Although everyone has their eyes set on settling and colonizing in space, I believe, it is even more important to first create our first settlement on Earth. In fact, I believe we should put all of our current resources on creating a settlement on Earth. Why?

I believe that the fastest way to get us to space is to unite on earth in our efforts in a physical way and not just digital. The biggest factor to this, is to create hardware. It is my belief that is far more expensive to contract out all of our hardware builds. We, the citizens, combined, have the knowledge, the desire and the resources to put us in space. But only combined physically. If we continue to only be in the digital realm until there is space hardware that we can go to, this will take too much time, the most valuable resource of all, so why waste it?

So let's imagine this, a City on Earth, perhaps something like the Venus project, able to house all Asgardian citizens (1 million people?) for the main purpose of designing, building and launching hardware into space. I believe this to be the fastest way to get us to our destination.

Let's dig deeper.

First the challenges, finding a place to put this settlement. Other than a few remote islands in International waters, every place on Earth has either a Country/Nation or a International Treaty (ie Antarctica) governing. We ideally want something that's not remote either and not land locked, access to waterway and oceans are key. So what do we do? find a Country willing to give us the land? Does anyone know a Country willing to do this? Buy it? This is the challenge. I don't think any sort of boat or floating settlement would work considering the costs of a project like that. Again, time is valuable, efficiency is key, plain old land is the most efficient.

How do we finance the building of this settlement? The government of Asgardia needs to kick in here to have funds and I would rather we spend funds on this than ordering more launches or outsourcing hardware, again, this should be the absolute focus in my opinion. Second, is every citizen that wishes to move here, gives all their wealth to this project and I think that should follow for any citizen moving to any settlement of Asgardia, the idea being everyone is equal, a clean slate when you move there and if everything you need is provided, housing, food, clothing, etc why do you need money? A resource based economy perhaps? There is the challenge if you want to travel and buy stuff from other Countries, perhaps there can be allowances of some sort. Then in this case your future wealth can be measured not by money, but how much knowledge and time you have/give to society. Maybe a different discussion around this.

Eventually, funds will limit us, I think that we can get the city built, but the next step is to build the hardware to send to space, again, we are all contributing our knowledge and time but what about resources such as elements, the land we would have most likely would not be an abundance of minerals, or exotic materials, we can get some basic elements from salt water, the air, but that is about it, in space we have plentiful of minerals but, we need to get there first. I have not solved this problem, and I put it out to society to think this one over. The only thought, is we can create intelectual and digital resources of which we could sell/trade for elements, I just don't know how feasible that could be.

But if we can get past those challenges, we can design, build, launch hardware and then eventually humans, focus on mining and manufacturing settlements first until we build what we need to build and supply what we need using the resources in space.

An earth settlement also provides our government with a temporary place to live and operate, in the future the settlement can be used for immigration from earth to space as well as import and exporting of goods, an embassy for our citizens, base for peacekeepers/humanitarian aid serving other Nations of earth  and provide a model city for the rest of the world to look it.

A city with a "venus project" ideal, maybe not exact, solves many issues for Asgardians as well including, poverty, hunger, universal basic income, elite 1%, automation job loss, debt, education etc. Again, maybe not exact, that can be open for discussion, but to get us to space as fast as possible, I believe if we can take on these challenges and solve them and build our first settlement, space will come faster, sooner, for Asgardians, and all of humanity.

Borders; the ultimate defining principal of any Nation, without them, who are we? Even if we settle and colonise space, what do we define as are borders? In this discussion I will analyze and speculate the various Border options and what I think would work best for Asgardia. Ignoring the Outer Space Treaty, OST, for now, as it can be rewrote and signed by Earth Nations giving the opportunity of our legitimacy.

Space in fact has not even been defined definitively by Earth Nations, however most except the 100km rule. With this rule do we claim our border at the 100km rule? This will not work in my opinion. Part of becoming a Nation is to be recognized by the other Nations of the world, namely key Nations such as the G5 and G20 Nations. A lot of these Nations have assets, civilian, scientific and military in nature beyond this region and given their interest they would not legitimize our call to be a Nation if that would place their assets within our borders.

So even though we are the Space Kingdom, perhaps we do not mean literal space. So then how do we define our borders?

I see two foreseeable options, both options have the same concept for other planets and large moons in which that settlements on these bodies are treated with the same regard as colonization and eventually the citizens of these bodies will need the ability to govern themselves and declare independence. Although that would take hundreds of years most likely.

First option is that everything beyond Geosynchronous orbit could be classified as our borders. This has a higher chance of being accepted by other Earth Nations and gives Asgardia the greatest control in space to oversea government, civilian, industrial and military activities ensuring the peace is kept and law is followed. This also gives Asgardia the greatest control of resources which is how our Nation will thrive. This is the hardest option however, even though it is easier than the 100km rule, it will still be a difficult task to convince the Nations of Earth to legitimize our being.

Second option is to only define borders surrounding our settlements, whether be in space, ie space stations, or on celestial bodies, ie moon colony. I don't think any Earth Nation would have an issue of this (ignoring the OST), unless they also have vested interest in the locations of which we would choose to place our colonies. This however extremely limits the control Asgardia has to ensure peace and law is kept. In this scenario, space is essentially international waters, a lawless, uncontrolled region of Earth. Nations and Corporations also have free reign over the resources if we don't place settlements near those resources. It may the easier option, however, this option will eventually be a lead cause to some of the same issues we see on Earth, mainly war and crime.

Our aim is to be peaceful and keep the peace in space. For this, I see only the first option to be viable to meet our goals. It won't be easy and will take a much longer time to convince and legitimize our being among the Earth Nations.

There are other options, these are the most straightforward and most likely to happen in my opinion. Leave your comments. Keep the conversation going.

Read my next blog on an Asgardia settlement on earth and how we can live in Asgardia within our generation and not just our grandchildren's generation.

Science should be the "grounding" force of this space society. Without science, our space kingdom will not thrive. I also object to the term Kingdom. This should be a free society where science guides our every day problems.

We can learn a lot from the ideas at RBE - Resource Based Economy. Moneyless society is the way to go.

I have taken some time in recent weeks to create what is called The Azgard Gazette.  This news outlet will be available to all Azgardians throughout the world as an online platform and may, with regional restrictions, be available in physical form.  Should you wish to work with the Azgard Gazette please do not hesitate to send an email to azgardgazette@gmail.com and please be aware that this will be volunteer work until the National Bank is established and currency distributed.

• A notice to all my Asgardian colleagues who are interested in helping develop the document needed to apply for the initial granting round of the MBR Space Settlement Challenge, due APRIL 10th. We would prepare the application documents together as a group online using Google Docs and have a group of reviewers read and edit and perhaps get a member of Parliament approve the final document before applying.
• I believe this grant could help formulate a strategic plan to create a long term permanent home for Asgardia that could literally become a habitat for a few of us within a ten year time frame.

As I wrote in my blog on March 9th, ...

" PLATFORM ADDENDUM

- Nationhood - One of Asgardia's ambitious goals is to become recognized by the United Nations as a state. I am interested in working to communicate the important nature of this goal to all Asgardians as well as the entire global population and to inspire others to assist in achieving this. One way to potentially accelerate statehood is to develop Asgardia's space program and place our first habitable space station in Earth's orbit, a feat achieved only by very few nations. My immediate goal will be to connect Asgardia with the Space Settlement Challenge, put together a team of interested Asgardians, and propose (by April 10th) to the SSC's organizers a plan that views Asgardia as the perfect torchbearer of a space habitat project. For those of us hoping for a permanent home in orbit, this could be the seed that grows into that reality. Technologies like Bigelow Aerospace's B330 Habitat and space delivery companies like SpaceX could help Asgardians realize these goals in an achievable timeframe. They could be further accelerated by opportunities such as the SSC. The global response and recognition would be enormous. All options will be considered in the plan's development. "

Please read the description of the grant below and contact me @ charlietherogue@gmail.com to gain access to the shared document, to become a reviewer, or if you are a member of Parliament and want to approve this project.

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    • Space Settlement Challenge
      Open to researchers with a PhD degree (or equivalent) or early career researchers enrolled in a PhD study. Applicants are welcome from any nationality, institution or location, unless specified otherwise in the Terms and Conditions of this grant fund. If you apply as a team then these conditions only apply to the Principal Investigator (person submitting the proposal).

      Overview

      The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Settlement Challenge (MBR Space Settlement Challenge) is a global grant fund to support preliminary research into ambitious ideas and concepts that unlock the future of human space habitation. It aims to attract brilliant minds from all over the world and is open to everyone regardless of discipline, background, or origin.
      The MBR Center for Accelerated Research offers seed grants up to 60 000 AED (approx. 16 000 USD) for a maximum period of 6 months to pursue projects on the topics listed below. The total available fund is 2 000 000 AED (approx. 540 000 USD), meaning that at least 30 ambitious and worthy projects will be funded. If projects request less than the maximum amount, more research projects will receive funding.
      The United Arab Emirates is committed to accelerating the global development of space exploration and space habitation through several space-related initiatives, including UAE Mars City and the Mars 2117 Project. The MBR Space Settlement Challenge is the latest of the efforts to accelerate humankind’s path to space. The Challenge is launched by the newly created Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Accelerated Research (MBR Center for Accelerated Research) in Dubai, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).
      “ The space race calls for hard work, research, and creativity. It requires us all to work together to achieve what no country alone has accomplished so far: landing a person on the red planet, building a city on the moon, and far beyond,” said UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, “The Mohammed bin Rashid Global Space Challenge is an open and sincere invitation to all scientists and experts to join the efforts to help humanity reach the stars.”

      Call description

      MBR Space Settlement Challenge is aimed at the outliers - creative and valiant thinkers who are inspired by the unknown and have a tendency to look beyond the conventional wisdom. It is designed to fund the best minds from dozens of different disciplines, nationalities and backgrounds by providing them with seed grants for daring ideas, creative designs, and speculative research.
      The purpose of this grant is to give momentum to high-risk, high-reward research projects usually overlooked and not funded by traditional institutions. So bring out the rebel ideas, transformative concepts, topics you are passionate about and visions that serve your life purpose.
      MBR Space Settlement Challenge is open for proposals from all areas of research that explore bold ideas, suggest radical solutions, and develop new business models for living and working in space, on the Moon, on Mars, and beyond.

      Topics

      Submitted proposal must cover at least one of the suggested topics but can also extend over several if relevant.

  • SPACE SETTLEMENTS

    • Identify and prepare a plan for locations that could support a thriving, sustainable settlement of at least 100 people.
    • Create designs and new construction systems using modular cooperative robotics that could help build human settlements using in-situ materials.
    • Propose innovative systems and solutions for power generation and environmental control for the inhabitants and their activities.
    • Propose life support systems and technologies to meet these human biological and ecological needs, including atmospheric creation and recycling, oxygen and water generation, waste management, and other environmental concerns.
    • Propose ways to address the complex human social and psychological needs involved in living in small off-planet settlements, including entertainment, socialization, therapeutic, and other needs.

      TERRAFORMING AND SPACE ECOLOGY

    • Develop strategies for responsible terraforming of celestial bodies including the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and other orbital habitats.
    • Propose ethical, philosophical or legal studies on the issues and opportunities involved in creating new ecosystems in these environments.
    • Recommend genetic and or synthetic biological approaches for accelerating the terraforming process and making these environments more sustainable and habitable in a significantly shorter time frame.

      ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS MODELS

    • Propose an economically viable plan for In Situ resource utilization and manufacturing on planetary or asteroid surface that allows for an import/export commodity market.
    • Explore new funding models for emerging space industries, including but not limited to venture capital, philanthropy, and other forms.
    • Identify business models, financial and incentive structures that enable permanent Lunar, Martian, and orbital settlements in the next ten years. Identify critical high-level technical solutions that address/stimulate these potential models or structures.
    • Propose alternative business models and financing plans that create economic returns for space industry in short (5 years), medium (10 years) and long-term (20 years).
    • Identify scientific, educational, and technology development related missions and payloads, that could be conducted in the outer space in the next five years. Identify current barriers that inhibit these opportunities and suggest commercial or regulatory measures for overcoming them.
    • Identify key players in the private sector who have an interest in conducting commercial activities to and on the Moon, Mars and LEO environments in the near (5 years) and medium (10 years) term, and how they might collaborate to fund space habitation.

      GOVERNANCE AND LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

    • Introduce new governmental institutions and models of collaboration that enable adept colonisation of space settlements.
    • Propose national policies that will promote awareness in society regarding space settlement realities and benefits.

  • Suitability

    Grants are intended for research projects that are:
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    • Early or conceptual stage;
    • Ambitious and innovative (high-risk, high-reward);
    • Relevant to suggested topics;
    • Projects may later go on to form part of a more substantial grant or project.

  • Allowable costs

    The support includes all relevant and justified research costs (such as support for postdoctoral fellows and student researchers, costs of collaboration, travel, equipment, publications, materials, and consumables) as well as indirect costs (institutional overhead).
    All costs should be directly related to conducting your research and accomplishing proposal objectives.
    Maximum allowable budget is 60 000 AED (approx. 16 000 USD).

    Expected deliverables

    A final summary of the work will be submitted through Guaana.com platform. Final summary is a publishable report of the entire project and should include the executive summary, project context and objectives, overview of the main results and potential impact or implementation opportunities. This should be followed by the conclusions of the project and any additional media or data you consider necessary to support the overall understanding of the project.
    Final summary must be submitted within 30 days from the end of grant duration and recommended length is between minimum 10 and maximum 15 printed pages. The final summary must be written in an understandable style for a non-specialist audience.
    Failure to submit required summary will make the applicant ineligible for future funding.

    Evaluation and selection process

    Guaana uses a novel funding model, where applicants are also the reviewers and collectively the committee. All funding decisions are solely based on the combined score of reviews and highest ranking proposals are granted funding.
    Each applicant is required to evaluate 3 other proposals submitted to the call and depending on the subsequent ranking, some participants are required to review one additional proposal.
    This unique review model is aimed at encouraging fair and constructive peer evaluations within an autonomous group that decides which proposals get funded. All peer-reviews of winning projects will be made public, including the identity of the reviewer. If your project does not get funded, you still receive at least three peer-reviews for your effort.
    See process for detailed explanation.

    Evaluation criteria

    Proposals are evaluated through numerical scoring and written feedback using the following criteria:
    Creativity, originality, and potential impact
  • • The project suggests and explores creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts.
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    Impact, relevance, and rationale
  • • Rationale for the project is clearly stated in the context of present knowledge.
    • The results are likely to be high impact.
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    Approach
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    • The objectives are reasonable given the funds and time provided.
    • The work plan is is well-reasoned and appropriate to the objectives.
    • The deliverables are well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish described work plan.
    • The costs are well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the described deliverables.