ID: 53
Presenting Author: Stacey Fineran
Status: pending
Introduces Extraterrestrial Impact Assessment and evaluates the Artemis Accords against best practice principles to identify opportunities to advance sustainability beyond Earth.
As human activities expand beyond Earth, Impact Assessment (IA) must evolve to address potential impacts on extraterrestrial environments such as the Moon and Mars. The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) recently adopted the International Best Practice Principles for Impact Assessment of Extraterrestrial Activities (2024) to help ensure exploration and development beyond Earth are conducted sustainably and ethically. This poster introduces the concept of Extraterrestrial Impact Assessment (ExIA), outlines the overarching and operating best practice principles, and presents criteria for evaluating how well these principles are reflected in international space governance frameworks and activities.
To demonstrate, the criteria are applied to the Artemis Accords, the multinational framework guiding cooperation in lunar exploration and mining. While the Accords advance transparency and peaceful use of outer space, they fall short of several ExIA best practice principles, including those relating to the precautionary approach, environmental protection, and inclusive participation. Nonetheless, their emphasis on sustainability, heritage preservation, and responsible resource use aligns with key elements of ExIA best practice.
If early frameworks such as the Artemis Accords fail to fully integrate these principles, they risk setting precedents that normalize limited environmental accountability in future extraterrestrial activities. Strengthening ExIA alignment now is essential to ensure sustainability becomes the default norm beyond Earth.
Stacey Fineran is a civil engineer and environmental scientist, serving as Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Environmental Assessment at Ohio State University, USA.
Coauthor 1: Steve Mustow
Coauthor 2: Alan Bond
Coauthor 3: Steve Spittle
Coauthor 4: Miltos Ladikas