Press Release – MVA and SDA Bocconi University sign a Memorandum of Understanding

Vienna, Austria – (November 9 2022)

On 9th November, 2022 during the Moon Village Association’s Workshop and Symposium taking place in Los Angeles, California, leaders of the MVA and of the Space Economy Evolution LAB of the Bocconi University’s School of Management announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for furthering their shared goals of researching the developments in the space sector, particularly with respect to future development, including commercial initiatives, of the Moon.

The purpose of the MoU is to establish a partnership of collaboration and cooperation mainly between Bocconi University Business School’s Space Economy Evolution (SEE) Lab and the MVA’s Working Group on Lunar Commerce and Economics to investigate potential commercial businesses on the Moon. The first task under the MoU will be to jointly use the Lunar Commerce Portfolio and its constituent models, developed by the Working Group on Lunar Commerce and Economics and launched today at the Los Angeles Workshop and Symposium, to explore via interaction with stakeholders in government and industry the impacts on potential lunar commerce revenues of changes in strategic, business and regulatory environments.

Giuseppe Reibaldi, President of the Moon Village Association, stated that “The Lunar Commerce Portfolio is the result of 2 years of work by volunteer members of the MVA’s Working Group on Lunar Commerce and Economics, and is, we believe a significant asset in understanding the potential interactions of commercial businesses on the Moon and terrestrial regulatory environments. The Lunar Commerce Portfolio defines 9 possible markets and its possible value chains. We look forward to having SEE Lab help us refine the models and assumptions, working towards reducing uncertainties and therefore the risks.”

Simonetta di Pippo, Director of SEE Lab, stated that “Signing an MoU with the Moon Village Association is extremely important for us and our strategic objectives. SEE Lab aims at becoming the center of excellence in research and evaluation in the field of space economy, and MVA advanced amazingly in a field, lunar commerce and economics, which is at the heart of the SEE Lab activities. Moon exploration will be soon the new frontier of innovation and technology, and we cannot miss the opportunity to be in the front row. Partnering with MVA was therefore the right step to take in this direction”

For more information about the Moon Village Association, please contact:

Glafki Antoniou                                                              
Management Support Officer and Public Relations
Email: gro.n1713548795oitai1713548795cossa1713548795egall1713548795ivnoo1713548795m@uoi1713548795notna1713548795.ikfa1713548795lg1713548795
For more information, visit the website at: www.moonvillageassociation.org .

About the Moon Village Association 

The Moon Village Association (MVA) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Vienna, founded in 2017. Its goal is the creation of a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders like governments, industry, academia and the general public interested in the development of the Moon Village. The MVA is the assembling of all efforts from private industry, governments and others aimed to explore and use the Moon in a sustainable manner. The MVA fosters cooperation for existing or planned Moon exploration programs, be they public or private initiatives. It comprises more than 600 participants to MVA activities and 27 institutional members from more than 60 countries, representing a diverse array of technical, scientific, cultural and interdisciplinary fields. The MVA partners with non-space organizations to promote international discussions and formulation of plans to foster the development of the Moon Village, and is creating international, national and regional networks to engage civil society around the world. The Moon Village Association’s mission is unique, bridging together both spacefaring and non-spacefaring nations offering them the opportunity to play a role in its realization. There is no other organization on the international scene having such a mission.

About SDA Bocconi and the SEE Lab

SDA Bocconi School of Management is the Business School of Bocconi University, based in Milan. Founded in 1971, it gathers worldwide-level Faculty Professors and Researchers offering top-level education and research to companies, institutions and other stakeholders in the Management, Strategy, Finance and policy fields. In its structure, it includes several laboratories and research center, of which the SEE Lab is one of the most promising.

The Space Economy Evolution Lab offers a multidisciplinary perspective within the space sector: economic, technological, and policy factors are all integrated in its academic works. 

Founded in 2018 by Professor Andrea Sommariva (economist), under the shared vision of Professor Giovanni (Nanni) Bignami (astrophysicist), the SEE Lab was the first research center at the global level dedicated to the analysis of the economy of space.

The SEE Lab’s Mission is to train future leaders with an out-of-the-box perspective, by generating and disseminating comprehensive knowledge on the key aspects of space economy in the short, medium and long term. For accomplishing such goals, the SEE Lab delivers strategic insights to private and public institutions to gauge the opportunities presented by space sector.