How do we make the future of space more sustainable?

A new international research partnership will bring New Zealand and Swiss expertise together to turn space sustainability research into practical policy.

Dr Priyanka Dhopade, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland and Director of its Sustainable Space Initiative, is joining forces with Emmanuelle David, Executive Director of the Space Centre at Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Over the next two years, they’ll explore how Swiss and European approaches to space sustainability could be adapted for Aotearoa New Zealand’s dynamic space sector, while bringing research on launch emissions, spacecraft re-entry and aerospace supply chains into policy discussions.

"This collaboration grew out of shared interests between researchers in New Zealand and Switzerland who are working at the intersection of space, sustainability and policy," says Dr Dhopade.

"The partnership gives New Zealand direct access to world-leading expertise in space sustainability and creates an opportunity to exchange ideas, develop new research, and explore how international best practice can inform sustainable space governance in Aotearoa."

Catherine Qualtrough, UniServices Partnerships and Innovation Manager – Space and Advanced Tech, who helped develop the collaboration from its early stages, says the partnership connects research with practical policy and strengthens New Zealand’s contribution to decisions about how we use and protect an environment we all share.

The project will include researcher exchanges, including public policy lecturer Dr Sarah Hendricka Bickerton and Business School senior lecturer Dr Stefan Korber, engagement with policymakers and industry, support for early-career researchers, and a roadmap for future Swiss–New Zealand research.

The project is funded through Switzerland’s Leading House Asia-Pacific programme, supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation to strengthen research, education and innovation partnerships between Switzerland and the Asia-Pacific region.