Accelerating innovation to design a better global future
Add to that No. 1 in putting the planet first and earning the top spot in the U.S. for global impact. ASU ranks at the top of a lot of lists. But more important than any of those is our own to-do list. So what tops that list? Ensuring a thriving future and habitable planet for all.
ASU, Blue Origin to create business park in orbit
A mixed-use business park in space may sound like a daydream of the distant future, but the university is partnering with Blue Origin and other space industry leaders to create one by 2030. Dubbed Orbital Reef, the pioneering space station will make its home in low-Earth orbit and offer the infrastructure to support new markets in space, including research, manufacturing, travel, education and exploration. And it’s not just for specialists.
Just like Earth-side business parks, Orbital Reef will provide a shared facility that entities can lease to serve research, government, industrial, international and travel customers. By offsetting the complexity and cost of living and working in low-Earth orbit, Orbital Reef opens the space economy to a wider array of small businesses, projects and nations.
Learn more about ASU projects paving the way for humans in space at interplanetary.asu.edu.
Like a medical center for the planet
The challenges for the planet’s health and the future of humanity and other life forms command urgency - and the university is accelerating its wide reaching collaborative work to help keep the planet not only habitable but healthy.
In 2019, ASU established the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory as a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to find actionable solutions to the most challenging issues facing global society and our planet. The laboratory is ASU’s response to the growing awareness that conventional approaches to sustainability and planetary wellness are not adequate. Instead, designing a thriving future requires a holistic approach defined by uncompromising transdisciplinary research and open collaboration among universities, businesses, policymakers and the wider public.