The ASCEND Space Traffic Management Diverse Dozen, or D12, is the brainchild of astrodynamicist Moriba Jah, associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas, and also Affiliated Researcher with Space Enabled.
The inaugural cohort of the Space Traffic Management Diverse Dozen was introduced at 2020 ASCEND. Influential thinkers and emerging leaders from around the globe were featured in a series of rapid-fire lightning talks that highlighted the most important issues surrounding safety, security, and sustainability in the context of space traffic. Powered by AIAA, ASCEND was launched in 2020 to Accelerate Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery.
“The mission of D12 is centered on the belief that we’re more similar than we are different, and action is best when born from compassion,” said Jah. “We want to attract people whose intellectual and emotional commitment to keeping the off-world environment free of debris knows no bounds.”
The 2021 D12 class will advance understanding of evidence-based strategies and methods to make space traffic management more transparent and predictable, and to hold decision makers accountable for the impact of their activities in space.