MISSION POSSIBLE
SPACE x LAW
DECEMBER 5, 2025
Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn Campus, AMDC building level 3
Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn Campus, AMDC building level 3
PROGRAMME
11:00–12:00 Keynote Lecture
"From Uneven Threats to Shared Solutions: Managing Uncertainty and Fairness in Planetary Defense" by Prof. Seiji Sugita
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–14:00 Keynote Lecture
"Space Law as a Contemporary Challenge" Prof. Yu Takeuchi
14:00–14:15 Coffee break
14:15–15:15 Panel 1 – Space Law and Technology: Bridging Policy with Rapid Innovation
15:30–16:30 Panel 2 – Beyond Earth’s Horizon: Safeguarding the Right to Health in Space
16:45–17:45 Panel 3 – Regulating Space in the 21st Century: Law, Policy, and Security
"From Uneven Threats to Shared Solutions: Managing Uncertainty and Fairness in Planetary Defense" by Prof. Seiji Sugita
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–14:00 Keynote Lecture
"Space Law as a Contemporary Challenge" Prof. Yu Takeuchi
14:00–14:15 Coffee break
14:15–15:15 Panel 1 – Space Law and Technology: Bridging Policy with Rapid Innovation
15:30–16:30 Panel 2 – Beyond Earth’s Horizon: Safeguarding the Right to Health in Space
16:45–17:45 Panel 3 – Regulating Space in the 21st Century: Law, Policy, and Security
SPEAKERS
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Dr. Seiji Sugita is a professor and the chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Physics of the School of Science at the University of Tokyo. His research focuses on small-body missions and instrument development for planetary exploration. He has served as the science principal investigator for optical navigation camera of JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission, a member of science management board of ESA’s planetary defense missions, such as Hera and RAMSES, and an interdisciplinary scientist for ESA-JAXA’s Comet Interceptor mission. He developed a muti-color optical microscopic imager for Ryugu and Bennu sample curations at JAXA and is developing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instruments for landing missions..
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Yu Takeuchi is an Associate Professor of space law and Director of the Space Law Research Center at Keio University in Japan. Before his current position, he served for 18 years at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a legal expert. His main interests are in State responsibility for commercial space activities, legal aspects of space traffic management, and sustainable space activities.
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Panel One
Space Law and Technology: Bridging Policy with Rapid Innovation
Space Law and Technology: Bridging Policy with Rapid Innovation
Panel lead
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Rebecca Allen is Co-Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute and a Senior Lecturer in Space Technology at Swinburne University of Technology. With a PhD in Astrophysics, her research spans galaxy evolution and the application of space-based technologies to global challenges such as disaster response and environmental monitoring. Rebecca leads national and international collaborations in microgravity experimentation, space education, and innovation, and has developed pioneering programs like the Swinburne Haileybury International Space Station Experiment. She is a passionate science communicator and advocate for accessible STEM education, regularly presenting at major space forums and contributing to industry-shaping initiatives.
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Mila Spence is a space governance and policy research assistant at the University of New South Wales. She holds a dual degree in English and French Law, with a Master 1 in European Law, and her personal research interests focus on the legal and policy challenges of space sustainability, particularly AI-enabled Active Debris Removal and Rendezvous and Proximity Operations. Mila has presented her work at international conferences, including the International Astronautical Congress, and has gained experience in the sector through time at Alden Legal and the Earth and Space Sustainability Initiative in the UK. In 2025, she participated in the UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee and was nominated as a prospective member of the International Institute of Space Law. She will begin her LLM at the University of Adelaide in 2026, where she plans to continue her research in space law and policy.
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Dr. Thomas Graham is a Senior Consultant with EY Oceania’s AI Assurance practice, advising clients on the governance of AI systems in accordance with Responsible AI practices and compliance with emerging regulatory frameworks. He completed his PhD and now holds an adjunct fellow position with Swinburne University of Technology where his research focuses on the regulation of AI systems in the space sector, examining the intersection of space law, AI regulation, and Responsible AI governance. He was recently awarded the Prof. Dr I.H.Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor Award, for best paper by someone 30 or under in the International Institute of Space Law’s Colloquia at the IAC which acknowledges his impact.
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Yu Takeuchi will also join this panel.
PANEL TWO
Beyond Earth’s Horizon: Safeguarding the Right to Health in Space
Beyond Earth’s Horizon: Safeguarding the Right to Health in Space
Panel lead
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Dr Rowena Christiansen is dual-qualified in law and medicine, with a long-standing commitment to space health, aerospace medicine, and pre-hospital emergency medicine. She is a member of the Jus Ad Astra human rights in space project, the founder of the ad astra vita project, and co-founder of the International Space Surgery Research Consortium. Rowena works within the growing Australian and international community dedicated to keeping humans safe and healthy beyond Earth. Her teaching and research spans human spaceflight physiology, healthcare delivery in austere environments, and the emerging regulatory and ethical frameworks needed for long-duration space missions.
Rowena is passionate about inter-disciplinary collaboration and the ways in which medicine, law, ethics, engineering, and policy intersect in the space domain. Her current work focuses on applying the principles of the right to health to space environments - whether for professional astronauts, researchers on lunar missions, or commercial spaceflight participants - as humanity moves into increasingly autonomous, resource-limited settings beyond Earth. |
Panel lead
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Jonathan Lim is a space lawyer whose work centres on bridging international human rights law and international space law. He is Project Co-Lead of Jus Ad Astra, a board member of the JustSpace Alliance, a member of the International Institute of Space Law, Space Generation Advisory Council Member, and member of the Legal Council at For All Moonkind.
He has presented research on rights-based space governance at ASCEND, the British Interplanetary Society, the Mars Society, the Moon Society, UNOOSA, and the 2025 International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. |
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Paul O'Connor is an experienced non-executive chair and director. He has a diverse portfolio of governance roles across insurance, medicine, public safety, education, government and philanthropy. Paul currently chairs a NSW regulator in the water sector. He is a former federal safety regulator. Until recently, Paul was non-executive Chair for a TEQSA regulated education provider in the fashion and creative arts industry.
Paul’s executive career focus was in funds management, risk and insurance. He specialised in the risk, regulatory, legal and financial aspects of the space industry for a decade. Paul was based in Washington DC, then London and Singapore. He has been a member of the International Institute for Space Law since 1993. Paul recently worked at the Australian National University, helping design the strategy, business and financial models for the ANU Institute of Space. Paul was then a visiting fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance where his research interests were in governance effectiveness. He continues this work as a Research Fellow at Swinburne University in its School of Law, Business and Entrepreneurship. Earlier, he provided strategic advice to Swinburne to shape the vision and economic justification for a space technology initiative for a scalable, orbital optical internet. He helped develop the framework for a venture capital bid to Breakthrough Victoria Fund. Paul holds master’s degrees in law and corporate governance. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Governance Institute of Australia and The Tax Institute. Paul lives and works on the edge of the Birrarung (Yarra River) in Naarm (Melbourne). |
PANEL THREE
Regulating Space in the 21st Century: Law, Policy, and Security
Regulating Space in the 21st Century: Law, Policy, and Security
Panel lead
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Bec Strating is the Director of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security and a Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Melbourne. She has extensive experience working in the academia-policy-public engagement nexus in the fields of international diplomacy and security. She was Director of La Trobe Asia (2020-2025).
Her research focuses primarily on Asian regional security, maritime disputes, and Australian foreign and defence policy. She is the author of ‘Girt by Sea: reimagining Australia’s Security’ with Professor Joanne Wallis (La Trobe University Press/Black Inc, 2024), which was launched by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in April 2024. She is the co-editor of 'Blue Security in the Indo-Pacific' (Routledge, 2024) and 'The Politics of Global Ocean Regions' (Palgrave, 2025). Bec has developed and contributed to over 25 externally funded research collaborations worth over to $5 million. She currently leads the DFAT-funded “Blue Security” network focused on maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific. |
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Mark Manantan is a research fellow at the Centre for Global Security at La Trobe University, where he examines the implications of cybersecurity and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum, and digital infrastructures in (re)shaping regional cooperation and strategic competition in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
Previously, he was the director of cybersecurity and critical technologies at the Pacific Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he led research, policy dialogues, and capacity-building initiatives in cyber policy, ethics of artificial intelligence, and semiconductor supply chains. He has held research fellowships and consultancy roles at the National Institute for Defense Studies at the Japanese Ministry of Defense, Asia Society Policy Institute, Japan Foundation, East-West Center, and UNESCO. |
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Art Cotterell's research and teaching expertise centres on exploring and interrogating the power, politics and policies shaping the governance of space and nuclear technologies. At the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University (ANU), he most recently convened the National Nuclear Safeguards Education Program, a one-of-its-kind partnership with the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO). Art's PhD with The University of Adelaide, currently under examination, analyses the intersection of patent and space law and the balancing of public and private interests. He is affiliated with the Australasian Centre for Space Governance and frequently guest lectures and gives talks on technology governance.
Before joining academia, Art served as an executive advisor in the Australian Government, including at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, working on regulatory reform initiatives for National Cabinet. He has represented Australia at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva through his work at IP Australia, and earlier worked in community legal centres and the courts to advance access to justice. Art holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of New South Wales, a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from ANU, and is admitted as a lawyer in the ACT. Art Cotterell's research and teaching expertise centres on exploring and interrogating the power, politics and policies shaping the governance of space and nuclear technologies. At the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University (ANU), he most recently convened the National Nuclear Safeguards Education Program, a one-of-its-kind partnership with the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO). Art's PhD with The University of Adelaide, currently under examination, analyses the intersection of patent and space law and the balancing of public and private interests. He is affiliated with the Australasian Centre for Space Governance and frequently guest lectures and gives talks on technology governance. Before joining academia, Art served as an executive advisor in the Australian Government, including at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, working on regulatory reform initiatives for National Cabinet. He has represented Australia at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva through his work at IP Australia, and earlier worked in community legal centres and the courts to advance access to justice. Art holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of New South Wales, a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from ANU, and is admitted as a lawyer in the ACT. |
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Kate Kitagawa specialises in space education and is currently a Professor of Practice in Space Research and Education at La Trobe University. Kate founded a new space education initiative, Aussie Space Rocks, launched in October 2025 upon her receipt of the Australia–Japan Foundation grant. She previously served as Director of the Space Education Office and as Advisor to the Senior Vice President at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
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