Earthrise. A photograph taken on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968, by astronaut Bill Anders, crew member of the Apollo 8 mission, the first manned mission to the moon. The image is often credited as an important driver for the environmental movement and for the founding of the first Earth Day in 1970. Upon seeing the image, “People realised that we lived on this fragile planet and that we needed to take care of it,” as Anders commented in a 2018 interview. Image: NASA

Workshop

Environmental Law in the Space Age
A Workshop on Emerging Space Activities

April 15, 2026, 9:00–17:00

Schloss Au

Convened by

Miles Timpe
Early-Career Fellow 2025–2026

Merve Erdem Burger
Swiss Space Law Forum

Edward Burger
Swiss Space Law Forum

François Perriard
Swiss Space Law Forum
University of Fribourg

Remo Messerli
UZH Center for Human Rights

Jean-Noël Mettler
University of Zurich

Details

Venue: Tagungszentrum Schloss Au, Hinter Au 1, 8804 Au/ZH

Participation in the workshop is free of charge, with no registration or participation fees.

Refreshments and lunch will be provided at the workshop. The workshop will be followed by an apéro. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs unless otherwise agreed with the organizers.

Registrations are now closed. Please contact Miles Timpe if you are interested in attending.

Participation in the preceding workshop “A Case for Space Environmentalism” is welcome but not required.

Bringing together legal scholars, policy makers, and technical experts, this workshop seeks to address the environmental challenges posed by current and future space activities. Building directly on a preceding interdisciplinary workshop that will identify emerging environmental impacts of spaceflight, this workshop will shift the focus toward governance by prioritizing key issues, identifying gaps in existing legal and policy frameworks, and exploring appropriate regulatory and research pathways.

Through expert presentations, cross-sector dialogue with industry, and mixed breakout sessions combining legal, technical, and policy expertise, participants will critically examine how Earth and space environments are valued, conserved, and governed, and where new approaches may be required. While global in scope, discussions will pay particular attention to European policy contexts and implementation pathways. The workshop aims to foster sustained interdisciplinary exchange and to lay the groundwork for a collective position or perspective paper to inform policy makers on emerging environmental risks and governance needs related to space activities.

Associated workshop

A Case for Space Environmentalism
Emerging Impacts of Spaceflight

April 13–14, 2026

Workshop

Program

09:00	Arrival at the venue & coffee
09:30	Welcome & opening remarks By Miles Timpe and François Perriard
09:40	Space at UZH Space Research Ravit Helled UZH Space, CH Space Law Christine Kaufmann Center for Human Rights University of Zurich, CH
10:00	Technical Presentations Selected Emerging Areas of Concern The technologies, applications, or scenarios identified during the first workshop will be presented by the relevant domain experts. Presenters will be determined at the end of the first workshop. Ground & Atmospheric Activities Topic 1 Orbital Activities Topic 2 Lunar Activities Topic 3 Followed by Q&A
10:45	Coffee break
11:00	Industry Perspectives Panel Environmental Sustainability Measures in Practice Representatives from the space industry will present their perspectives on regulation and mitigation measures for environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Dila Gür Legal Officer Exotrail, FR Ruskin Hartley CEO & Executive Directory DarkSky International, US Romain Buchs Strategy Manager ClearSpace, CH
11:45	State of Environmental Law in Outer Space To set the stage for the breakout sessions, an overview of existing legal and policy frameworks relevant to environmental and socioeconomic impacts resulting from space activities will be presented. Merve Erdem Burger & François Perriard Swiss Space Law Forum, CH
12:15	Lunch break
13:45	Group formation Workshop participants will form groups around the topics that they are interested in. The groups should include experts in law, policy, and the relevant technical domains.
14:00	Spacefaring States Breakout Session I Each group will retire to a breakout room to discuss a specific domain. In this first part of the breakout session, groups will consider emerging issues in these domains from the perspective of the leading spacefaring states. Ground & Atmospheric Impacts Domain 1 Breakout room Dachzimmer Orbital Activities Domain 2 Breakout room Salon Ausee Lunar Activities Domain 3 Breakout room Boudoir
14:45	Break
15:00	Emerging and Non-Spacefaring States Breakout Session II In this second part of the breakout session, groups will consider emerging issues in their domain from the perspective of emerging or non-spacefaring states. Ground & Atmospheric Activities Domain 1 Breakout room Dachzimmer Orbital Activities Domain 2 Breakout room Salon Ausee Lunar Activities Domain 3 Breakout room Boudoir
15:30	Coffee break
16:00	Plenary Session The breakout groups will present the findings of their breakout sessions to the assembled workshop participants. Each group will present for 10 minutes, covering perspectives from spacefaring and emerging and non-spacefaring states, with 5 minutes of Q&A. Group 1 (10’ + 5’) Group 2 (10’ + 5’) Group 3 (10’ + 5’) Followed by open discussion
17:00	Closing remarks Followed by a reception at the Schloss