Conference PaperPDF Available

The Importance of Communicating the Value of Space for Climate Change

May 2023

Conference: International Astronautical Federation Global Space Conference on Climate Change
At: Oslo, Norway

Authors:

Camille Bergin

The Galactic Gal, LLC

Aiden O'Leary

Omnetix

The space industry is often perceived as a frivolous use of resources, with many arguing that we should prioritise solving pressing climate, environmental, and social issues on Earth before venturing into space. However, this perspective overlooks the crucial role that space technology plays in various aspects of life on Earth, especially in tackling global challenges such as climate change. This paper argues that the negative perceptions of the space industry are primarily due to the industry's historical shortcomings in communicating the value of space technologies for Earth and humanity. The industry tends to prioritise technical descriptions, emphasising the capabilities of technologies or the intricate details of missions, rather than focusing on the significance and impact of their work. This emphasis on the "what" without adequately addressing the "why" creates a disconnect with external parties, including the general public, policymakers, and media, who may not fully comprehend or appreciate the importance of space technology in addressing global challenges like climate change. Mitigating these negative perceptions is of utmost importance for securing funding, political support, and key talent. The ability to secure all of these is directly linked to the industry's ability to communicate its value effectively to these stakeholders. This paper delves into the current state of the space industry's communications efforts and the risks associated with not reforming them, including talent attrition to other industries perceived as more environmentally-conscious, and the greater impact on the climate if it is more challenging to secure funding and political support for space-related climate change technologies. The paper concludes by offering practical recommendations for the industry to improve its communication efforts in order to more effectively communicate the value space technologies have for combating the global challenge of climate change.

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IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC 2023) - Oslo, Norway, 23-25 May 2023.

GLOC-2023,T,9,1,x75339

The Importance of Communicating the Value of Space for Climate Change

Camille Bergin

* , Aiden O’Leary

, Yina Huang

a The Galactic Gal LLC, camille@thegalacticgal.com

b Omnetix LLC, aiden@omnetixco.com

c Good Intent Co LLC, yina.huang@gmail.com

* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The space industry is often perceived as a frivolous use of resources, with many arguing that we should prioritise

solving pressing climate, environmental, and social issues on Earth before venturing into space. However, this

perspective overlooks the crucial role that space technology plays in various aspects of life on Earth, especially in

tackling global challenges such as climate change.

This paper argues that the negative perceptions of the space industry are primarily due to the industry’s historical

shortcomings in communicating the value of space technologies for Earth and humanity. The industry tends to

prioritise technical descriptions, emphasising the capabilities of technologies or the intricate details of missions,

rather than focusing on the significance and impact of their work. This emphasis on the "what" without adequately

addressing the "why" creates a disconnect with external parties, including the general public, policymakers, and

media, who may not fully comprehend or appreciate the importance of space technology in addressing global

challenges like climate change.

Mitigating these negative perceptions is of utmost importance for securing funding, political support, and key

talent. The ability to secure all of these is directly linked to the industry’s ability to communicate its value effectively

to these stakeholders.

This paper delves into the current state of the space industry’s communications efforts and the risks associated

with not reforming them, including talent attrition to other industries perceived as more environmentally-conscious,

and the greater impact on the climate if it is more challenging to secure funding and political support for

space-related climate change technologies. The paper concludes by offering practical recommendations for the

industry to improve its communication efforts in order to more effectively communicate the value space technologies

have for combating the global challenge of climate change.

Keywords: Communications, Climate Change, Technology, Policy, Talent, Funding

Acronyms/Abbreviations

CCI Climate Change Initiative

4 Methane

2 Carbon Dioxide

CSA Canadian Space Agency

ECV Essential Climate Variables

EO Earth Observation

EOS Earth Observing System

ESA European Space Agency

GLOC Global Space Conference on Climate Change

NASA National Aeronautics and Space

Administration

SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar

SDO Solar Dynamics Observatory

STEAM Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, &

Mathematics

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, &

Mathematics

1. Introduction

Space has always captivated the human imagination,

offering visions of adventure, discovery, and the

expansion of our knowledge beyond our home planet.

However, in recent times, the space industry has been

subject to criticism and scepticism, with detractors

arguing that the allocation of resources towards space

endeavours of any kind is an extravagant luxury that

should be curtailed in favour of addressing urgent

climate, environmental, and social issues here on Earth.

While this criticism highlights valid concerns, it fails to

fully recognize the critical role that space technology

plays in addressing global challenges, particularly the

pressing issue of climate change.

Space technology has emerged as a powerful tool in

our collective efforts to combat climate change. For

example, satellites have provided invaluable data and

insights that inform our understanding of climate

change and facilitate informed decision-making for

mitigation efforts. Of course, it is important to

acknowledge that space exploration does have an

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environmental impact. However, the environmental

impacts are often overstated, largely due to the

industry's historical shortcomings in effectively

communicating not only the value of space-based

technologies to Earth and humanity but also the

industry’s comprehensive impact on climate change,

including both the negative and positive aspects.

Failure to reform the space industry’s

communication practices carries significant implications

for both the industry itself and humanity as a whole.

This paper examines the potential consequences across

four distinct yet highly interconnected domains of

climate change mitigation: technology innovation,

funding, policy reform, and talent acquisition and

retention. The cyclical relationship among these areas is

of utmost importance. Effectively communicating the

value of space technologies in addressing climate

change is crucial for securing funding, attracting and

retaining top talent, and driving innovation and policy

reforms. Without clearly communicating its value, the

industry faces the risk of insufficient policy reform and

funding, as well as attrition to industries perceived as

more environmentally conscious. This would result in

an adversely impeded pace of technological innovation

necessary for timely and effective climate change

mitigation.

This paper examines the importance of effectively

communicating the value of space technologies for

climate change mitigation. The authors begin by

exploring and emphasising various contributions of

space technologies in addressing climate change,

highlighting some of the key messages that need to be

effectively communicated to external stakeholders.

They then analyse recent media coverage of

space-related topics, providing valuable insights into the

public's perception of the space industry and its impact

on climate change. Additionally, the authors discuss the

risks associated with inadequate communication of the

value of space technologies for climate change across

the domains of technology innovation, funding, policy

reform, and talent acquisition and retention. The paper

concludes by offering practical recommendations to

enhance communication strategies, ensuring that

humanity can continue to leverage space technologies to

effectively combat climate change on an increasing

scale, which is of paramount importance.

2. Space Technology for Climate Change

The space industry has undoubtedly been a key

player in our collective understanding and mitigation of

climate change, offering both direct and indirect

benefits that span a wide range of areas. While it is

impossible to fully explore the extensive scope of these

contributions within the confines of this work, the

following sections will provide a glimpse into some of

the significant benefits that space technologies have for

understanding and mitigating climate change.

2.1 Earth Observation Satellites

Earth observation (EO) satellites, with their unique

and unparalleled vantage point of our planet, play a

pivotal role in our understanding and mitigation of

climate change. These satellites allow us to monitor

climate change on a global scale, including

hard-to-reach areas such as the polar regions [1]. They

provide us with timely insights at both micro and macro

scales, shedding light on the dynamic nature of our

climate and the key contributors to climate change [2].

By monitoring various climate variables, many of which

can only be measured from space, such as atmospheric

composition, temperature patterns, sea levels, and land

cover, EO satellites offer crucial insights into the

complex dynamics of our climate system [3]. The data

generated from EO satellites helps scientists, policy

makers, and other stakeholders understand how and

why Earth’s climate is changing over time in order to

inform appropriate and timely mitigation efforts. The

following sections expand upon some ways EO data is

critical to our climate change mitigation efforts.

2.1.1 Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Earth observation satellites have the capability to

monitor greenhouse gas emissions from various sources.

These satellites can detect and quantify the

concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO

), methane (CH

and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere with

incredibly high precision. One of the satellites in orbit

dedicated to greenhouse gas emissions is GHGSat,

which can detect and quantify greenhouse gas emissions

from sources as small as individual oil and gas wells

[4]. Another, MethaneSAT, which is planned to launch

in 2024, will help us with the fastest, most impactful

action we can do today to slow atmospheric warming –

cutting methane pollution. Methane has 80 times the

warming power of CO

, and MethaneSAT will be able

to track and measure methane emissions from sources

such as oil and gas facilities, as well as other major

sources of human-caused methane emissions [5].

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2.1.2 Tracking Deforestation and Land Use Changes

Satellites provide the only means of viewing vast

forest areas and detecting changes in land cover such as

deforestation, urbanisation, and agricultural land

conversion. Deforestation and land use changes are

significant drivers of climate change; in fact, tropical

deforestation contributes 12% of total human-driven

2 emissions globally [6]. By capturing high

resolution images of Earth’s surface, EO satellites help

scientists and policymakers assess the extent and rate of

forest loss, identify areas at risk of deforestation, and

facilitate efforts to conserve forests and restore

degraded ecosystems, which are crucial for carbon

sequestration and mitigating climate change. These

satellites also enable detection of illegal logging

activities and encroachments on protected areas, aiding

in the enforcement of regulations and the preservation

of vital ecosystems. Moreover, by monitoring land use

changes, satellites provide essential insights into shifts

from forested areas to agricultural or urban landscapes,

enabling better land-use planning and sustainable

development [7].

There are several satellites in orbit that continuously

monitor deforestation and land use changes, such as the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA)’s Landsat satellites. The Landsat satellites have

recorded global forest conditions every year since 1972

and have the ideal instrumentation onboard for

measuring human impacts on Earth’s land. The data

from Landsat satellites, which is available to the public

at no cost through the U.S. Geological Survey, helps

decision-making at both local and global levels [8].

2.1.3 Predicting, Monitoring, and Responding to

Extreme Weather Events and Natural Disasters

EO satellites play a crucial role in predicting and

monitoring extreme weather events and natural

disasters, such as forest fires and hurricanes, providing

valuable information that aids in preparedness,

response, and mitigation efforts [9]. By collecting data

on atmospheric conditions, sea surface temperatures,

and wind patterns, satellites have improved weather

forecasting models which helps scientists better

understand and predict the formation and intensification

of hurricanes, typhoons, and other severe storms,

allowing for early warnings and effective evacuation

plans. Satellites also assist in monitoring weather

systems in real-time, enabling rapid response and

coordination during emergencies. One example of this is

the tracking of forest fires in real-time. By measuring

forest fire temperatures, the data from satellites helps to

predict the path of a forest fire and potentially affected

areas in order to help people proactively evacuate in a

timely manner, and provide crucial information for first

responders on the ground [10].

2.1.4 Transportation and Logistics Optimisation

Satellites are also helping identify areas for

optimisation of transportation and logistics networks.

For example, EO satellites that monitor and track

shipment routes including traffic and weather conditions

can provide real-time data for route optimisation that

reduces fuel consumption and thus emissions [11]. This

is applicable over all methods of transportation

including ground, air, and sea, all of which contribute to

climate change.

In summary, there are hundreds of EO satellites in

orbit today from both international government agencies

and commercial entities that contribute to our climate

change action [12]. For example, NASA’s Earth

Observing System (EOS) program includes a suite of

polar-orbiting and low inclination satellites designed to

collect data on the Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, and

biosphere. Satellites in this program, such as the Terra

and Aqua satellites, have been used to measure

greenhouse gas concentrations, land use changes, and

sea level rise [13]. The European Space Agency's (ESA)

Climate Change Initiative (CCI) uses data from a

variety of EO satellites, such as ESA's Sentinel

satellites, to create long-term climate data records,

known as Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), as a

means to improve climate models and better understand

the Earth's climate system [14]. In addition, there are

several commercial space companies developing

commercially-viable EO satellites that can be used for

environmental monitoring, such as Albedo Space.

Albedo has notably raised over $58M to date through a

Series A funding round co-led by Breakthrough Energy

Ventures, a leading investment firm dedicated to

eliminating greenhouse gas emissions throughout the

global economy [15,16].

2.2 Climate Modeling

The data generated from Earth observation satellites

has greatly enriched climate models by providing

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high-quality, comprehensive, and globally consistent

data. Climate models are complex computer simulations

designed to represent and simulate the Earth’s climate

system, providing valuable insights into the impacts of

human activities and natural processes on our planet’s

climate [17]. These models require vast amounts of data

to yield high-fidelity results, much of which comes from

satellites. Space-based observations and measurements

of critical climate variables such as temperature,

atmospheric composition, precipitation, ocean currents,

greenhouse gases, ice coverage, and vegetation

dynamics feed into these climate models to help

scientists understand past climate variations, explain

current climate patterns, and make predictions about

future climate changes [18].

There are several reasons space technologies are an

irreplaceable component of climate modelling. As

mentioned in the previous section, over half of the

essential climate variables we need for a holistic look at

climate change can only be monitored from space [3].

Satellites also provide a comprehensive view of the

Earth in a way nothing else can, especially of otherwise

inaccessible Arctic regions. Additionally, satellites

provide consistent and continuous observations over

extended periods. These long-term datasets are

invaluable for detecting and analysing climate trends,

identifying patterns of variability, and assessing the

impacts of climate change over time. They serve as

critical benchmarks for evaluating the performance of

climate models, improving their accuracy, and

enhancing their predictive capabilities.

2.3 Supporting Renewable Energy Development

Space technology plays a substantial role in

supporting the development and efficient operation of

renewable energy systems. Satellites provide valuable

data and insights that aid in harnessing the potential of

renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power

[19].

Satellite-based solar radiation data provides insights

into the solar energy potential of different regions,

which helps with planning and optimization of solar

power projects, including determining the most suitable

locations for solar installations, estimating the resulting

energy output, and monitoring the efficiency of solar

power plants. Another promising advancement in the

field of solar energy is space-based solar power, which

is a concept that involves capturing energy from the Sun

and beaming it wirelessly from space down to Earth.

This has the potential to revolutionise the way we

generate and use energy by reducing our reliance on

fossil fuels and providing renewable energy 24 hours a

day anywhere on Earth [20].

Satellites also play a role in monitoring and

managing wind resources for wind energy generation.

They provide data on wind patterns, wind speed, and

wind direction, helping identify regions with high wind

energy potential. This information is crucial for

planning wind farms and optimising their efficiency.

Satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR)

can even detect and track offshore wind patterns,

supporting the development of offshore wind energy

projects [21].

A few examples of space-based renewable energy

satellites and payloads include NASA’s Solar Dynamics

Observatory (SDO) and ESA’s Aeolus satellite. SDO

provides precise data on solar energy variations that can

be used for solar power planning and research [22].

Aeolus measures wind profiles from space which

contributes to improving weather forecasting, climate

models, and wind energy applications [23].

Despite the evidence that space technology

contributes significantly to our understanding of climate

change and thus our ability to mitigate it, there are still

overarching negative perceptions of the industry that

overshadow these benefits and hinder, or even threaten,

humanity’s climate change mitigation progress.

3. The Problem

In March 2023, Patagonia launched a global

out-of-home marketing campaign with the messaging,

“Not Mars: We’re in business to save our home planet”

(Fig. 1). As one of the world’s most

sustainably-responsible companies, and one of the most

globally-recognized brands, this was detrimental

publicity for the space industry as it further exacerbated

the sentiment that space is a “mere hobby for

billionaires” and the industry cares more about Mars

than they do about Earth [24]. In fact, that’s exactly why

they ran this campaign. In interviews, Jelle Mul,

Patagonia’s Senior Marketing Manager in Europe said,

“There are all these billionaires who think we need to

go to Mars, but we want to save planet Earth” [25].

Fig. 1. Patagonia’s “Not Mars” campaign made its

global debut in 2023 across billboards, building-sized

murals, and other out-of-home marketing outlets [25].

While many argued this campaign was solely an

attack on Elon Musk given its presence in Texas where

Starbase is a heavily contentious topic, it’s important to

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remember that the space industry and Elon Musk,

amongst the other billionaires, are intricately connected

and cannot be decoupled. This applies to the industry’s

climate change efforts, oftentimes for the worst. When

searching for space-related climate change information,

readers are rarely presented with any of the ways space

technologies help combat climate change as previously

mentioned. Instead, search results yield all the ways the

space industry hurts the environment, exacerbated by all

the headlines such as “Is Space Travel Good for the

Environment? No,” “Billionaires Are Racing to Space

and the Climate is Paying the Price,” and “Why the

Space Race Isn’t the Answer to the Climate Crisis”

[26,27,28]. Only when lots of effort is involved is it

apparent how beneficial space actually is. The average

member of the public is not searching that hard for this

information.

The Patagonia campaign is just one example of the

problem. Fig. 2 shows the results of a 2021 survey

conducted by the Morning Consult [29]. While

monitoring the Earth’s climate system was ranked as the

highest priority amongst space-related activities, only

35% believe it should be a top priority, and nearly a

third of respondents don’t think it should even be an

important priority. This sentiment is in complete

opposition to the benefits of space technology for

monitoring Earth’s climate system, especially when

considering the fact that most of the climate change

information we have today comes from space.

The public isn’t the only stakeholder with this

opinion. In 2023, Republican senators spoke out against

NASA’s focus on climate change. Sen. Eric Schmitt

(R-Mo.), a ranking member of the Senate Commerce

Committee’s space subcommittee went so far as to say,

“I strongly disagree with this administration’s obsession

with misguided, woke policies related to climate change

and diversity, equity and inclusion” [30]. Sen. Schmitt

and other Republican senators including Sen. Ted Cruz

(R-Tx.) argue that attention to climate change is

distracting NASA from returning humans to the Moon.

Returning humans to the Moon is important for other

reasons, but decreasing or eliminating funding from

space-based climate change monitoring and mitigation

programs would have a profoundly negative impact on

the future of Earth’s climate and thus humanity.

As another example, when space videos are shared

by space and science communicators on social media, a

common thread seen in the comments section is “why

are we spending all this time and money on space when

we have so many problems to fix here on Earth?” [31].

This, of course, is an enormous misconception, which

the authors believe is the responsibility of the space

industry to correct by reforming their communication

practices in order to help people understand the true

positive impact of space travel for solving terrestrial

issues.

4. The Cause

There are several driving forces behind this negative

narrative. The following sections will discuss a few of

them, with several caveats and acknowledgements.

First, this is an extremely complex issue of which all

factors and their influence on each other cannot be fully

analysed within the scope of this work. Second,

anecdotal examples will be provided for the sole

purpose of education and conversation. Any direct or

indirect mention of specific companies or marketing

materials are intended to be snapshots of certain

practices and behaviours seen throughout the industry,

not a commentary on or call-out of that specific

company or example.

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4.1 “What” Over “Why”

Fig. 3 is a screenshot taken from the home page of a

NewSpace Earth observation company’s website [32].

As the hero says, this company aims to provide aerial

quality imagery from space. While this sounds cool and,

based on their contracts with the US Department of

Defense amongst others, seems important – what does

that mean? Why is that important? Why would an

end-user want that? It also begs the question, if aircraft

can provide the same quality imagery, wouldn’t using

aerial-based imagery be far more economical given the

sheer expense of building and launching said satellite?

Fig. 3. This homepage of an Earth observation

company’s website is dominated with “what” language

rather than “why” [32].

If you’re reading this paper and have a background

in imagery and Earth observation, you probably know

the answers to those questions. But we cannot assume

that everyone has that same insight – because the reality

is most people don’t. This is a phenomenal example of

our first cause: “what” over “why.”

In the space industry, technical details – the “what”

– usually overshadow the importance – the “why.” This

has led to an extreme disconnect with the general

public, media, and policymakers because those outside

the industry usually don’t have a background in space

technology, not to mention it is often complicated,

overwhelming, and inaccessible.

Let’s take a look at another example, shown in Fig.

4. This is a screenshot from the “Satellites for a better

life on Earth” page of a large European aerospace

prime’s website [33]. Based on the title, one would

assume this page is dedicated to discussing how their

satellites enable a better life on Earth. While they start

off great with a “why” overline (“satellites for a better

life on Earth”), they immediately switch back to the

“what” by stating they are “putting [their] expertise and

passion to the service of sustainable missions.” Besides

the fact this is confusing and focused more on the

company than the end-user, it mentions nothing about

what their satellites actually do for life on Earth.

Because it’s a “why” page, the first thing a reader sees

should be why this company’s satellites are important.

For example, do the satellites provide critical weather

data that help prevent and mitigate disasters?

Additionally, the chosen satellite image adds to the

disconnect because the general public, media, and

policymakers care about the data and insights the

satellites provide, not the satellite technology itself.

Satellites are not something people interact with on a

frequent basis so this image has a lower chance of

resonating with its audience than a photo of the Earth

within the atmosphere would.

Fig. 4. The top of this space company’s “Satellites for a

better life on Earth” webpage is dominated with “what”

language rather than “why” [33].

While the general public is probably not looking at

space companies’ websites, other external stakeholders

who influence the public’s perception probably are.

According to a recent survey conducted by

Comprehend, 93% of business journalists use corporate

websites as a regular source of information but only

64% of corporate websites generally fulfil their

expectations, especially when it comes to their About

and Press/Media pages [34]. This data isn’t available for

the niche area of space-related journalists, but after

speaking with several, the authors found generally the

same sentiment across the board, specifically in regards

to frustration with too much technical jargon and

generic filler content instead of a focus on the

significance of their technology.

This issue extends far beyond a company’s website

into other external communication tools such as press

releases and reports sent to government bodies.

Journalists often receive a large amount of unhelpful

press releases that, as Emma Gatti, Senior Editor at

SpaceWatch.Global, stated on a panel at the Global

Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC) in Oslo,

Norway (2023), are usually so generic and filled with

too much technical jargon that a journalist could replace

every instance of the company’s name with a different

company and the press release would read the exact

same. Government bodies also receive a large amount

of scientific reports that generally do not include a

“one-pager” summary of the study’s significance.

Instead, they are seemingly expected to not only have

time to read the lengthy reports but also have enough

background knowledge of the topic to dissect the

importance – all of which they probably don’t have.

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In summary, if external communication methods

such as websites and press releases are littered with too

much technical and marketing jargon – the “what” –

such that the significance – the “why” – is either

overshadowed or not communicated at all, it can make

it much more difficult or even impossible for external

parties such as journalists and policymakers to

understand why a company is building the technology

they are building. In turn, this causes headaches when it

comes to communicating that importance to external

stakeholders such as the public and policymakers. This

has significant implications when it comes to public

perception, funding allocation, and informed

decision-making for adequate policy reform, which will

be discussed in later sections.

4.2 Space News Outlets Coverage

When searching for all climate change related

stories on SpaceNews.com, a leading source of news for

space industry professionals, the lack of coverage is

astonishingly evident. Shown in Fig. 5, there have only

been three (3) climate stories in the last 18 months, and

one of those was regarding a new personnel

appointment at NASA, which arguably brings the count

down to just two (2) [35]. Albeit positive sentiment,

especially compared to mainstream news outlets, which

will be covered in a following section, the lack of

coverage is not doing the industry any favours when it

comes to spreading the message about the positive

impact of space technologies on climate change.

Fig. 5. Searching for “climate change” articles on

SpaceNews.com yields only 3 results in the previous 18

months [35].

There are many factors at play here, but inadequate

industry communication from the companies and

entities themselves, as discussed in the previous section,

is probably a contributing factor as journalists can only

cover the information they have access to. This starts

with space journalists and extends to journalists at

broader media outlets – if the space industry isn’t

covering something, how can we expect mainstream

news to cover it?

4.3 Mainstream Media Coverage

When it comes to where the public is getting their

space information from, there are a variety of sources,

including traditional media outlets such as newspapers

and television news programs, as well as online sources

such as digital news outlets, space-focused websites,

and social media platforms. These outlets are just as

susceptible to the issues discussed above, but this

section dives deeper into what topics are actually being

covered to provide a better snapshot of what space

information the public is consuming and thus what is

contributing to their perceptions of the industry.

4.3.1 Financially-Weighted Media Representation for

2022 Space News

To analyse the coverage of space-related news in

mainstream media outlets in 2022, particularly

space-based climate-related sectors such as Earth

observation, the authors used Aylien News API to query

news sources for the number of articles produced and

the associated common keywords. These source queries

were applied to search for a number of different

industries and organisations to return article data which

was then analysed against financial metrics such as

revenue and valuation for those different areas to

determine relative media representation for further

discussion.

4.3.1.1 News Query Methodology

Of note, this analysis isn’t exhaustive and requires

follow-on studies to accurately determine the validity of

suggested trends. It does, however, provide a valuable

snapshot of what major and topical media sources are

covering to inform discussions on space communication

and future work. All news sources queried were digital

news sources as digital news represents the greatest

share of readers and is the most easily searchable,

allowing for greater datasets that could be used in this

analysis. Additionally, this analysis focuses solely on

English language news articles as it is the language with

which the authors have the highest degree of familiarity

and confidence in analysing the data.

To assess possible differences in coverage both

externally and internally to the space industry, the news

sources analysed were split into two categories: major

mainstream digital news sources and major space news

sources. To provide the data for the former, the top ten

(10) digital news sources as of March 2023, which can

be seen in Fig. 6, were queried through Aylien News

API [36].

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Fig. 6. The top 10 digital news sources as of

March 2023 [36].

To ensure that articles generated from these news

sources were space focused, further filters were applied

including setting the article industry topics as Space

Transportation and Aerospace and Defense. Broadening

beyond these filters and news sources in addition to

more discreetly analysing the coverage within each of

the generated news articles represents an area of further

study to ensure more accurate global trend analysis and

topic fit, respectively.

The space news sources queried were:

● SpaceNews

● NASA Spaceflight

● Universe Today

● Space.com

● Spaceflight Now

● SpaceFlight Insider

● NASA Spaceflight

● SpaceDaily.Com

● Spacewatch.Global

● Spaceflight

● Defense News

Of note, this is a non-exhaustive list of major (and

minor) space news sources, but represents most of those

that could be queried using the Aylien News API and, in

the opinion of the authors, contains a large majority of

the major sources. Further refining these source queries

and the major news source queries to incorporate and

potentially weight viewership metrics is an area of

interest for follow-on work by the authors.

Once the source structure was created, the API could

be leveraged to return article data which was further

analysed by the authors using text-analysis

methodologies in Matlab to generate keyword topic

word clouds.

4.3.1.2 Financial Media Representation Analysis

To help understand potential reasons why the value

of space for climate change is a misunderstood topic,

the authors performed an analysis to assess relative

media representation of the dominant space climate

applicable sector – Earth observation – against a myriad

of more global, better known, or “exciting” industries

and organisations. This list was focused on all news

related to: every article from the major news sources

written in 2022 (dubbed “All Earth”), the entire space

industry (dubbed “All Space”), NASA, SpaceX, and

Earth observation for both mainstream news sources

and space news sources. Table 1 below shows the

estimated revenue and valuation of each of these sectors

and organisations as well as the total number of articles

generated in 2022 by major and space news sources

focusing on or related to these topics.

Table 1. Chart containing the estimated revenue and

valuations of various industries, sectors, and actors

against media coverage to aid in representative analysis.

Sector

Revenue

($B)

Valuation

($B)

# of

major

news

stories

# of

space

news

stories

All

Earth

$100,218

$1,540,000

988,785

–

All

Space

$469

$4,000

1,863

6,686

NASA*

$24

$71

1,120

2,033

SpaceX

$137

544

708

Earth

Observ.

$76

Financial references in column, row order:

[37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47]

*Note: As NASA is an agency, their 2022 budget was

used in place of revenue, and their 2021 economic

output was used in place of valuation.

Of note, when the News API was called with the

same search terms weeks later, the number of articles

returned for Earth observation increased for both sets of

sources, suggesting that additional indexing occurred in

response to initialization of “Earth observation” as a

search variable. When reviewing these additional

articles, many contained no mention of or relevance to

Earth observation, suggesting that the keyword and

topic mapping internal to the News API used may have

been flawed. As such, this new data was not utilised in

this release of the paper. The authors intend to explore

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IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC 2023) - Oslo, Norway, 23-25 May 2023.

these concepts and address these considerations to

ensure accurate data representation along with the many

other objectives mentioned in relation to future work.

Using the data available, Table 1 suggests that the

space industry is underrepresented by major news

sources by about 40% in regards to valuation, and 150%

in regards to revenue compared to All Earth news,

suggesting a possible contributing factor in the observed

misunderstanding of space concepts and space’s value

by the general public.

To aid in the framing of this discussion with regards

to what the general public sees, the article data

generated from the news API was utilised to create

word clouds (Figs. 7-10) representing the most common

keywords seen in major news sources around space

news articles. These word clouds can be seen below for

all the sectors and organisations, barring ‘All Earth’ (as

the large diverse data sets are not very relevant to this

topic):

Fig. 7. All Space media - 25 most common keywords of

2022 from top 10 news sources.

Fig. 8. SpaceX media - 25 most common keywords of

2022 from top 10 news sources.

Fig. 9. NASA media - 25 most common keywords of

2022 from top 10 news sources.

Fig. 10. Earth observation media* - 25 most common

keywords of 2022 from top 10 news sources

*Note: This dataset is small.

It can be seen that there is a dramatic amount of

overlap in the predominant topics and talking points of

these various articles, oftentimes focused on major,

well-known, and “exciting” players and topics such as

NASA and SpaceX. While Earth does appear a large

amount, the authors noticed that it was very rarely in

regards to climate change, as is evident by the lack of

“climate change” in any of the word clouds shown

above. The fact that “Twitter” shows up in Earth

observation and All Space media but climate doesn’t is

also telling; as mentioned in previous sections, the space

industry cannot decouple itself from Elon Musk’s (or

the other billionaires’) actions.

In general, these word clouds suggest that coverage

of these topics follows many of the major news trends

rather than unique topics. This shared focus in

journalism could be a contributing factor of reduced

consumer literacy when it comes to the topic of space

and space for climate education. While outside the

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IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC 2023) - Oslo, Norway, 23-25 May 2023.

scope of this analysis, these insights warrant further

study to analyse keyword association and article

similarity against viewership and time variables with

The Importance of Communicating the Value of Space for Climate Change

Abstract

Supplementary resource (1)

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