Space may be a place that reflects earth, but this is exactly what has researcher Elise Stephenson worried. Whilst space is celebrated as humanity’s next great frontier, it is increasingly shaped by the same forces that entrench inequality on Earth. Once imagined as a sanctuary for scientific cooperation and cosmic possibility, outer space is now increasingly framed as a “warfighting domain,” concentrating wealth and power, and fuelled by (para)militarism, privatisation, and patriarchy. As states and powerful private actors compete in a new space race, the values that guide humanity’s future on and off-Earth – and the inequalities we risk exporting beyond our planet – are being decided right now.
From interviewing Australia’s first female astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg to interrogating the data of over 70 space active countries and almost 1000 individuals and 100 organisations, Space XX goes beyond the high-profile gaffs to explore the nitty-gritty behind-the-scenes experiences of those historically sidelined and side-stepped in the sector. Mapping world-first data on women’s representation, tracing institutional history and evolution, imagining new more feminist and First Nations-informed approaches to the sector, tracking backlash and regression, and putting forth tangible, evidence-based ideas for human and planetary flourishing, Space XX exposes the stakes of our extraterrestrial trajectory and reclaims space as a site where more inclusive futures can – and must – be fought for.
To this end, equality is mission critical. Yet, without a fundamental shifting of power and patriarchal structures in the sector, we are on track not for a manifest destiny in the stars, but one that may fail to lift off in the first place.
