Forum Outcomes:
As its main practical outcomes, the Forum, in dedicated groups :
a) led to an open letter published in Nature Astronomy : A Call to Address Humanity’s Cosmic Footprint. As of 25/7/24, 102 individuals and entities endorse this letter. Submitted Manuscript (03/05/2025, PDF). The original was published in Nature Astronomy (DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02606-7; Online Viewer)
b) identified, a needed clarification for the space community:
Complying with the COSPAR Planetary Protection Policies (PP Policy) does not preclude ethical evaluation. The Policy does not address ethics. A path to action is proposed to the COSPAR PP Panel: Take advantage of the current rewriting effort of the COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy, to clarify this. These outcomes went along and were reinforced by current COSPAR actions or discussions for future ethical Policy amendments or advice for international space agencies
c) led to the practical project of a registry and visualization system, of the cosmic footprint of Humankind
d) To support follow-up and implementation of the conclusions of the letter, and to bring them to the United Nations (UN), the Cosmic Footprint Society (non-profit) was formed. Scientists, stakeholders and the general public are invited to support the initiative by endorsing the call or joining the Cosmic Footprint Society (free – supports UN recognition efforts). form 🖋️(1 min).
Access the Forum Report:
This report encapsulates the deliberations from the ISSI Forum held on January 8-10, 2024, in Bern, Switzerland, focusing on the ethical implications of humanity’s space activities, and their relation with the largest scales. The forum featured a blend of scientific, ethical, and policy-making discussions with leading experts across these fields. The report does not detail the formation process of the Cosmic Footprint Society, which happened as a follow-up but a later stage. this can be accessed thought the Cosmic Footprint Society website. Download the report
Forum hosted by ISSI, by the Research group on large scale space ethics : https://www.spaceethics.org