Management - Space Operations

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Space Operations
Name of the Student:
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Author Note

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Environmental concerns are rapidly increasing by the day, which poses serious questions
about sustain ability and ecological balance. The changes can be felt throughout the world, as
there are clear evidences in the environment. The effects can , thus be observed across the globe,
severe climate changes have occurred, which include melting of glaciers, extinction of flora and
fauna, shifts and changes in the pattern of plants and crops growing. It is alarming that climate
changes are occurring all across the globe, as there has also been acceleration in the rise of sea
levels and rise in the heat waves. All these changes are caused due to human activities as it is a
constant effort to evolve and achieve better, which come at the cost of environment degradation.
Some of the concerns were raised by scientists regarding environmental concerns, many decades
earlier, as the rise of carbon di oxide (Bedia et al., 2015). However, several decades have passed
and there have been intense environmental concerns due to human ignorance. It is saddening to
note, despite all the changes which are occurring, there is very little awareness and intent to act
on the same, to save the planet and regulate environmental impacts, due to human activities.
These changes in the environment and impacts can be addressed to achieve sustainability,
through space activities, which shall be discussed in this paper.
Even though, it is customary to become aware and sound, to support the cause of
environmental sustainability on 5th of June, as it marks the World Environment Day, but it draws
to futility, as greenhouse gases keep rising in the atmosphere, which leads to environmental
degradation, health hazards, and severe natural calamities which are results of the climate
changes (Pecl et al., 2017). Some of the most recent occurrences, which had devastating effects
on the environment are the outbreak of massive wildfire, first in the Amazon Rain forest and
second, the bushfire in Australia. These have led to immense losses of property as well as lives
increasing the environmental concerns (Bedia et al., 2015). These outbreaks of fires are caused

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due to the increase of temperatures in the regions. Wildfires or bushfires, result in losses which
are unprecedented , which can only be addressed through long terms goals and planning of
future, to achieve sustainability and ecological balance, which, rapidly, is being lost (Pecl et al.,
2017). Governments take effective measures to address such issues, yet they have proved to be
inadequate to yield to sustainable outcomes for betterment and stability in the ecology. The
Australian Bushfire, which happened in 2020 poses massive environmental concerns as record
wildlife and property loss took place. It is heartbreaking to note that over 1 billion animals lost
their lives due to the bushfire, which continued for a great duration of time. Animals even lost
their natural habitat, which is a great concern for maintaining balance (Bedia et al., 2015).. It is
even more upsetting that some endangered and vulnerable species were killed in the fires, which
cannot be undone. However, there are economic impacts too, caused by the bushfire, which
Australia is having to face as a nation.
The growing environmental concerns can still be addressed, if people try to understand
the seriousness of the issues and how they are gnawing upon the future ( Kabisch, Qureshi &
Haase, 2015). The future is still not known, yet there are environmental concerns which are to be
faced. The issues can be addressed with the help of space activities, which shows a great future.
It can be believed, that there is a better future waiting for the World, if these issues are addressed
with innovate ways and making use of technology, in a manner that it is least impact of the
society. Initiatives, in the form of space activities, can even help in reducing the environmental
impacts which are caused for intended development plans and futuristic goals. Today, resources
are used in a manner that nothing is left for future usage, despite the knowledge that natural
resources are limited and cannot be recreated if they are used beyond the limits. Space sciences,
operations and activities have shown, how farfetched planning can be done. However, with

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effective planning and measures, severe environmental impacts can be addressed through space
activities.
Technology and science has shown us the future, in which addressing environmental
concerns will not be too difficult if the best opportunities and technology is made use of. Global
biodiversity is declining, which will eventually collapse if the issues are not resolved or left
unattained while more resources are consumed by people on Earth (Weeden, Blackerby, Okada,
Yamamoto, Forshaw & Auburn, 2019. A practical worldview of future, will the help of science
and space activities will help in the process of achieving desirable outcomes, out of which
sustainability should be of utmost importance (Jennings, Larson & Yun, 2016). However, it is
also important to ensure that space activities do not leave negative impacts on the environment
(Gupta & Roy, 2018). The risks involved are real, however, if they are not addressed will lead to
doom. Space activities can help in the process of transforming several processes which cause
negative impacts on the environment. In the world of remote sensing, land planning and
monitoring can prove to be immensely beneficial, along with the knowledge of the impacts
which will be caused to the ground (Persson, Martínez-Frías, Milligan, Arnould & Kminek,
2018). The extraction sites could be monitored, especially the ones which have been recognized
as sensitive or World Heritage Sites, in order to regulate the impacts and lead towards
sustainable development. Remote sensing Data can be used in order to have clear understanding
and knowledge of the impacts to stop deforestation and harmful palm oil expansions (Harris &
Landis, 2019). These can be achieved by engaging in a partnership with Jet Propulsion Lab,
which has been developed by NASA and UCLA.
Space activities could be developed which will help in monitoring forests, in order to
protect and restore the aspects, which are essential to maintain ecological balance, even while

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making progress into the future. Developments should not come at the expense of environmental
degradation (Jakhu, 2011). Therefore, simultaneous steps are required to achieve positive
outcomes. With the help of drones and satellites, wildlife in forests as well as marine life could
be monitored. One of the greatest concerns which surfaced in the twenty first century is the loss
of marine life and fossil fuels due to water pollution and accumulation of plastic waters, which is
risking the lives under water. Several species have gone extinct and are on the verge of being
extinct, due to accumulation of plastic underwater, which are either consumed or get stuck to
their bodies, which eventually become the reason of their deaths. Space activities can help in
regulating these human actions and take necessary steps to achieve better sustainability in future.
It is very important to preserve marine and wildlife to maintain biodiversity, without which
human beings cannot sustain in this beautiful planet. The tracking species, AI could come of
great help, and satellite imaging will help to address the concerns at a very rudimentary level
(Häyhä, Lucas, van Vuuren, Cornell & Hoff, 2016) Advanced thermal imaging can be made use
of, to ensure that wildlife is secure without the risks of being poached and trafficked, which is a
great concern and the reason for decline of wildlife in many regions, across the globe, which
creates imbalance.
Therefore, human activities could be regulated through space activities, which can help
achieve sustainability. Space activities can be of great benefit, in future, to identify the
environmental risks which might increase and take shape of natural calamities. Through space
activities, negative developments can easily be traced and regulated. It can easily be understood
if there are developments like wildfire or other natural calamity, can precautionary measures can
be taken in an advanced manner, to not let it take a great shape, which can impact the
environment and loss of lives and property. Thus, with space activities, bigger achievements can

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be actualized when it comes to development and space activities, in order to achieve
environmental sustainability. Till 2060 great troubles such as climate changes and natural
disasters could be stopped by making effective use of resources and planning out developments
to follow into the future.

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References
Gupta, B., & Roy, R. S. (2018). Sustainability of Outer Space: Facing the Challenge of Space
Debris. Environmental Policy and Law, 48(1), 3-7.
Häyhä, T., Lucas, P. L., van Vuuren, D. P., Cornell, S. E., & Hoff, H. (2016). From Planetary
Boundaries to national fair shares of the global safe operating space—How can the scales
be bridged?. Global Environmental Change, 40, 60-72.
Jakhu, R. (2011). Towards Long-term Sustainability of Space Activities: Overcoming the
Challenges of Space Debris. International Association for the Advancement of Space
Safety, IAASS Legal and Regularoty Committee.
Jennings, V., Larson, L., & Yun, J. (2016). Advancing sustainability through urban green space:
Cultural ecosystem services, equity, and social determinants of health. International
Journal of environmental research and public health, 13(2), 196.
Persson, E., Martínez-Frías, J., Milligan, T., Arnould, J., & Kminek, G. (2018). Environment and
Sustainability. In Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today (pp. 25-30). Springer, Cham.
Prunariu, D. D., & Tulbure, I. (2017). Space Activities and Sustainable
Development. International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference: SGEM:
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Weeden, C., Blackerby, C., Okada, N., Yamamoto, E., Forshaw, J., & Auburn, J. (2019,
October). Industry Implementation of the Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines: An
Astroscale Perspective. In 70th International Astronautical Congress.

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Kabisch, N., Qureshi, S., & Haase, D. (2015). Human–environment interactions in urban green
spaces—A systematic review of contemporary issues and prospects for future
research. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 50, 25-34.
Pecl, G. T., Araújo, M. B., Bell, J. D., Blanchard, J., Bonebrake, T. C., Chen, I. C., ... & Falconi,
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Bedia, J., Herrera, S., Gutiérrez, J. M., Benali, A., Brands, S., Mota, B., & Moreno, J. M. (2015).
Global patterns in the sensitivity of burned area to fire-weather: Implications for climate
change. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 214, 369-379.
Harris, T. M., & Landis, A. E. (2019, March). Space Sustainability Engineering: Quantitative
Tools and Methods for Space Applications. In 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference (pp. 1-
6). IEEE.