Since 2007, the European Science Foundation (ESF) has been exploring the social science and humanities (SSH)dimension of the exploration and use of outer space. A workshop and two conferences were organised jointly withthe European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) and the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) and this activityhas resulted in, among other things, one ESF position paper and two books on SSH topics related to outer spacepublished with ESPI. In a recent scoping workshop it was concluded that there was a need to identify a coherent,future-oriented research agenda for SSH research in relation to space, aimed at catering to the unmet, and in manyways still unarticulated, needs of the space research and space policy communities. Research in the exploration anduse of space is currently mostly an affair of the natural and engineering sciences, and this may create a blind spot foropportunities, challenges and threats related to the increased possibilities that space offers. Increasingly it is clearthat SSH research is important for understanding certain key questions in space research and for informing policymakersand major space stakeholders. Space offers new opportunities and challenges to humankind and insights fromSSH research are needed to identify, understand, evaluate and manage these. Issues range from more or less obvioustopics such as Earth monitoring, space security, space situational awareness, space pollution, space-enabled researchand services, space industry, space-derived applications, to (perhaps) less obvious topics such as cultural differencesbetween space nations or the impact of space exploration on religion. Space-based assets have become indispensableenablers for a wide spectrum of applications, and the dependency on these assets will grow. Yet, the new possibilitiesraise many legal, socio-economic, ethical and institutional issues. Bringing the SSH and space communities closertogether is especially important for more accurately identifying the possible future(s) of the exploration and use ofspace; to assess the possible implications of these future(s) for society; and to give input for well-informed choiceson these issues. A better insight in future developments with regard to the use of space will help identifying newquestions for research and policy. In line with these observations, the Standing Committees for Social Sciences andHumanities and the European Space Sciences Committee of ESF recommend the development of a foresight study tomap SSH research in the area of space, identify knowledge gaps and come up with a research agenda.
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