White paper - Microgravity for SDGs

While it is well-acknowledged that Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) activities play an important role in achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, there are areas within ST&I whose role is not recognised enough. If taking into account the immense potential they encompass, this shall be seen as undesirable, significantly limiting our ability to reach full sustainability by increasing our knowledge and improving quality of life.

One of such areas is R&D conducted in microgravity environment. For many years, activities aimed at conducting invaluable research in this environment were limited to a handful of countries with indigenous capabilities to reach outer space. In recent years, however, this narrative has changed, particularly as a result of new commercial entities that provide access to space for research and development as end-to-end services for both private and public entities. It is important for these entities to realise that access to microgravity environment allows for innovative research that could bring tangible benefits to Earth, improve our lives and thus support the mission of reaching SDGs.

Food and health should be two areas of particular focus, namely because of the implications they can have on other SDGs – without a healthy population that has access to necessary nutrients, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach other goals. As explained in the full white paper, research in microgravity could have enormous implications on improving our knowledge within both health and food sectors, and this knowledge could be translated into enhancing quality of human life and into more sustainable processes.

“White paper – Microgravity for SDGs” – currently being revised and updated.