A digital illustration of a young astronaut in a blue space suit against a swirling purple and orange background
“We saw what Greta Thunberg did for the climate change debate,” Rebecca Everden, space director in the U.K. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said in June at the Secure World Foundation’s Summit for Space Sustainability in New York. “We need a Greta for space sustainability. If somebody out there wants to be Greta, please stand up.”

Climate activist Greta Thunberg’s impact on the environmental movement has sparked a call for a similar advocate in the field of space sustainability. While finding another Greta is a tall order, the space sector is seeing a surge in young professionals passionate about the sustainability of space and its connection to Earth’s well-being.

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Brian Berger is editor in chief of SpaceNews.com and the SpaceNews magazine. He joined SpaceNews.com in 1998, spending his first decade with the publication covering NASA. He was named senior staff writer in 2004, a position he held until being named...