Asgardia - groundbreaking or simply an elaborate ruse?

I simply don’t know what to make if it. A new notion of the nation state, a scientific utopia, a vision of the future – or one man’s deluded fever dream?

Asgardia is the first ‘nation state in space’ which will, apparently, hold ‘knowledge, intelligence and science at its core’. The project is being directed by the Vienna-based Aerospace International Research Center, a private company founded by Russian nanoscientist and businessman Dr Igor Ashurbeiyli. Anyone can go to the website (www.asgardia.space) and register as a citizen. At its launch, Dr Ashurbeiyli said that on recieving 100,000 registrations he would officially apply to the UN for the status of state. Five days later the website reported over 400,000 ‘Asgardians’. Presumably he is marching smugly toward the UN as I write this.

For those of us that immediately pictured great, hulking space stations, disappointment lurked. Initially, it seems, this new nation will consist of a single satellite, scheduled to be launched next year, with its citizens residing firmly on terra firma. Other than rather nebulous socio-political claim that it will ‘foster peace and offer recognition of the ultimate value of each human life’, it is clear that this is a science project. Asgardia promises to demonstrate to scientists throughout the world that independent, private and unrestricted research is possible. Ashurbeiyli says a major part of this will be a state-of-the-art protective shield from space debris, coronal mass ejections and asteroid collisions. Absolutely no details are offered on this.

So what are we to make of all this? Whilst it isn’t the first ‘microstate’ to claim independence – there are several Earth-bound examples that never fail to catch the eye (the Principality of Sealand, Republic of Molossia, Waveland…) – it is the first to do so in such an audacious manor. A press conference, a glistening website – is this just good old fashioned hucksterism? There are reasons to at least consider that possibility.

For a project claiming to be rooted in such idealistic utopianism, the terms and conditions given when you come to register as a citizen are at best odd, and at worst very concerning. You are told, for example, about third-party advertising, data collection and the variety of ‘business purposes’ for which the site can use your data. Even if we could rule this out – the project still seems a little like an egocentric delusion. But relative to what? We live in a time when the founder of an internet book store is also one of the leaders in a new space race. The idea that nations – in the terrestrial sense – will be important players in the future of space science is rapidly fading away. Privateers are the future, indeed the present, of space exploration and so Asgardia represents something absolutely vital. It is a stance against the default position that only commercial interests can allow us to further our interests in space. And it is a stance that is desperately needed – back in November last year, for example, the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act was signed into law by President Obama. It allowed companies to claim ownership of mining territories in space. If nothing else Asgardia offers an alternative view to this. It reminds us our fate is not sealed – capitalism doesn’t hold all the answers for humanity’s ongoing adventure in space.

So, ever keen to bring you the most insightful take on scientific events, I find myself in the less than helpful position of reporting that this is either one of the most ambitious science projects ever undertaken, or a con-job by a deluded business man. And it seems that I’m not the only one offering a hedge here.

I’ll leave the last word to Dr Ashurbeyli himself: “Is it pioneering, futuristic and visionary – or madness? Call it what you will, and time will tell.”

Phil Prime, Editor