Anthropocentrism and Sustainability of the Earth System and Outer Space (ANTARES)

Project leader: Dr Elena Cirkovic
Research Affiliate MIT Media Lab, Space Enabled Research Group
Project Researcher, ECI and HELSUS, University of Helsinki (Arctic Avenue)

Dr. Cirkovic’s research project “Anthropocentrism and Sustainability of the Earth System and Outer Space (ANTARES)” aims to connect Earth System and Outer Space with the application of complex systems approaches, critical theory, and posthuman approaches in contemporary thought.

The project was started in 2017 at the Erik Castrén Institute (ECI), which continues to be its host institution. At present, Dr. Cirkovic is collaborating with the MIT Media Lab, Space Enabled Research Group, where she is an affiliated researcher. The Space Enabled Research group is led by Professor Dr. Danielle Wood. The mission of the Group is to advance justice in Earth’s complex systems using designs enabled by space.

Relevant links:

Space Enabled Research Group: https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/space-enabled/overview/
Professor Danielle Wood’s profile page: https://www.media.mit.edu/people/drwood/overview/
For our collaborative paper “Sustainable orbit and the Earth System: mitigation and regulation” please see: https://conference.sdo.esoc.esa.int/proceedings/sdc8/paper/30/SDC8-paper30.pdf

ANTARES is also hosted at the University of Westminster, Law and Theory Lab, under the leadership of Professor Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos. This collaboration is meant to advance the project with the inclusion of and representation with the multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary designs, including visual arts, music, and architecture.

Law and Theory Lab: https://www.lawandtheory.com/people
Present objective of the project is to expand its transdisciplinary and international network, promote inclusiveness and pluralities of knowledge, and to recognize and research various aspects of human/non-human/transcorporeal co-existences, embeddedness, and relationships.

Project collaborators :
Jonathan McDowell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Steven Freeland, Western Sydney University
Pekka Jahunen, Finnish Meteorological Institute Space Research
Hilding Neilson, University of Toronto Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
 

Recent publications:

2022

• Hyperbole: Outer Space: A Response to Bold, Innovative, Forward-looking, to-the Point, Ambitious Arguments in Favour of Unjust Action in Human Progress 
  Cirkovic, E., 2022, (Accepted/In press) Research Handbook in Law and Literature: co-edited with Peter Goodrich, Daniela Gandorfer, and Cecilia Gebruers. Edward Elgar
• The Laws Protecting Outer Space Environments: a multidisciplinary perspective: Editors: Aoife O’Donoghue, Ruth Houghton and Se-shauna Wheat
  Cirkovic, E., 2022, (Accepted/In press) Edited collection series: Research Handbooks in Globalization and the Law: Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Global Governance (2022). Edward Elgar

2021

• #SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Corporate Social Responsibility in Outer Space
  Cirkovic, E., 2021, In : SpaceWatch.Global.
• Cosmolegal proposal and Anthropocentrism in international law
  Cirkovic, E., 2021, Frédéric Mégret, Usha Natarajan, and Vincent Chapoux (eds) International Law and Anthropocentrism (Routledge 2020). Routledge
• The earth system, hydrosphere, and outer space: Cosmo-legal approaches
  Cirkovic, E., 9 Feb 2021, In : Völkerrechtsblog : international law & international legal thought.
• "The Next Generation of International Law: Space, Ice, and the Cosmolegal Proposal"
  Cirkovic, E., Mar 2021, In : German law journal. 22, 2, p. 147–167 21 p.
• “Earth System Governance, the Orbit, and International Law”
  Cirkovic, E., 2021, Hulbert et. al (eds). Earth System Law: Standing on the Precipice of the Anthropocene (Routledge 2020). . Routledge

2020

• Defining military activities in outer space: the launching of the Iranian satellite Nour 1
  Jonathan McDowell, 10 Jun 2020, In : EJIL: Talk!. 2020
• Law Beyond the Human in the Arctic and Outer Space
  Cirkovic, E., Dec 2020, In : Current Developments in Arctic Law. 8, p. 16-19 4 p.

2018

• Guest Editorial: Ice, space, and the final frontier of international law’s universality
  Cirkovic, E., 2018, In : European Society for International Law Newsletter. 2018, March
• Russia, international law, and the melting of the Arctic
  Cirkovic, E., 22 Jan 2018, In : Völkerrechtsblog : international law & international legal thought.

Other project-related collaborations:
IAA Permanent Committee on Space Traffic Management, Permanent Committee Member
Earth System Governance Project,
Fellow The McGill Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (MILAMOS),
Associate Expert Norilab SATCON2, Working Group: Observations (“ how to implement the mitigation strategies (determined in SATCON1) to minimize the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy”).

Dr. Cirkovic’s personal website and interdisciplinary design: www.elenacirkovic.com