The past week marks the beginning of the work needed for parliaments next digital sitting at the end of May. Parliamentarians are focussing on the legislative foundations that will help with Asgardia’s economic growth and its mission of humanity living, and thriving, in space.

Parliament Chairman Lembit Öpik went over the short term calendar of events for Parliament. In the next three months, there will be an economic meeting planned for March 21/22, parliaments all day working meeting on April 4, and the next digital sitting tentatively set for the weekend of May 24.

Members of Parliament discussed the Currency Act, a priority piece of legislation to go with the upcoming key Acts to help with Asgardia’s economic growth. Parliament will be looking into forming a currency logistics team to ensure that all currency information is clear and available so that there will be a smooth launch of the SOLAR and Asgardia’s economy can continue to grow.

The Chairman has continued to work with the parliament support team on the coordination of parliament meeting live-streams. The goal is to have it ready by the digital sitting and then for future meetings of parliament. These will open transparency of the work being done on behalf of the Asgardia community and increase understanding of the future plans of Asgardia.

There was a short discussion about historical archives of parliamentary communications and meetings as well as a brief presentation of Asgardia’s social media and community happenings.

Parliamentary work has been focused on preparations for the upcoming digital sitting. Pending legislation continues to be refined and avenues for more are being identified.

Chairman Lembit Öpik has been meeting with the developers of Zoom, the platform in which the Asgardia Parliament uses to communicate during their meetings, to help develop translation and technological tools for Asgardia. Parliament plans on continuing to use this platform and hopes for a closer relationship with the business. Chairman Öpik spoke briefly about a technology company that has approached Asgardia about offering its products to Asgardians but details have yet to be worked out. As the conversation moves forward, more information will be made available.

AMP Fernando Jimenez Motte, with the support of fellow MPs and Ministry committees, has been hard at work preparing the Asgardia Industry Standards Act (AIS) that will follow up the key business acts that will be discussed at the digital meeting. This Act will help set standards for businesses to conduct business within the Asgardia platform. Research is continuing to find best practices and fair policy examples from around the world which may be incorporated.

During the meeting, the Chairman and MPs had a conversation about Asgardia’s currency, the SOLAR, and it’s status of development. They stressed how important that launching it was for Asgardia’s economy and that its value should be based on a stable commodity. Work by the Administration, Government, Parliament and support teams is ongoing to launch the currency as soon as possible.

The meeting then moved to a conversation about the diplomatic recognition of Asgardia and its status as a nation. AMP Ben Dell offered this quote from a consultant helping with Asgardia:

“Diplomatic recognition will come after industry, finance and community recognition.”

This week, Asgardia’s parliament moves closer to passing key legislation and setting precedence as the most organized parliamentary systems in the world, working at every level of parliament. It also brought back Head of Administration of the Head of Nation Lena De Winne to attending the weekly meeting which ensures a closer relationship between parliament and the administration of Asgardia.

Chairman Parliament Lembit Öpik reported the results from the all-day leadership meeting in Dubai on Aquarius 24 / January 24 that he attended with Asgardia’s Head of Nation, Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli, and Lena De Winne. At the meeting, the Head of Nation was presented with all current pieces of legislation as well as the agenda for the upcoming digital sitting of parliament that will be held Aries 3 - 5, 0004 / February 28 - March 1, 2020. After review and discussion, Dr. Ashurbeyli expressed his support and appreciation of the work being conducted by the members of parliament.

The Chairman conducted a brief review of the timetable of the upcoming parliamentary digital sitting. The parliamentary coordination team was also reported to be working on adding a Turkish language translation channel to the formal meetings of parliament being held on the Zoom platform. The plan is to eventually have all 12 languages of Asgardia available to provide greater accessibility to all parliamentarians during the meetings.

It was formally reported the resignations of two members of parliament, Helena Aramendia, and Sergei Sergieiev. AMPs expressed their disappointment at losing two dedicated and valuable members of parliament but wished them well in their future endeavors. The contributions they made to the building of our nation will forever be appreciated and be a valuable part of the foundations of Asgardia.

The MPs discussed the freedom of speech and the exchange of opinions in Asgardia. All participants of the discussion agreed that this is one of the core values of Asgardia that everyone has the right to exercise. They also addressed how to further improve routines of collaboration between the independent branches of power within Asgardia.

MP Salvos Mouzakitis talked about licensing Asgardia trademarked symbols and name and how it might work. He and MP Ben Dell are working on a proposal with Ben Dell that they are hoping to have completed the next digital sitting.

We’re hot off the heels of the 4th Parliamentary sitting that took place in Tallinn, Estonia between 23-25 November and we wanted to give a little rundown of our time at this groundbreaking physical sitting. The Physical sitting was opened by the Chairman of Parliament, Lembit Opik (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z642ZH9KWGw) and this was followed by a presentation of eight laws that were under consideration or development. Members of Parliament were asked to consider if they should work on those laws over the next months. The laws in question are: Asgardia Business Act Asgardia Companies Act Asgardia Intellectual Properties Act Medical Insurance Act Information Safety and Security Law Domicile Act National Bank and National Currency Law National Bank Law Following the presentation of these laws for Parliamentary consideration, the Deputy Chairman of Parliament, Ben Dell presented a possible economic model that would be implemented by Asgardia. At the end of the day, the Members of Parliament congregated in the heart of Tallinn where we enjoyed some time socialising at a traditional restaurant. Sunday saw the Head of Nation, Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli open the 2nd Executive Congress. Parliament were shown several interesting presentations including an overview of the future of Law in Asgardia taking into account different law systems in the world and how to create an online environment for it. The presentation by Professor Jahku was particularly pertinent as it related to the militarization of space, something that Asgardia has been openly opposed to as we wish for the peaceful occupation of space. In the afternoon, Parliament continued with the presentation of the bill of rights. This version of the bill of rights was approved and details will be released about what that contains in due time. In addition to the bill of rights, the Civil Service Act was given its first reading and further work on the bill was approved for the coming months. Leon Shpilsky, the Minister of Finance presented the financial report for the first half of 2019 to the gathered Parliament - this was a key focus for us as we drive forward to develop systems and help to refine Asgardia’s economy. While we don’t have any information to share on that at the moment, it was very good to know where we stand at the moment. The Head of Nation has been investing heavily in Asgardia to ensure that we have the time needed to expand and develop our own economy and to become self-sufficient. And inline with the decrees made, the Head of Nation ceased his funding of Asgardia, but continued to pay investments in beyond that date to support the Nation - a plan was outlined out to investigate and develop a procedure to return investments that were made into Asgardia beyond this cut-off date. On Monday, the final day of the Physical Sitting, we had the results of the voting and attended a presentation about how the Estonian Government-run their ‘e-government’ and ‘e-citizenship’. Estonia is currently one of the world leaders in this area so it was very interesting to see how other nations are handling it. It is expected that we will be able to share the results of the items were voted on in the coming days. The final day closed with a highly productive session that was held together with the Government - it was a truly inspiriting meeting and a great opportunity to work together, share information and make sure that our goals are aligned. Finally, the session was officially closed and the members of Parliament said their farewells to return with renewed energy, high morale and a sense of urgency for the future development of our Space Nation. 2020 will bring a lot of new and exciting changes to Asgardia, so make sure that you keep an eye out for announcements and get ready to take the next step forward with us.

I can tell you without equivocation, as I fly home in this airliner 40000 feet above the earth surface, that I have just had one of the most fascinating, captivating, revelatory and fulfilling months of my life, and it’s all due to my life as an Asgardian, and specifically as a member of Asgardia’s parliament. I marvel at all the adventures I’ve had since I left my home over a month ago, starting with attending the Asgardia Space Science and Investment Conference in Darmstadt, Germany, followed closely by participating in the first ever World Space Forum sponsored by the United Nations in Vienna Austria, then to report immediately to the Second Physical Sitting of the Parliament of Asgardia in Tallinn, Estonia. My dear Asgardian friends, can you imagine spending three straight days, listening to the most interesting cutting edge space technologies and research, then being able to approach those very scientists and astronauts and ask any questions you’d like, discuss their theories, and even brainstorm about possible solutions to current challenges right there with them? That is how the meeting in Darmstadt was and I was in “seventh heaven” the whole time! Actually, I must admit that I learned A LOT, and some of the challenges regarding life in space are subtle, complex and difficult to manage at this moment of time...but I do know we will tackle any and all of the challenges we face, as our human race always seems to do, it’s just a matter of time. Several presenters spoke about aspects of the topic of birth in space...Did you know that baby mice do not develop several important mammalian reflexes when they are gestated and born in space? Why? Naturally this might happen, because our biological and neurological functions are designed from conception to interact with gravity. Dr Sayaka Wakayama of the University of Yamanashi, Japan, presented her “Space Pup” program, showed us her uniquely designed ISS mouse habitat, with descriptions of her experiments, including critical aspects of habitat module design. She described how essential the ability to load and off-load the mouse experiment module from the launch capsule very quickly is critical, because every moment in gravity affects the results of the gravity-free studies being done. So many factors must be taken into account when designing experiments for the space environment! When collected upon return to earth, one by one, the tiny “Space Pups” were delicately lowered into perfect baby mouse temperature water on their backs with their feet up, to test the in-born mammalian reflex of first orienting itself in relation to gravity (feet downward toward the earth) and making “swimming” type movements when immersed in water. The new Space Pups did neither, floating all the way to the bottom of the tank on their backs, motionless. Were their baby brains damaged? Apparently not, after a few days of life in a gravity environment, they all flipped themselves over and swam nicely, no different than the baby mouse controls. (For more information about this project: https://history.nasa.gov/PDFs/effects_of_space_environment_on_mammalian_reproduction.pdf) Dr. Egbert Edelbroek of SpaceBorn United, presented on their LEO (low earth orbit) human birth project. SpaceBorn United (www.spacebornunited.com ) is preparing to launch a manned space vehicle into orbit with a pregnant woman on board that is within a few days of delivery. The experiments are designed around the childbirth itself, and as scary and unsafe as that may sound, the space vehicle’s delivery room would be equipped with everything the mother and child might need, with all the appropriate support equipment and optimally trained staff. Likewise, the birth mother would be fully trained and prepared for the unusual delivery setting and circumstances. Pools of 50 women each at similar stages of gestation would be available, (in case the actual launch is a delayed or rescheduled) and the lucky mother chosen is required to have met a number of important health and fitness criteria, including her age and having given birth twice successfully with no complications recorded for mother or baby. Believe it or not, many women would love to birth the first baby in space. Hundreds of women have already volunteered for consideration for the birth mother pool , participate in preliminary research and are even willing to time their pregnancies to accommodate a potential launch date of the SpaceBorn United space vehicle. What implications do experiments and projects like these have on developing human embryos and infants, both physiologically and neurologically, as we prepare to establish our space nation, including propagation of human life ? This was brought up in one of the panel discussion following Dr. Edelbroek’s presentation. Dr. Joseph Parker of Advanced Research Concepts Ltd. and Prof. Jeffrey Alberts of Indiana University, also participated in presentations and panels with their gestational research. Naturally, since one of Asgardia’s stated goals is to secure safe childbirth and human propagation in the outer space environment, (after all we will not survive in space in the long term, or at far distances, without mastering this vital function) Asgardia will be actively watching developments in this sector of space research. Other topics of research described in the Space and Investment Conference with our theme “Paving the Way into Space” were Space Habitation Design, Artificial Gravity production, Low Gravity effects on Astronauts along with Countermeasures research, studies on the dreaded “Coriolis Effect” research (Extreme vertigo manifesting in the Low Gravity Environment), Cosmic Radiation Protection, Space Societal development and Space Investment Perspectives. Astronauts Frank DeWinne and Chris Schiff gave personal accounts of life on the ISS, as well as research and other activities related to life in Space. Awards for Scientific Achievement and Student participation were also presented. While at the Asgardia Science Conference, I received a formal invitation to participate at the first annual World Space Forum, co-hosted by the United Nations, Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Austrian Federal (look it up) in Vienna Austria. I have attended United Nations events in NYC, most recently in March of this year, but this was my first official invitation to attend a UN event of this scope in my role as an Asgardian member of parliament. Vienna is also a founding headquarters of Asgardia, a lovely setting for this World Space Forum event in so many ways. As I entered the lavish reception room in the Vienna City Hall for the World Space Forum Opening Reception, I walked up to a small group of people at random and introduced myself as a representative of the Space Nation Asgardia. Immediately, a young woman raised her hand in pleasant surprise and said, “Oh, Asgardia? I’m an Asgardian!” Her name was Kim Macharia, representing ConsenSYS, (www.ConsenSys.net) who was presenting at WSF about a Space Sustainability phone application under development and youth programs associated that people can use to help identify and track space satellites and space debris. [ConsenSys link here] The dynamic of introducing myself as Asgardian in various settings at this meeting during the World Space Forum with someone in the group also identifying themselves as Asgardian was very gratifying and happened at least half a dozen times over the week. I also noted a general atmosphere of acceptance, support and openness to the Asgardian project of establishing the nation in Low Earth Orbit and beyond, which really helped put me at ease. The sheer number of Asgardians present at the World Space Forum in their various capacities proved our active and relevant participation at the first meeting of this kind under the United Nations umbrella. This year’s World Space Forum topics were based heavily on presentations that demonstrated one or more attributes of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in developing the international space environment. I met many dedicated and highly professional experts from a number of Space-related fields, a dynamic and energetic group of individuals deeply committed to the responsible, sustainable and peaceful settlement of space. The Low Earth Orbit over our planet Earth represents a new frontier of accelerated development and pioneering, and seems a bit like America’s “Wild West” in some respects. The lack of internationally agreed governance of the space above our earth adds elements both of high risk to space structures without liability and extremely hazardous conditions due to irresponsible disposal of space debris, and lack of respect for conditions up there, as well as respect for boundaries reflect conditions similar to some areas of Earth itself... The United Nations does not write or legislate international laws, but it does set policies that nations and international legislative bodies then use to write their laws, and the UN takes that role quite seriuosly. It was gratifying to be with my fellow Asgardians at the Space Forum, discussing and debating with other NGO’s and Space Agencies, helping influence the many and varied issues of peaceful sustainable space development at hand. One other important and influential Asgardian in attendance at this year’s World Space Forum was former Romanian Cosmonaut and mission commander Dimitru-Dorin Prunariu, who was in attendance at the Space Forum representing the Romanian Space Agency. He is also a prominent, respected and valued member of our Asgardian parliament, and his deep knowledge and understanding of both the space environment directly and his years of involvement with the United Nations and the Commission for the Peaceful Uses of Space (COPUS) as well as many such space related organizations makes Mr. (Dr.?) Prunariu a vital and highly valued member of our Asgardian community with respect to governance, foreign affairs in general and the UN in particular. I am honored to be collaborating with him now in developing Asgardia’s United Nations relationships going forward. It was fantastic to transition from this successful participation in the World Space Forum straight into the VI Sitting of Parliament and Executive Congress in Tallinn, Estonia. The benefits of physically being with my colleagues was immediately apparent, besides all the warm welcomes of this Asgardian family of colleagues, I was able to immediately collaborate and discuss my various findings with all my colleagues at once. Lively deliberation among colleagues on legislative proposals presented on the parliamentary agenda started immediately upon arrival to the hotel in Tallinn, before the official sitting even convened. No need to wait, we all got right to work! Also, I was able give pertinent important contacts and messages to my colleagues and to government for action and consideration without delay. I was privileged to meet personally during the physical sitting with our Head of Nation Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli, who informed me that he is promoting Ms. Irina Nikitina to a new position in his administration, and offered me promotion to Chair of the Culture Committee, an offer I graciously and gratefully accepted. After giving him my full report of my activities at the UN World Space Forum, Dr. Ashurbeyli gave his recommendations for further action and also connected me with the proper knowledgeable authorities within government, like Mr. Prunariu, and the legal persons working on United Nations and other statehood matters, to form an effective and efficient action team going forward. It was my privilege to join my fellow chairs at the executive table, in order to debate, contribute my report on my committee’s achievements last year, as well as plans for next year, and announce and describe our Asgardian Parliamentary Space Art Competition, (www.APSAC.space) now in progress. It is interesting to experience the feeling of meeting my parliamentary colleagues in person for only the second time, and some in government for only the first time, but already knowing everyone so well within the framework of our digital platform and after a year of interactive collaboration. This physical sitting was as much an atmosphere of family reunion, with warm hugs and friendly camaraderie all around, as efficient and effective legislative meeting and associated actions, creating a very intense and focused three days. We accomplished a lot in this session, and we have a clear direction for the future, as delineated by our Head of Nation, our Chairs of Parliament and Government, our Supreme Court, and all our leadership. I had a splendid time in Tallinn, and it was a perfect and triumphant finish to a month of space-related activities with and progress on behalf of Asgardia, our Space Nation. I’m very grateful to all involved in contributing to this abundance of success, and look forward with optimism to the next year of progress building our Space Nation. Considering how much progress has occurred in just a very few years , I’m excited about the possibilities to come over the next year, knowing from direct experience, the watchful respect and building support of so many others in the UN and elsewhere, as we continue to grow our unique, extraordinary, and indeed other-worldly, Space Nation, Asgardia. Please subscribe to the Asgardia Official YouTube channel to experience the physical meeting, and watch more recorded presentations, interviews and discussions of this conference [www.asgardia.space] along all our other fascinating Asgardian activities. Feel free to share this article if you like, using the #AsgardiaSpaceNation hashtag.

With the Physical Sitting due to take place in Tallinn just days away on 23-25 NOV, Parliament is all systems go for this groundbreaking event. Much of Parliament this week has been preparing for the Physical Sitting. As well as the huge logistical undertakings that need to be completed to move over 150 people from all over the world to one single place, there are also agendas that need to be finalised, draw laws that need to be completed and presentations that need to be prepared. Both the Government and Parliament will be attending the Sitting which is starting to shape up to become somewhat of a summit on Asgardia’s future economy with several interesting pieces of legislation on the table that would allow Asgardian Residents to start launching their own businesses in Asgardia. The sitting will have full digital capabilities to ensure that elected officials that are unable to attend physically will still be able to attend. Live interpretation will also be provided by highly skilled interpreters to further ensure that there are high levels of participation from members. Asgardia will be using its new and improved voting system that was launched earlier in the year - the system has multiple backups, DDoS protection and redundancies to ensure that the vote is both stable and secure for these important democratic moments in our journey. During Asgardia’s time in Tallin, officials have also been reaching out to the Government of Estonia to see what opportunities might be there to spend some time with their officials and it is expected that a meeting will be held to get a showcase of Estonia’s world-class e-residency capabilities and the potential for other bilateral opportunities may be possible, too. The sitting is starting to attract media attention with press taking an interest in the unique nature of Asgardia’s visit to Tallinn to discuss a future space-minded economic model and it is expected that press may arrive at the sitting in order to interview members of Parliament and other Asgardian officials. If you’d like to contact your elected officials regarding any matters at all, including the future of Asgardia’s economy, you can make your voice heard by sending an email directly to Parliament at the following address: crd.parliament@asgardia.space If you would like to support the nation, you can do so by paying a voluntary contribution called the “Residence Fee” - This 100 Euro contribution will give you the standing of a Resident in Asgardia and the money will go directly into the development of Asgardia and help get us all one step closer to space. Click on your profile picture > Select ‘Government Services’ from the menu > Select ‘Pay Residence Fee’

In this update, we’re going to be giving information about the upcoming Physical Sitting and sharing the exciting news about Parliament’s official Space Art Contest. Asgardia’s Parliament has officially launched its SPACE ART COMPETITION. The focus of this competition is Space Art and other Visionary Art dedicated to our life in space as Asgardians. This event is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Culture Committee of the Parliament of Asgardia. It is intended to discover, acknowledge and promote talented space artists, both professional and amateur, whose creative ideas and inspirations help inform and spark artistic beauty, scientific thought, technological innovation and progress in Space Research. This competition is fully digital, so images of 2D and 3D work alike can be submitted. The show will be curated. This event and the award winners will also be exhibited and promoted extensively online at asgardia.space, as well as through media and social media coverage at this year's annual Asgardian Parliamentary Sitting and throughout the competition. To learn more, including on how you can enter and what the prizes are for the winners, please visit the official competition website: http://apsac.space/ With just 12 days to go until the PHYSICAL SITTING in Estonia, Parliament has been abuzz with activity ahead of this pivotal Asgardian political event - The session is going to see both the Parliament and the Government coming together in force to tackle the highly complex challenge of developing Asgardia’s economy. As a nation that has our eyes on the future, and on space, in particular, we have some very interesting challenges that our economy will need to solve. In order to provide our Residents and Citizens with services that will enrich their lives and in order to provide space habitation to the people of our nation, Asgardia is going to need a robust economy that is capable of pulling in enough funds to undertake these tasks. But our economy goes beyond that - it needs to be something that takes into account the fact that we will be a spacefaring nation. So this is going to need to eventually be reflected in our laws and standards - the fact that we’ll be in space opens up a range of possible avenues for revenue. Of course, that’s a bit more of a distant concern, and our immediate focus will be on leveraging the earth-based economies with a focus on digital services and co-branding elements. A lot of legislation has been brought to the fore to help with this including AIS - the Asgardia Institute of Standards and BDAR - the Business Development and Registration database. These tools will allow Asgardians to start to actually implement their businesses in our Nation and start to sell goods and services to one another. At the Physical Sitting, all of these pieces of legislation that have been developed over the past year will be put to the test as they are debated and voted upon.