Program:  Civilization on the Moon — and what it means for life on Earth

We could realistically see people starting to live and work on the Moon in the next decade — and how we do it matters, says space policy researcher Jessy Kate Schingler. In this fascinating talk, she discusses the critical issues that arise when we consider civilization in outer space — such as governance, property rights and resource management — and shows how the Moon can be a template for solving our biggest challenges here on Earth.

 

The Artemis II mission successfully launched on April 1, 2026, at 6:35 p.m. EDT. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the first crewed flight of the Artemis program to orbit the Moon.  A variety of prelaunch, launch, and mission events for NASA’s Artemis II mission around the Moon will stream online. 

Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission under the Artemis program and will launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon. Among objectives, the agency will test the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems for the first time with people and lay the groundwork for future crewed Artemis missions.  Briefings, events, and 24/7 mission coverage will stream on the agency’s YouTube channel, and events will each have their own stream closer to their start time. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

Although this Ted Talk was recorded in May, 2020, it will, hopefully, be of interest to all now. 

Why you should listen

Jessy Kate Schingler leads policy and governance at the Open Lunar Foundation, which works on policy and institution design in support of sustainable lunar settlements driven by open values. Open Lunar seeks to create a peaceful, cooperative future on the Moon for all life.

Schingler is also affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, looking at the application of new institutional designs to pressing global challenges and a founder and board member at District Commons, a nonprofit experimenting with self-governance and new forms of commoning. She has a bachelors in astrophysics, a masters in computer science and two years towards a PhD in distribut