When thinking about environmental protection and sustainability, we often look at our actions on earth to create solutions.

But what about our activities among the stars?

According to Dr. Hilding Neilson in the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, humanity is pushing itself into outer space in rapid and potentially dangerous ways.

He says the exponential growth of satellites in low-Earth orbit is creating new environmental problems.

Increased global light pollution, debris landing on Earth, more material burning up in the upper atmosphere and damage to the ozone layer are just a few of the issues increased satellite activity creates.

Read a conversation with Dr. Neilson below, where he speaks about his work to develop new ideas for outer space governance and sustainability by bringing the space industry and ethics together with Indigenous ways of knowing to advocate for a better future in space.

Nicole Squires: Tell us more about your research.

Dr. Hilding Neilson: My work aims to explore how we can connect with outer space more ethically and sustainably by bringing together astronomy and Indigenous methodologies, along with policy development and the humanities, and potentially entrepreneurism.

“For many Indigenous Peoples, knowledge is relational, compared to western science, where knowledge is objective.”

Together, this creates an interdisciplinary perspective that operates on the premise that outer space, the moon and other bodies in space are living ecosystems that require us to operate in ways of respect and kinship.

NS: Why did you decide to get involved in this area of study?

HN: This work is building on another goal of mine to better integrate Indigenous knowledge and methodologies in astronomy teaching and research as a Mi’kmaw person.

This became a focus of mine about a decade ago, as a consortium of countries, including Canada, endeavoured to build the Thirty-Meter Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawai’i, an initiative that many native Hawaiians opposed.

As I worked on addressing these issues, it became clear to me that this was simply an issue of colonialism.

If we want to create a future in space that is available for all people, not just the few people leading the way, then we need to reframe our relationships with the night sky and outer space.

My research has expanded from more traditional stellar and exoplanet astrophysics to exploring how we can do better by learning from Indigenous methodologies by bringing these disciplines together with traditional science to understand astronomy and space using the concept of two-eyed seeing.

NS: Could you provide details on these Indigenous methodologies?

Indigenous methodologies in science are about how we view and relate to the world around us and have been discussed by many Indigenous scholars and leaders, such as Marie Battiste, Gregory Cajete, Shawn Wilson, Linda Smith and more.

For many Indigenous Peoples, we see nature as familial; we are all equal to the animals, grass, trees, water and air. Another perspective for many Indigenous Peoples is that knowledge is relational, compared to western science, where knowledge is objective.

“My ultimate goal is that we stop seeing outer space as something to be conquered, colonized and exploited.”

This means a few things: the first being that we can hold multiple truths even if they are in conflict, whereas in western science there is only one objective truth.

For many Indigenous Peoples, how we use and share knowledge is a responsibility.

These are only a couple of ideas and it should be noted that there is no one pan-Indigenous methodology.

NS: How do you plan to advocate for change?

HN: As the research progresses, I am developing two courses on Indigenous Astronomies and on Space and Society that I hope will be an entry way for students.

The first is a course on Indigenous Astronomies, based on a course I previously developed at the University of Toronto. This course will consider how astronomy and space can be better understood through Indigenous knowledges and methodologies and how we can learn from the knowledges of various Indigenous Peoples who have lived on their territories since time immemorial.

The second, Space and Society, explores the relationships we have with outer space, along with the science of our activities and their impacts on us and the environment. I hope to create an additional course that is more directly focused on outer space as an environment.

NS: What are the ultimate goals of this initiative?

HN: The goal is to build a space ethics lab. Memorial University has a strong history and expertise in environmental sciences and environmental studies and humanities, and as we see the outer space industry grow in Newfoundland and Labrador, we are an ideal place in Canada to lead the way.

This lab would build interdisciplinary research based on the idea of outer space as an environment and develop new ideas and policies that can support actors behaving ethically in their outer space activities.

My ultimate goal is that we stop seeing outer space as something to be conquered, colonized and exploited, and to see it as part of the environment that we should respect.