Panel Discussion Report – Lunar Industry Vision at 2023 ASCEND Conference
The 2023 ASCEND (Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery) Conference powered by AIAA held in Las Vegas, Nevada from 23 to 25 October was a confluence of industry luminaries, governmental leaders, educators, students, and space enthusiasts.
Among the various insightful sessions was a panel discussion titled “Lunar Industry Vision: What Incentivizes Other Industries to Enter the Lunar Market?” in reference to the emerging lunar market and the incentives for non-space related companies to enter the lunar market.
Title: “Lunar Industry Vision: What Incentivizes Other Industries to Enter the Lunar Market?”
Panelists:
- Ron Garan, Chief Executive Officer, ispace technologies U.S
- Tiffany Rose, Legal Associate, Elvinger Hoss Prussen
- Kengo Suzuki, Chief Technology Officer & Executive Officer, Euglena
- Brendan Rosseau, Teaching Fellow & Research Associate, Harvard Business School
After each panelist's self-introduction and their respective efforts, each panelist gave his/her opinion on how he/she sees the lunar industry and how it should be promoted. Among other things, all of the speakers agreed on the value that the R&D opportunities for industry and academia that ispace offers through its lander's mission can bring to the respective players and to the future market formation.
In particular, it was mentioned that lunar exploration and food production on the Moon, which require long-term R&D and take time to monetize, need to be supported by the government as R&D themes with a high public nature, and that research efficiency should be improved through cooperation with existing research institutions.
The need for a cooperative approach, a supportive framework, and the sharing of knowledge and resources between space and non-space industries was emphasized to accelerate the commercialization and exploration of the lunar frontier.
About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery, is the world's premier collaborative, outcomes-driven, interdisciplinary community designed to accelerate the building of our off-world future.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world's largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense.