Humans have always been starbound. But what was once a distant realm of the sacred is now a place we can reach and travel. Space is a frontier, a market, a research laboratory, and a potential industrial zone full of opportunities and resources – satellites, data, minerals, power, planets – that are of great interest to not only national entities, but also commercial actors.
In this course, we unpack the history and future of this complex geopolitical development. We explore the new space technologies and the private actors that produce them, nations and the emerging battle over ‘digital sovereignty’ between them, as well as the tech-titans, whose commercial monopolies and grand civilizational ideas push much of the current space race forward. We will unpack the ideas, religions and mythologies that surround human perceptions of the universe and the not just legal, but profoundly ethical – even existential – choices that will surround human expansion beyond Earth in the future.
Syllabus
Summer 2027
This is a draft syllabus. The final syllabus will be available here a few days prior to the new course’s first start date.
LL.M Law, University of Copenhagen, 1995 & licensed Advokat. Member of the Council of Europe Network of Specialised Lawyers & NGOs providing legal assistance to victims of trafficking since 2016. Nominated Expert for GRETA, expert group under The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, by Danish Ministry of Justice several times. Passion for space and astro politics, and the balance between commercialization, sustainability and exploration of space. Educated in space law, including at ALTI Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Works as General Counsel in FinTech. With DIS since 2025.
Long Study Tour
About this tour
This week-long Study Tour will provide students with a unique visit to Europe’s only inland space launch and test facility as well as a firsthand encounter with the stunning beauty and ancient mythologies of the Arctic Night Sky. It will also introduce students to cutting-edge space climate researchers, as well as to the local tensions and ecological implications of new technologies.
We will visit research labs and weather stations to get a handle on how satellites now play a vital part in climate modelling. We will hike in Abisko National Park, where nocturnal animals native to the tundra lives. We will learn of their importance to the Sámi, but also to the ecosystems around them, and of the disruption caused to their patterns of navigation by an increase in satellites and space light pollution. At the Ice Hotel, we will carve ice sculptures and look out for Northern Lights.
This Study Tour will be a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience and a very special place to hike, learn, connect, reflect and socialize.
Learning outcomes
Understand the many forms of “extraction” occurring in Arctic Sweden – material, digital, symbolic
Gain a hands-on experience with how human activities impact the environment, biodiversity and social dynamics of modern Arctic Sweden
Obtain an understanding why the Arctic has become a desired arena for technological experimentation
Appreciate the role of ideas, worldviews, and mythologies in the development and critique of new technologies
Possible activities
Get a unique tour of the Kiruna’s Space Port Esrange
Get an underground tour of Kiruna’s LKAB Iron Ore Mine
Visit Sámi Indigenous villages and speak to Sámi environmental activists
Get a guided tour of the recent relocation of Kiruna
Watch Northern Lights and hike in Abisko National Park
Carve ice sculptures at the spectacular Ice Hotel
Looking for some advice? We’ll support you every step of the way.
