Creating pathways for peaceful, cooperative lunar settlement
Our work sets precedents, creates pathways and builds projects that enable a peaceful, cooperative lunar presence.
Open Lunar has an ambitious mission. We work to ensure that as human civilization expands beyond Earth, our presence in space reflects the multi-generational opportunity we have to progress open-ness, innovative governance, community leadership and technical excellence.
Read more about our approach and network below.
A peaceful presence on the Moon.
In 2018 a small group of friends - with decades of experience in space exploration and technology - realized that the Moon was critical infrastructure for humanity.
They saw an opportunity to enlist a network of people who saw an opportunity to consider how Lunar exploration could unfold from a different perspective.
One based on the most recent, innovative understandings we have about technology, policy governance and innovation.
Chelsea Robinson put it succinctly in the 2019 article that publicly launched Open Lunar:
Our highest ambition is catalyzing and enabling a peaceful and cooperative lunar settlement,” ... “At this time when there are so many commercial and government actors advancing their efforts on the moon, we are excited to demonstrate a civic approach to participation.
Open Lunar was founded as a California 501c3 non-profit organization to achieve this aim. Headquartered in San Francisco, we operate globally and welcome participation from around the world.
Since it was founded, Open Lunar has supported over twenty research fellowships, supported the UN Conference on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space as an active observer, launched a global series of Moon Dialogs, supported the launch of the King of England's Astra Carta, and engaged informally with many more projects and organizations in support of our goal.
In 2022, we expanded our commitment to open innovation by evolving our process to ensure it was empowered by our network. This engine of community driven innovation is now key to how our work unfolds
Powered by open principles and global contributions.
The Moon deserves all of our expertise as we consider what stewardship looks like in practice. Open Lunar works with a broad network of stakeholders, well beyond the space industry.
We highly value experience in stewardship of resources on Earth, including fields like human rights, biodiversity, open standards, indigenous rights, and backgrounds in law, policy, engineering, entrepreneurship and advocacy.
We also work closely with industry and state sector partners across aerospace, lunar policy, technology development, international cooperation and governance.
We welcome professionals from around the world at all stages of career. If you work on Lunar issues deeply - or are just Moon-curious - our network of fellows, affiliates and supporters welcomes new participants and perspectives.
The ‘Open’ in Open Lunar is a commitment to sharing the work of our expert network and ensuring that network is driving our priorities. We publish results openly and rely directly on the feedback from our network to identify, evaluate and drive the development of our projects.
Explore the opportunities below to learn more about how you can contribute to Open Lunar:
Become an Affiliate
Affiliates are mid-to-senior experts in fields related to stewardship and exploration. They are willing to volunteer 2-4 hours a month to guide and support our projects. Affiliates have direct input into what we do! This is a powerful and fun global network.
Join us on Slack
Joining our Slack community is a simple way to learn more about our work. We welcome professionals willing to be active contributors and who abide by our simple to follow community rules. Our Slack community actively engages with our projects, evaluations, ideas, and of course the latest Lunar developments.
Explore a partnership
We hold broad industry and impact focused partnerships with family offices, space agencies, research and development labs and entrepreneurs. If you are interested in funding, supporting or leading an initiative aligned with our mission - get in touch.
Become a Fellow
Fellows are generally (but not always) early career professionals willing to invest a day a week for six to eight months developing a community identified idea into a concept that merits further investment or community consideration. We welcome fellows from around the world and a variety of disciplines.
Join our Team
Open Lunar is an amazing place to work! Check out our employment and contract opportunities or submit a CV to be considered for future roles.
Board
Our Board of Directors represents decades of space exploration, science and policy experience. Directors meet quarterly, with one in person annual meeting. In addition to providing strategic guidance and support, our Directors review and approve our operating plan and budget.
Team
Open Lunar Foundation was founded in 2018 and has been building projects and publishing practical research ever since. Our organization is led by an experienced, passionate team and powered by a global network of professionals.
