Market-based instruments to incentivize more sustainable practices in outer space

Space infrastructure is highly interconnected with systems on Earth and is critical for many human activities. The rapidly progressing digitalization of our society, with massive growth of Internet traffic and connected devices, and new applications of artificial intelligence, will further accelerate the development of new space infrastructure and make it even more vital. However, this infrastructure is at risk because of increased congestion. As a byproduct of space activities, space debris causes a collision risk for operational spacecraft. Without intensified action to reduce this risk, future costs related to space debris could become enormous. Properly managing near-Earth orbital space is becoming crucial to enabling new benefits from space and protecting critical infrastructure. Based on a review of the current literature, we argue that market-based instruments could incentivize both space debris mitigation and remediation, and help bypass obstacles to a formal international apportionment of responsibility for the current debris population.