About

The Moon Village Association (MVA) was created in 2017 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Vienna, Austria. MVA acts as a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders like governments, industry, academia and the public interested in the development of the Moon Village. The MVA fosters cooperation among existing or planned public or private global moon exploration programs.  It comprises more than 600 participants to MVA activities and 33 institutional members from more than 65 countries, representing a diverse array of technical, scientific, cultural and interdisciplinary fields.

MVA partners with other organizations to promote international discussions and formulation of plans to foster the implementation of the Moon Village and is creating international, national and regional networks to engage civil society around the world.

Objectives

The Moon Village Association was founded as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), registered in Vienna in 2017 with the aim of fostering the realization of the Moon Village.

The Moon Village being global by definition needs to be brought on the political agenda of as many national governments and private sector organizations as possible. This task requires communication of the Moon Village with all major parts of the society with the goal of engaging them in its implementation. The Moon Village Association provides a platform and takes actions supporting communications and cooperation among all elements of the human society vis-à-vis the Moon Village, including both space-faring and not space-faring countries and offers them the opportunity to play a role in its realization.

There is no other organization on the international scene having such a mission.

The political implications and importance of the Moon Village demands of necessity that it involve a broad spectrum of stakeholders beyond the usual space community: including the industrial and financial sectors, the scientific community, media, the entertainment sector, the artistic and literary communities, educators, and others.

However, first and foremost the MVA establishes relations with those who are, or plan to be active participants in the exploration, development and eventual settlement of the Moon. They include leading space agencies working in cooperation (e.g., ISECG, ISEF, ILEWG) on various specific programs for lunar exploration, as well as private companies investing in lunar technology. These programs and plans provide the most concrete arguments to be employed in convincing society and diverse decision-makers of the expected benefits that may result from implementation of the Moon Village concept. At the same time, the MVA represents a network helping to build relationships among space and non-space actors to make their mutual communication more efficient and results more successful.

In particular, the MVA seeks to:

• Consolidate a compelling shared vision of the Moon Village that fosters a sense of belonging and inspires a group of people to create it together.
• Support the creation of a new open dynamic that includes ideas from space agencies, commercial space, donors, philanthropists, and citizens from all countries.
• Stimulate global awareness of the prospective benefits of the Moon Village, with arguments about how individuals, countries, regions, and the environment will benefit from establishing a permanent presence on and near the Moon.
• Facilitate discussions with financial industry experts and entities with the goal of establishing the necessary financial means to support the development of the Moon Village and associated economic activities.
• Create a paradigm shift in how international space missions are being designed – toward faster, lower cost, more creative and collaborative approaches.
• Foster the Moon Village vision to society at large to engage citizen worldwide.
• Act as a representative of the civil society and international space community in the decision-making process which is assessing or related to the Moon Village concept.

Features

Hereafter are the main features of the Moon Village Association:

• Neutral: Politically neutral, which means that no organization or country will have a predominant role in opportunity to participate in formulation of the Moon Village concept.
• Global: Global endeavor that aims to promote the participation from as many countries as possible, including those countries who do not have the budget to contribute with hardware to the MVA but that can contribute with ideas, capacity building, and awareness efforts.
• Inclusive: It is inclusive of all disciplines from scientific to humanistic. It endorses a holistic approach to the next giant step of Humankind.
• Cooperative: It seeks to avoid duplication of efforts with other stakeholders like Space Agencies and industries, but encourages creation of synergies on all Moon-related topics by providing a forum among all stakeholders.
• Not formal: Participation is largely informal, meaning that governments and Space Agencies can join with an in-kind contribution only, and no requirement for a formal ratification of activities or need to elaborate official policy positions.
• Consensus building: Will help to create a consensus on different topics. For example, by reaching an agreement on a standard for Moon mission’s communication or rule of cooperation without any formal bilateral agreements by the stakeholders.
• Participative: Open to all stakeholders including the public. The public has always been excluded in the creation and implementation of space programs. The MVA aims to involve the public in the definition of the MVA by creating awareness and opening the possibility for individuals to join in.
• Autonomous: Funded via individual and institutional membership and also through the sponsorship of events.
• Unique Platform: Similar platforms exist, but are mainly thematic organizations like the LEAG (Lunar Exploration Advisory Council), which are mainly scientific as well as others involving space agencies (i.e. ISECG, ISEF, ILEWG) but none of those have a ‘all in one’ approach.

MVA Value Proposition

The Moon Village Association delivers to its members, and also to the public:

• A coherent vision of the Humanity’s future and the Moon, including government, commercial, scientific and individual opportunities;
• Concise, value-added Information on global activities related to the Moon, including national programs, commercial opportunities, new technologies and governance-related developments;
• Results of studies, modeling, research and meetings involving government, commercial  academic, non-governmental organizations and others – with particular focus on the longer-term future of humanity and the Moon;
• Access to subject matter experts for educational, commercial and governmental purposes; and,
• A forum for bi-lateral and multi-lateral discussions concerning cooperation and coordination of lunar related activities.