This study was launched as part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - Space Innovation through Partnership and Co-creation (J-SPARC) for advancement of disaster management and mitigation in Japan Although many strategies have been developed to minimize damage resulting from natural disasters in Japan, further efforts are still required For instance, evacuees are constrained to live in post-disaster shelters with almost no privacy and other habitability needs for a prolonged period of time, making it an uncomfortable environment The present work aims to find solutions to fill the gap by investigating valid knowledge, technologies, and strategies that are applied in terrestrial extreme environments and in space Such assets would be useful to improve safety, operational efficiency, and overall comfort in post-disaster shelters Additionally, this paper discusses potential collaboration opportunities between the earth and space (i e space food and emergency food, life support systems, and infection control measures) based upon findings from the comparative analysis of the extreme environments This paper concludes with a discussion on considerations and improvements of the presented extreme environments survey for future works © Copyright 2020 by Stefan A Kaiser Published by Eleven International Publishing, with permission
The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group adopted the Building Blocks for the Development of an International Framework on Space Resources Governance in November 2019 The Building Blocks are the outcome of the discussions among the participants of the Working Group and aim to lay the groundwork for potential future negotiations on a framework to govern space resource activities The Building Blocks were published on the website of the Working Group and were presented to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of UNCOPUOS Presentation to the Legal Subcommittee had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic They were also translated to various languages, in an effort to increase their outreach in different regions around the world Furthermore, a Commentary to the Building Blocks was published by Eleven Publishers, to provide background about the formulation of the Building Blocks and analyse the legal basis and discussion behind each provision The Working Group functioned on the basis of a multi-stakeholder platform comprising members and observers from space agencies, industry, academia, science, international organisations and civil society It concluded its activities at the end of 2019, but will continue to promote the implementation of the Building Blocks and the discussion on space resources governance in appropriate forums, through its members and observers There is much work to be done, as the Building Blocks represent only a small step on the road towards a suitable international framework for space resource activities This paper will explain the main elements of the final version of the Building Blocks and highlight some of the changes in their text since the publication of the Draft Building Blocks in September 2017 Moreover, the paper will report on outreach activities organized by the Working Group in the aftermath of its conclusion and provide suggestions on further work All authors are closely involved with the creation and activities of the Working Group © 2020 by DLR-SART
