Introducing Samuel Jardine, Open Lunar’s new Senior Policy Lead

Open Lunar Foundation is excited to welcome Samuel Jardine to the core team. Read a welcome note from Sam and learn more about his background and position. 

“I am over the moon to be joining the Open Lunar team as Senior Policy Lead. From starting out as a Fellow, to contracting on the Lunar Ledger, Open Lunar has been a unique and inspiring place to work. Not only are the people, from the core team to the fantastic community Open Lunar has built, a complete joy to collaborate with, but the organisation itself is rare in its ability to bridge technical, policy, and operational worlds. It does not just produce thoughtful and ambitious research, but actively works to operationalise it, supporting space stakeholders from governments to commercial companies and scientific institutes across the world. It is a real privilege to be here.”

My background is in history, geopolitics, and strategic analysis (space really does need everyone). I trained as a historian, completing an MA in Modern History at King’s College London and a BA (Hons) at the Open University. Before moving fully into policy and risk work advising government and commercial clients, I founded and ran a history talks company, delivering “Applied History”-based lectures that used historical case studies to explore contemporary problems around power, conflict, and governance.

That lens never really left me when I shifted into geopolitical consulting. As the Head of Research at London Politica, a consultant at RUSI, and a Research Associate with Oxford University and the British Army’s CHACR Climate Change and (In)Security Project (to name a few roles I’ve had the pleasure of taking on over the years!), I developed a focus on the governance and security of the polar regions, outer space, and the seabed (all cold, dark, and geopolitically unstable in a multipolar world). My work has particularly focused on strategic competition, mineral politics, and climate conflict, and I have had the privilege of lecturing on these issues at institutions such as the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre and the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Alongside this, I developed OSINT and HUMINT expertise through working in private intelligence, as well as a strong interest in (and love of) wargaming, tabletop exercises, and crisis simulation as analytical tools through supporting government and armed forces. This combination of history, geopolitics, and intelligence work granted me the privilege of working on some of the world’s most fascinating, challenging, and at times frightening issues. These included leading a team supporting the UN World Food Programme Afghanistan following the coalition withdrawal to facilitate humanitarian operations in an extremely difficult environment, project managing Lord Kerslake’s independent parliamentary inquiry into UK military accommodation, and providing strategic analysis for a multinational organisation on the global geopolitical risks and security implications of climate change.

At Open Lunar, these strands of my professional experience come together as I support the team in their mission to solve lunar challenges, by developing frameworks and ideas and turning them into practical, tangible solutions. In particular, my role will focus on:

• Designing and facilitating scenario exercises and tabletop simulations on future lunar risks, supporting space and space-adjacent stakeholders in exploring emerging challenges, stress-testing assumptions, and identifying overlooked risks;

• Supporting and convening multi-stakeholder policy dialogues on key issues such as transparency, safety zones, resource activity, and strategic competition;

• Supporting the development of Open Lunar’s projects and governance tools, including the Lunar Ledger;

• Contributing to Open Lunar’s wider research and policy agenda, grounded in real-world political dynamics to ensure maximum relevance and impact.

I am incredibly excited to be joining a team that I have admired and been privileged to work alongside for a number of years. I am looking forward to meeting more of the community and getting properly stuck into the challenges ahead.