Global Space Exploration Conference 2012

1. LAUNCH Sustainability Forums
Carve Niche Audiences
Beth Beck
Public Outreach Manager
NASA Human Exploration and Operations
Global Space Exploration Conference 2012

2. “We are more easily persuaded by
the reasons we ourselves discover
than by those given to us by others.”
!
— Pascal

3. FACT: In the history of mankind, only
532 humans have ever left Earthʼs
borders to explore the unknown.!

4. FACT: Humans care about what we can see,
touch, feel, and experience first-hand.!
None of us likes being told what we should !
care about. We want to figure it out for ourselves.!

5. FACT: We, in the space industry, MUST engage
our fellow humans where they are, in their
passion language, in ways that feel real and
meaningful to THEM.!

6. Shifting public opinion toward increased !
government investments in space
requires more than rhetoric.!

7. We MUST get to know our neighbors
and find out what they care about.
We MUST meet them
where they are,
rather than expecting
them to come to us.
We want active
engagement, rather than general
awareness or generic support.

8. GOAL: Create a community !
of informed, engaged, !
and enthusiastic !
individuals who connect our !
off-planet endeavors !
with quality of life !
here on Earth.!

9. Levels of Engagement!
• Audience: the collective third party that observes as
individuals use or evoke meaning of a concept.!
• Public: an audience that communicates among itself
and deliberates about the meaning of a concept or
experience.!
• Community: a public that can act collectively to
arbitrate the interpretation of concepts, and control their
meaning.!

10. Create Lock-In!
• We want to engage new niche
communities and create shared
ownership of sustainability
problem-solving approaches –
! ! through innovative !
dialogue and collaboration.!
• We want our niche
communities to engage
and experience creative
programs that lock-in the
Earth-Space connections.!

11. Sustainability is a core !
connection between !
what our fellow citizens !
care about, and !
what we do in space! !
Sustainability, from a
global point of view, !
signifies urgency and the
need for citizen engagement !
and action.

12. Sustainability: sustaining the quality of human !
life – in the context of dwindling, costly, and/or !
nonexistent natural resources.!
Humans are united on and off the planet !
in the struggle to survive with constrained
resources: air, water, energy, !
food, shelter, and health.!

13. LAUNCH
At NASA, weʼre creating new projects to bring about
social change that will ultimately improve quality of life
on this planet, as well as tell the story of space in a
relevant, experiential way— such as LAUNCH. !
Through LAUNCH, !
Collective Genius "
for a Better World, !
we reach out to!
the sustainability !
community to use !
NASAʼs trust brand !
to help change !
the world.!

14. NASA created LAUNCH to bring about innovative
solutions to intractable sustainability challenges
facing global citizens. !
LAUNCH offers us a unique opportunity to draw
parallels between the resource challenges
humans face onboard the International Space
Station and those who inhabit Earth. !

15. Weʼve specifically!
selected the LAUNCH!
challenges to tell the
Space Station!
Sustainability!
story: Water, !
Energy, Health, !
and now, !
Beyond Waste. !

16. IF we want to create a community of informed, engaged,
and enthusiastic individuals who make the connection
between off-planet endeavors and quality of life !
!here on Earth… !
" " " " ""
"THEN we should follow Pascalʼs advice and create
ways for individuals to discover the meaning and value
of space for themselves through creative, participatory
experiences.!