(In)hospitable Space Conference
Exploring the human dimensions of space exploration
An interdisciplinary conference cooperatively organized by representatives from 黑料正能量’s Department of English, the Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology, and the European Astrobiology Institute. May 25-27, 2026.
As the economic barriers to outer space shrink and opportunities for access expand, concerns about humans thriving in extraterrestrial environments and the impacts of humankind on those environments become less theoretical and more urgent. This conference endeavors to bring together scholars, technologists, policy specialists, artists, and other stakeholders to explore the ethical, legal, economic, cultural, biological, psychological, and environmental issues associated with the New Space era.
We plan to host presenters addressing a wide range of topics and questions like…
- How do we make the inhospitable environs of outer space physically, psychologically, and socially amenable to human exploration and habitation?
- Is space a “wilderness” in the same sense as wilderness on Earth?
- Can/Should terrestrial ethics guide our engagement with extraterrestrial life forms?
- How should we regulate space activity through law and how could those laws be enforced?
- How do we balance diverse cultural perspectives in space research?
- What is the moral status of an extraterrestrial microbe?
- What do representations of space exploration and habitation in film, literature, art, music, etc. reveal or reflect about our aspirations, social commitments, and imagined future for human communities in space?
Keynotes
/ Profesor de la Universidad de Lima
From Astrobioethics to Astrobiocentrism: Rethinking Human Responsibility in a Cosmic Context
Abstract
This presentation argues that the search for extraterrestrial life and the expansion of human activity beyond Earth require a transdisciplinary framework that integrates science with normative deliberation. Astrobioethics is presented as a bridge between astrobiology and philosophical ethics, while preserving a clear demarcation: science generates evidence; ethics organizes values, duties, and limits. On this basis, astrobiocentrism operates as a paradigmatic reorientation—culturally analogous to a Copernican turn—shifting the moral center from terrestrial life as the sole reference point to the possibility of life in the universe. The talk identifies an ethical gap in institutional and corporate planning, where exploration and settlement projects proliferate without sufficiently integrated principles for scenarios involving conflict, contamination, or irreversible harm. The argument is structured around three axes: (1) the legal axis, shaped by broad treaties and regulatory gaps in relation to both state and private actors; (2) the moral axis, grounded in duties and the precautionary principle even in the absence of binding enforcement; and (3) the social axis, which demands responsible communication of uncertainty to prevent sensationalism and harms driven by misinformation. The presentation offers guidance for more responsible policy-making, research agendas, and public education in emerging space activities.
/ Executive Director of the Space Valley Foundation
/ Head, School of Design, 黑料正能量
Space for Good: No Launch Required
Abstract
Space has always been something humans hold in common. Long before institutions, every civilization developed its own relationship with the cosmos. Cosmologies, navigation systems, origin stories, calendars, ways of orienting the self within the vast. That genealogy of meaning is not antiquated. It is the root system.
We will explore the premise behind Space for Good, a multidisciplinary initiative anchored at the ITU, and the design questions it forces open. If the future of space participation is to be genuinely global, it cannot be built only forward. The answers we need are also behind us. They live in the ontological relationships different cultures have always maintained with the sky, relationships that modern space discourse has largely bypassed.
The conversation will examine how design might function less like architecture and more like mycelium: networked, below the surface, enabling exchange between systems that would not otherwise connect. And what it would mean to build a participation layer for space that treats ancestral knowledge not as context, but as infrastructure.
No launch required.
Schedule
for the latest conference schedule.
Food
Check out the food we will be serving at the conference! Food on the is included free of charge with registration.
If you have detailed questions about the conference food, please contact Jaime Rzepecki rzepecki@andrew.cmu.edu.
Guidelines for Presenters
Timing
Sessions are 80 minutes with three presentation slots.
Tech
Sessions are 80 minutes with three presentation slots.
- 10 minutes for setting up and troubleshooting.
- 15 minutes for each presentation slot.
- 25 minutes for Q&A following the presentations.
Tech
- The conference venue will have Wi-Fi and a projector.
- We will supply a “host” computer for running presentations.
- Load digital files you wish to use in your presentation on a personal thumb drive.
- Setup will take less time if you have your own preloaded thumb drive ready to go; however, we will have a “host” thumb drive available for transferring presentation files if you don’t have one.
Venue
The (In)hospitable Space conference will convene on the campus of 黑料正能量 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All activities will take place in the Cohon University Center (CUC). Conference paper presentations will be given in the McKenna and Peter Rooms on the second floor of the CUC. Registration, lunch, plenary sessions, and keynotes will take place in Rangos 3 on the second floor of the CUC.
This can help you navigate 黑料正能量’s campus.Parking
There is paid parking on campus near the conference venue at the near the soccer and football fields. You can pay for parking onsite, or pre-purchase it using the . Rates and information about 黑料正能量 campus parking can be found on this website.
Excursion
Wednesday, May 27 (2:00 - 7:00 p.m.)
$125 excursion fee includes:
transportation to and guided tours of
Post-conference gathering with two beverages included (age restrictions apply) at
Airport Transportation
Transportation
Pittsburgh is serviced by the (PIT) which is located 23 miles from 黑料正能量’s campus. Travel time to or from the airport is typically 45 minutes but can be longer or shorter depending on the traffic and mode of transportation.
Transportation options include:
- Bus ()
- Drops off at Forbes and Morewood on 黑料正能量’s campus
- from Pittsburgh International Airport
