Fellowship Topic Areas 2026
Our fellowships are a key part of Open Lunar’s innovation process. Through rigorous evaluation in accordance with our impact criteria, we have identified four key focus areas for our fellows in 2026. Fellowships will advance research in these key areas, impacting where Open Lunar continues to invest and building momentum to support further development of project areas.
Our next set of research fellowships explores how we can set thoughtful precedents for the Moon—ensuring that as lunar activity scales, it reflects stewardship, equity, and long-term sustainability.
Exploring New Frontiers of Research
Each year, Open Lunar identifies frontier research areas that are both timely and foundational for shaping a peaceful lunar future. Fellows take on these scopes of work, advancing early-stage concepts into tested frameworks, guidelines, and tools for the community. The following four fellowship opportunities are currently under development and will form part of our next cohort.
1) Payload Review Fellowship
Status: Concept
Every payload sent to the Moon carries implications far beyond its immediate mission. This fellowship will help advance voluntary, consensus-based guidelines to support responsible lunar payload development. The selected fellow will research best practices, convene diverse stakeholders—from industry and science to Indigenous communities and ethics experts—and pilot an assessment checklist to model transparency and good stewardship.
About the Role
The Payload Review Fellowship will advance Open Lunar’s work to create voluntary, consensus-based guidelines to support responsible lunar payload development. You will lead research, coordination, and stakeholder engagement to ensure that as activity scales, lunar payloads are designed through cross-sector dialogue, enabling good stewardship and minimizing harm.
Key Responsibilities
The Fellow will lead a scope of work centered around convening experts to develop an initial set of payload guidelines, socializing those guidelines through stakeholder engagement and a key public event in 2026, and reporting on the resulting framework—including an initial rating of existing lunar payloads—to enable next steps.
Responsibilities will include:
Conducting research into best practices, risks, and ethical considerations for lunar payloads.
Convening a diverse, representative committee of academia, industry, governance, ethics/heritage experts, Indigenous communities, environmental advocates and experts to create and articulate guiding principles.
Drafting, refining, and publishing a modular checklist for payload self-assessment.
Organizing stakeholder workshops and a public launch event at a major space industry conference.
Piloting a checklist application on existing or upcoming payloads to model transparency.
Producing and presenting a report articulating principles, framework, pilot findings, and next steps.
Ideal Candidate
Background in space, policy, international relations, ethics, planetary science, or related field.
Demonstrated experience in facilitation, consensus-building, event planning, and cross-sector engagement.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Skilled at building relationships across academia, industry, government, NGOs, and Indigenous or community-based stakeholders.
Deep commitment to stewardship, equity, and long-term sustainability in space
Highly collaborative mindset: thrives in dialogue, actively seeks diverse perspectives, and integrates feedback into evolving work.
The foundations of this work were laid by our 2024 Fellow, Abbhinav Muralidharan, whose research on “Community Payload Guidelines” set the stage for this next step. Applicants are encouraged to explore his work for context.
2) Designated Lunar Areas Fellowship
Status: Concept
As missions multiply, we face new questions about how and where activity should take place on the lunar surface. This fellowship will help shape a global code of conduct for lunar site use. The fellow will research a taxonomy of lunar site types, collaborate with technologists on digital twin tools to model impacts, and engage stakeholders to draft guidelines that prevent conflict and encourage cooperation.
About the Role
This fellowship will help shape a global code of conduct for lunar surface operations, with a focus on identifying, modeling, and guiding the designation of lunar activity areas. You will work at the intersection of governance, environmental stewardship, and mission planning.
Key Responsibilities
Research and propose a taxonomy of lunar site types (e.g., quiet zones, infrastructure hubs, waste disposal areas).
Collaborate with technologists to model mission impacts.
Draft guidelines for site use that foster cooperation and prevent conflicts.
Engage stakeholders from science, industry, and governance to validate approaches.
Contribute findings to international forums and multilateral coordination tools like the Lunar Ledger.
Integrate with missions - Work with lunar actors to understand classification of upcoming missions
Ideal Candidate
Background in planetary science, space governance, GIS, or environmental policy.
Strong ability to synthesize research across scientific, environmental, and policy domains.
Skilled in research synthesis and stakeholder outreach.
Comfortable navigating political and cultural sensitivities.
Highly collaborative mindset, values co-creation, and integrates feedback to strengthen outputs.
Deep commitment to stewardship, equity, and long-term sustainability in space
The foundations of this work were laid by our 2025 Fellow, Christine Tiballi, whose research on “Designated Lunar Areas” set the stage for this next step. Applicants are encouraged to explore her work for context.
3) Lunar Ledger Fellowship
Status: Concept (supporting the Lunar Ledger Initiative)
Transparency and trust are cornerstones of a cooperative lunar future. The Lunar Ledger is a trusted, third-party, open-access platform for lunar mission data. This fellowship will investigate its scientific and commercial value, assess intellectual property considerations, and map adoption pathways for researchers, industry, and governments. Through interviews, data analysis, and a comprehensive report, the fellow will help expand the Ledger’s role as a global coordination tool.
About the Role
The Lunar Ledger Fellowship will explore how lunar mission data can be responsibly shared, standardized, and adopted by researchers, industry, and governments. This Fellowship focuses on developing governance precedents, understanding market demand, and mapping pathways for the Ledger’s real-world deployment. You will work with commercial lunar companies, international partners, and other stakeholders to assess the commercial, scientific, and policy value of lunar datasets.
Key Responsibilities
Identify and catalog existing and upcoming Lunar Ledger datasets to determine what data is available.
(Regulatory) Work with commercial partners and other stakeholders to uncover roadblocks to data sharing, including IP concerns and regulatory restrictions (e.g., ITAR/EAR).
(Data Science) Develop a framework for interoperability, exploring how Lunar Ledger datasets can integrate with existing repositories like PDS.
Produce a clear, actionable report summarizing findings, data needs, and recommendations for deploying the Lunar Ledger effectively.
Ideal Candidate
Background in data science, space policy, market analysis, or information governance.
Experience in qualitative interviewing and stakeholder engagement.
Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.
Collaborative mindset with a commitment to co-creation and feedback integration.
Deep interest in stewardship, equity, and long-term sustainability in space.
*The Lunar Ledger is a global database of lunar activities and objects. Christine Tiballi, Lunar Ledger Project Lead, took on the initiative in early 2025 and is currently launching a limited beta release with key stakeholders ahead of a public launch at IAC. This Fellowship will contribute to and amplify the Lunar Ledger project.*
4) Lunar Dust Mitigation Fellowship
Status: Hunch
Dust is one of the most persistent challenges for lunar operations—impacting hardware, human health, and the environment. This fellowship will help establish the Moon’s first environmental monitoring and certification system for dust impacts. The fellow will research dust monitoring technologies, work with hardware partners on prototype sensors, and draft certification criteria to encourage voluntary adoption across the industry. By reducing dust damage, this research scope aims to protect both missions and the lunar environment.
About the Role
The Dust Mitigation Fellowship will support the creation of the Moon’s first environmental monitoring and certification system for dust impacts. Your work will help reduce mission risks, inform governance frameworks, and guide the design of future low-dust lunar payloads.
Key Responsibilities
Define metrics and specifications for dust-related imagery and telemetry from lunar rovers.
Develop a Minimum Viable Data Package (MVDP) to inform early scientific and governance insights, including:
Optimal camera placement, sampling cadence, and timing (e.g., during offloading, wheel rotation, excavation).
Allocation of data volume between imagery and telemetry (e.g., resolution, bit depth, downsampling, frequency).
Create a standardized operating procedure (SOP) for collecting, analyzing, and sharing dust data.
Evaluate low-mass dust payload concepts (e.g., coupons, supplemental cameras) and recommend deployment strategies.
Assess the scientific and policy value of different sensing approaches, including:
Lander blast-zone analysis using existing imagery.
Dust coupons mounted on rover wheels or spokes.
Belly camera imagery for DEM generation and surface interaction analysis.
Draft a conceptual design for a future dust monitoring payload for NASA and/or commercial missions.
Support outreach to lunar operators, standards bodies, and other key stakeholders.
Ideal Candidate
Background in aerospace engineering, planetary science, environmental monitoring, or related field.
Familiarity with spacecraft design and mission operations.
Skilled at integrating technical and policy considerations.
Highly collaborative, values co-creation, and incorporates feedback effectively.
Deep commitment to stewardship, equity, and long-term sustainability in space.
Why These Topics Matter
From payloads to dust, from site designations to data transparency, each fellowship represents a critical piece of the broader puzzle of lunar stewardship. By convening diverse perspectives, piloting practical tools, and publishing open resources, our fellows help ensure that early decisions about lunar activity are intentional and collaborative—setting precedents that will echo for decades to come.
If you are passionate about contributing to this vision, we invite you to stay tuned for our next fellowship application cycle and consider joining us in shaping a cooperative and sustainable lunar future.