A space sustainability proposal co-created by a UT researcher was selected by NASA on Sept. 13 to help spread sustainability efforts to the stars.

 Moriba Jah, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, contributed to the proposal, called “Adaptive Space Governance and Decision-Support using Source-Sink Evolutionary Environmental Models.” Jah worked alongside Richard Linares and Danielle Wood, associate and assistant aeronautics and astronautics professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and their proposal is one of three research plans from university-based teams selected, according to the NASA press release.

 “The proposal was to identify methods of increasing space safety and sustainability, based on measures of environmental sustainability metrics like orbital carrying capacity … and how that might work with something called the Space Sustainability Rating as a way to incentivize people to behave sustainably in space,” Jah said.

These proposals aim to address space sustainability and orbital debris, which are man-made items circling Earth that serve no function. The orbital debris can cause damage and jeopardize outer space work, NASA said in the press release. NASA funded these three projects to analyze the social, economic and policy issues to ensure space sustainability.

“I’m excited they’re starting on it now, because (it’s) something we talk about, but then kind of gets bogged down in the nitty gritty of funding it, and it’s really an issue and I’m glad that a federal agency is actually doing something about it,” said Luke Collins, an aerospace engineering and Plan II freshman.

The research team will attend the kickoff meeting and set up milestones for their goals, Jah said. In addition, Privateer Space and the Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California will join the process and express what they’re able to contribute to the project before it begins, Jah said.

NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy will make the team’s results available for the public to see on their website after the project is completed.

Privateer Space is a platform company that provides data and information to a variety of developers to create applications that solve issues that occur in the space environment, according to their website. Jah co-founded the company with CEO Alex Fielding and President Steve Wozniak, and is now working as chief scientist.

“All of my work is based on space, environmentalism and sustainability, and the belief that all things are interconnected and that stewardship shouldn’t be something that we embrace because our lives depend on it,” Jah said. “The proposal embodies that.”