and more about the Zero Debris Charter here.
