Responsible Space for Sustainability


Sustainability is probably not the first thing that pops into mind when you think about outer space exploration. But the 2024 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) made sustainability its main theme. In fact, Responsible Space for Sustainability refers to two different, and very important, aspects of the world’s space programs:

  • the development of networked earth observation satellites and technologies to measure and monitor climate change and other environmental issues.
  • the fostering of responsible practices for the sustainable exploration of outer space, including traffic management, planetary protection, as well as emerging technologies for spacecraft end-of-life, green fuels and closed-loop systems.

The Congress is organized annually by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), with which we have been working since 2019 on both their annual congresses and their smaller, thematic meetings . They have taken us to Washington DC, Dubai, Paris, Baku, and now to this year’s Congress, their 75th and largest ever, in Milan, with more than 11,200 delegates from 120 countries.

 Responsible Space for Sustainability featured over 1,700 poster presentations on 90 interactive touch screens. Authors were able to book their own presentation times and screens during the relevant topical sessions, using the built-in online booking platform we developed especially for IAF. The iPoster presentation Gallery for this and other IAF meetings are available online on any internet connected device, anywhere.

IAF is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris. It was founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay the foundation for international space cooperation. Members include space agencies, companies, universities, professional associations, museums, government organizations and learned societies.

We look forward to working with IAF on their upcoming Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX2025) in New Delhi in June 2025, and the next IAC in Sydney in October.

For more information about our work with IAF –  or anything else we do – CONTACT US HERE!

The iPoster Hall at the 2024 IAC "Responsible Space for Sustainability" Congress, in Milan, Italy. The Hall is empty of people. We see rows and rows of large white touch screen kiosks.

The iPoster Hall at the 2024 IAC "Responsible Space for Sustainability" Congress, in Milan, Italy. The Hall is filled with attendees listening to presentations conducted by authors on large white touch screen kiosks.

The iPoster Hall at the 2024 IAC "Responsible Space for Sustainability" Congress, in Milan, Italy. A woman is presenting her research on a large white touch screen kiosk. She is pointing at an image.

The iPoster Hall at the 2024 IAC "Responsible Space for Sustainability" Congress, in Milan, Italy. A a man is presenting his research on a large white touch screen kiosk. He is pointing at an image, explaining things to another an standing beside him.