Reykjavík Grapevine - Oct 2020, Page 10

10 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 08— 2020
or it can be used for remote sensing of
volcanic activity. This could be really
helpful for Icelandic scientific research,
in terms of having a faster response to
an impending eruption, and building a
database for future research."
Space junk
The subject of building more satellites
has been cause for concern, amongst
astronomers in particular. Astrono-
mer James Blake of the University of
Warwick recently pointed out that
“orbital debris posing a threat to opera-
tional satellites is not being monitored
closely enough, as they publish a new
survey finding that over 75% of the
orbital debris they detected could not
be matched to known objects in public
satellite catalogues.”
Thor is less concerned about the
amount of satellites in orbit around
Earth, saying, “When it comes to people
who talk about 'space junk', we should
have in mind that there are thousands
of ships in the ocean right now and they
very rarely see each other. So multiply
that space by hundreds of thousands.
The amount of space up there is enor-
mous. Space debris is an issue, but
it's not because we're running out of
space.”
For his part, Jinkai sees a great deal
of potential in an Icelandic satellite
program and says interest is growing.
"Currently, I'm just working in the
office, doing research and writing
reports, so I don't have direct contact
with the Icelandic government,” he
says. “But from what I've been doing,
I think Iceland has a lot of poten-
tial interest in this subject, because
Icelanders have relatively good tele-
communications. The interest in the
space program has been increasing in
recent years, too. From what I've seen,
it's quite possible for Iceland to have
such a satellite project; I'm quite posi-
tive about this."
Not just
satellites
"Iceland has a really good background
in the space industry through history,"
Jinkai says, adding that Iceland is also
a good model for how a colony on the
moon or Mars could thrive. "Iceland
has very similar environments [to
these places] and really good energy
policy in terms of renewable energy.
And that's what we need for developing
humanity in outer space."
Even Iceland’s geothermal and
hydropower energy have a role to play
in space exploration, he believes.
"There's a lot of possibilities,” he
says. “Iceland has been growing in the
field of software engineering, so it
could be a control base for the future
of space exploration, for example by
developing software for the rocket
navigational system, or designing
simulations for the challenges we'll
face in space exploration. At the same
time, we can use Iceland for testing
and construction for future spacecraft,
because we have a very positive renew-
able energy policy."
Government
“aggressively
absent”
Thor characterises the Icelandic
government’s participation in space as
“aggressively absent,” pointing out that
there are some things that only the
government can do.
"The government is in no way in our
way; they're not working against us or
something like that,” he emphasises.
“But the problem with developing a
space sector is that it is a bit different
than opening a gift shop. There's a lot
of planning, there's a lot of interna-
tional contracts involved and so there's
this need for the government to be
involved on a policy level."
Part of the reason for the current
situation can be attributed to the fact
that Iceland has no Ministry of Space.
It doesn’t have an Icelandic Space
Agency, either. All the different factors
that play into how Iceland participates
in space fall under many different
ministries.
"What we're trying to convince the
government of is that we need a minis-
try that is willing to sign the papers
and coordinate with other ministries,"
Thor says. Their projects could fall
under the ministries of the Environ-
ment, Innovation, Education, Science
and Culture, Transportation, and
sometimes Foreign Affairs. "We need
all of them to be aware and review what
happens under their auspices."
That said, Space Iceland has report-
edly had very positive contact with the
Ministry of Education, Science and
Culture. "I think it's fair to say that
the minister who has shown the most
interest and who has been the most
welcoming is Lilja [Alfre!sdóttir],”
Thor says. “It's important to note that
we've had a very positive communica-
tion with all of them, but I think the
Ministry of Education, Science and
Culture has put the most time into
reviewing this and trying to make it
fit."
Space is “a
world with-
out borders”
We reached out to Lilja for comment
on this matter and she confirmed her
interest in space is many-fold.
“Space research and science is
appealing for many reasons, both
educational and practical,” she told the
Grapevine. “It helps us grapple with
the fundamental questions about our
place in the universe, the history of the
solar system, and future opportunities.
Space is a world without borders, it
encourages international cooperation
and, hopefully, peace in the long term.
The practical applications of space
have made our lives easier, created job
opportunities, and orbital satellites
have certainly been used in one of the
biggest challenges faced by our planet:
the effects of climate change.”
While Lilja admits that establish-
ing an Icelandic Space Agency “has not
been discussed” within the govern-
ment, she points out that Iceland join-
ing the ESA “has been encouraged by
Parliament,” although Iceland’s entry
has yet to become a reality.
“Iceland will obviously not play a
huge role in the field of space science,
but we could offer assistance or exper-
tise that can be used in a greater
context,” she says. “At the same time,
we must be careful, as space research
and science are foreign to the govern-
ment and to the general public. But
they are exciting and we should not
close our doors in this area.”
Thor agrees and believes Iceland
must act quickly. Whether in geol-
ogy, biology, software engineering or
even the crafting of our first satellite,
the time for Iceland’s participation in
space is now.
"The opportunity is now and the
window will soon close,” he says. “We're
going to Mars within the next couple of
decades." While Icelanders will never
be indispensable, he says, “what we can
do is be amazingly focused and organ-
ised and get as much long term value as
possible."
NASA ASTRONAUTS IN ICELAND IN THE 60S
RECENT SUBORBITAL LAUNCH
THE NEW ASTRONAUT TR AINING