🛰️ Designing for Stewardship: Preventing a Deep Space Debris Crisis

Aegis Station Infrastructure LLC | Policy Brief | July 2025

🚨 The Problem We Must Not Repeat

Earth orbit is congested with over 1 million debris fragments — the result of decades of launch activity with little accountability. As humanity pushes into cislunar space and beyond, we must not export the same habits to the Moon, Mars, or deep space.

Without clear frameworks and mission standards, future infrastructure may be surrounded by the very detritus we failed to manage on Earth.

🧭 Our Principle: Design So You Don’t Have to Clean Up

Aegis Station Infrastructure (ASI) is committed to a new ethic for deep space operations: All systems — from satellites to shuttles to surface landers — must be designed for graceful end-of-life, maximum reusability, and minimal footprint.

🔧 Mitigation Strategies for Lunar and Martian Missions

• End-of-Life Disposal Standards: Commit to controlled impact, solar escape, or graveyard orbits.
• Design for Reuse, Not Abandonment: Encourage modular systems that can be repurposed or safely decommissioned.
• Shared Infrastructure: Use relays, refueling depots, and docking standards to reduce excess hardware.
• On-Site Recycling: Convert spent stages and scrap parts into usable assets with ISRU and robotic assembly.

🌍 Call to Action: Build It Into the Rules

We urge NASA, Artemis Accords partners, and space agencies worldwide to:

• Extend debris mitigation rules beyond Earth orbit.
• Create traffic coordination authorities for cislunar and Mars operations.
• Incentivize sustainable designs in procurement and funding.

🏗️ Aegis Station: Built for the Long Game

Aegis Station is a self-contained orbital platform designed for permanence. With modular construction, integrated logistics, and human-in-the-loop servicing, it offers a testbed for orbital sustainability—wherever we go next.