Keywords

We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones. (Jules Verne)

1 Introduction

Using artificial intelligence-guided manufacturing to build a biomedical device on a planet other than Earth where pressure is stable and more precision would be gained for someone awaiting a surgical intervention in Chicago or Sao Paulo could be possible, but not before using a clean energy powered spaceship and an extraterrestrial commerce route to deliver it. For a long time, science fiction books and movies have pushed our imagination to dream about an integrated space economy across the universe, where distances are shorter, resource synergies are efficient, and possibilities endless. We have imagined interstellar distances covered at light speed and spaceships freely carrying cargo and people from one planet to another. However, reality could be more difficult to attain when it comes to interplanetary supply chain management with sustainable development expectations.

Since the twenty-first century started, global supply chain commerce has tripled to more than USD 10 trillion (Alicke et al., 2020). Supply chains are complex networks of interrelated economic activities and structures with many participants (Fontalvo-Herrera et al., 2019). These activities include procurement, warehousing, manufacturing, distribution, and consumption, while those participants could be suppliers, logistic operators, producers, wholesalers, customers, and others. How these activities and participants take their roles over time has depended on the evolutionary stage from logistics management to a more comprehensive and integrative supply chain management (Southern, 2011). The main goal of supply chains is to secure the flow of goods and services to final users or consumers, using materials, capital, and information. Due to their complexity, there are special events and big challenges that could be hard to manage for these supply chains, such as global disruptions as well as global joint efforts. According to this, black swan events could lead to the reconfiguration of participants’ location in order to secure procurement and business continuity, despite the higher costs (Perez-Batres & Treviño, 2020).

On the other hand, Stentoft and Mikkelsen (2021) argue that supply chains are difficult contexts in which to operationalize the United Nations’ global effort of sustainable development goals (SDGs), and Villena and Gioia (2020) concluded that despite the high commitment of firms toward sustainability, provoking a cascade effect of this same commitment in their suppliers at different levels is extremely complicated for them. Moreover, almost 70% of the respondent firms in a study conducted just after the COVID-19 outbreak said that they do not have detailed maps of their suppliers at those levels (Choi et al., 2020). In addition, Fritz and Cordova (2023) state that achieving comprehensive sustainability along supply chains is highly challenging and would need to use innovative frameworks of assessment. For instance, the Balanced Scorecard in supply chains and the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) would be assessment models that could incorporate sustainable development at some level of analysis (Cordova & Coronado, 2020; Ntabe et al., 2015).

Therefore, although supply chains on planet Earth are struggling to manage a proper balance between costs efficiency and sustainable practices (Cordova & Gonzalez-Perez, 2019; Leonard & Gonzalez-Perez, 2013; Ntabe et al., 2015), this challenge would be different for supply chains in space. Some of these challenges would refer to how interplanetary supply chains (IPSCs) would need to think about the best positions of the planets and specific spots on them to land and depart, which supply chain processes companies would decide to outsource into space and which not to, how to achieve efficiency through economies of scale during warehousing, manufacturing, or transporting to/from space, and so on. Furthermore, a joint initiative between MIT and NASA is mapping transportation routes, through a special triangulation among Earth, Mars, and the Moon (MIT, n.d.). Thus, these types of projects are paving the way for a better understanding of the new space economy as well as its opportunities and constraints toward sustainable development.

Sustainability in extraterrestrial businesses refers to the ability to maintain economic viability, environmental responsibility, and social equity in IPSCs. It involves ensuring that supply chains are resilient, secure, and transparent, while also minimizing waste and environmental impact. Sustainable interplanetary businesses aim to balance economic growth with the preservation of resources and the well-being of stakeholders, both on Earth and in space.

This chapter aims to identify how IPSCs are becoming real from the business and management standpoint, and to contribute to the current discussion about how extended contemporary supply chains could become, and to the emerging discussion about sustainable business activities in extraterrestrial space. In addition, it discusses to what extent managers would be able to manage sustainability of IPSCs. Therefore, this would be one of the first approaches to highlight how complicated, risky, and sustainable the contemporary space race would be regarding the integration of space into the current global value chains (GVCs) and turning them into interplanetary value chains.

Hence, our chapter builds upon the sustainable supply chain management literature, proposing an extension toward an IPSC field, which in turn should consider new perspectives for the management of sustainability. Therefore, we argue that the concept of IPSCs would need to be extensively analyzed by the business and management fields as well, providing new managerial considerations and novel paths for future research.

2 New Space Economy Background

Many reasons have driven space exploration over time besides human curiosity. For decades it has been the focus of strategic resource extraction for key manufacturing processes (Crawford, 2015), emerging industries such as space tourism (Toivonen, 2022), sustainable planetary protection (Profitiliotis & Loizidou, 2019), and so on.

National governments have conducted space exploration for motives including politics, science, economy, military, and increasing their wealth in the long run (McMahon, 1961). Later, organizational interests in the space economy have progressively changed how participants were involved, from governmental initiatives at the beginning, to large companies’ investments after that, and finally to entrepreneurs obtaining equity funds to develop several initiatives at small and medium scale (Peeters, 2021).

While supply chain operations on Earth must be efficient to achieve all stakeholders’ expectations, supply chains in outer space would have to be even more efficient, considering the high transaction costs involved, such as transportation back and forth to planet Earth. Lee et al. (2008) argued that it’s possible to build models of highly efficient networks of activities in space using already known logistics operations, thus improving resources utilization. In addition, besides efficiency, traceability, and transparency in space mission, generating a reliable record of transactions, operation costs, and how logistic activities are serving stakeholders’ needs, by using digital technologies such as blockchain, would be extremely important to develop IPSCs (Rana et al., 2021).

Indeed, securing the availability of reliable data would be instrumental for the development of IPSCs, not only due to their geographical distance from GVCs on Earth, but to potential effects of disruptions or unexpected events. Furthermore, modeling new space routes and incorporating highly advanced technology would bring new considerations for sustainable development outside Earth. Thus, the new space economy will shape itself in accordance with the identified opportunities and the challenges that human beings overcome.

3 Opportunities: Artificial Intelligence and Interplanetary Supply Chains

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to significantly contribute to IPSCs by enhancing their resilience, sustainability, and efficiency. AI can be utilized to improve supply chain resilience by developing business continuity capabilities (Modgil et al., 2021). It can also enable the creation of sustainable and resilient supply chains, providing optimal solutions for risk mitigation (Naz et al., 2021). Furthermore, AI can aid in predicting supply chain risks through machine learning techniques, thereby improving risk management (Baryannis et al., 2019). Additionally, AI’s impact on stimulating financial services for supply chain network activities can be crucial for sustainable supply chain finance (Olan et al., 2021). Hence, IPSCs could achieve resilience as well as develop proper risk management systems after incorporating AI in their logistics operations, supporting the perspective of Perez-Batres and Treviño (2020). Therefore, AI would prevent IPSCs from being unprepared for black swan events or major disruptions.

Moreover, AI can optimize supply chain operations by reducing costs and enhancing customer satisfaction (Calatayud et al., 2019). However, challenges such as lack of trust in AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) may hinder the development of intelligent supply chains (Nozari et al., 2022). Nevertheless, the application of AI and machine learning techniques within supply chains can lead to improved operational efficiency and customer satisfaction (Younis et al., 2021).

Furthermore, AI can aid in interpreting and evaluating alternatives in dynamic supply chain situations, particularly during disruptions (Gupta et al., 2022). In the context of the food supply chain, AI can be integrated vertically to enhance its functions, contributing to the entire food supply and value chain (Bačiulienė et al., 2023). Additionally, the integration of AI in supply chain management can improve demand forecasting, inventory management, decision-making, and operational efficiency (Rickardo & Gladson, 2023). Besides, the use of cognitive heterogeneous wireless networks and AI in supply chains can significantly enhance supply chain control and operation processes (Yuan, 2022). AI and machine learning have the potential to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain management by enabling the analysis and interpretation of large datasets, thereby improving environmental performance (Naved, 2022). Moreover, the adoption of AI in food supply chains can address unique challenges related to food safety, quality, and wastage by improving transparency and traceability (Dora et al., 2021).

In sum, AI would generate reliable information for decision-making processes in space, which would be led by AI systems as proposed in movies such as Space Odyssey, Aliens, or The Martian, leveraging the capacity of IPSCs to operationalize new variables and achieve an overall visibility of the participants’ roles within (Stentoft & Mikkelsen, 2021; Villena & Gioia, 2020).

4 Challenges: The Relevance of SDGs in Outer Space Operations

How can SDGs, originally formulated for Earth, be adapted for extraterrestrial activities involving humans and AI, considering unique environmental, ethical, and resource challenges in space environments?

To adapt the SDGs for extraterrestrial activities involving humans and AI, it is essential to consider the unique environmental, ethical, and resource challenges in space environments. The SDGs, initially formulated for Earth, can be adapted for space by integrating them with the specific challenges and opportunities presented by space exploration and colonization. The 17 SDGs, established by the United Nations Agenda 2030, provide a global blueprint for peace and prosperity worldwide (Palomares et al., 2021). To adapt these goals for extraterrestrial activities, it is crucial to consider the environmental challenges of space, such as resource scarcity, limited habitable space, and the need for closed-loop life support systems. AI can play a significant role in addressing these challenges by optimizing resource management, life support systems, and environmental sustainability in space environments (Palomares et al., 2021). Furthermore, the ethical considerations of space exploration, including the preservation of celestial bodies and the prevention of contamination, need to be integrated into the SDGs for space activities. AI can be leveraged to address these ethical challenges by developing responsible and sustainable exploration and utilization practices. Additionally, the resource challenges in space, such as energy, water, and food scarcity, can be addressed through AI-driven technologies and innovations, aligning with the SDGs’ focus on poverty eradication, economic development, and environmental sustainability (Mabhaudhi et al., 2021). Moreover, the integration of AI in space activities should align with the SDGs’ emphasis on innovation, industry, and infrastructure (Mayer-Foulkes et al., 2021). AI technologies can contribute to the development of sustainable and resilient infrastructure for extraterrestrial habitats, as well as the advancement of space exploration technologies. Furthermore, the SDGs’ focus on education and capacity-building can be adapted for space by promoting interdisciplinary research and education in AI, space science, and sustainability to address the unique challenges of space environments (Hansen et al., 2021).

In summary, adapting the SDGs for extraterrestrial activities involving humans and AI requires a comprehensive integration of environmental, ethical, and resource challenges specific to space exploration and colonization. AI can play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges and aligning with the SDGs to ensure sustainable and responsible space activities.

5 Sustainable Interplanetary Supply Chains in New Space Economy

The management of supply chains outside Earth may demand a new set of managerial skills, as well as interdisciplinary approaches, since usual logistic concepts such as location, capacity, economies of scale, lead time, etc., would have to include, for example, an astrophysics perspective in order for supply chain managers to understand how unusual terms in business such as gravity, pressure, planetary translation and rotation periods, among others, affect supply chain activities (Agrawal et al., 2021). According to this, governments and companies would decide which operations would be better to outsource in outer space, and which ones must remain on planet Earth. The latter will open new areas for space entrepreneurs, businesses, and policymaking, introducing intermediaries in between that would take advantage of these newly opened IPSCs. Furthermore, the aforementioned decisions would trigger data registration, traceability, and the need of other several business applications to the new space economy (De Filippi & Leiter, 2021).

In addition, SDGs have to be revisited to understand which IPSC operations would have a positive as well as negative impact on environmental, social and/or economic issues on Earth (Leonard & Gonzalez-Perez, 2013) and possibly in outer space too. Also, this raises the following additional questions: Would it be relevant to begin a conversation about the sustainable development of space as a common area such as has happened with international high seas on Earth) (see David et al., 2021)? Would back and forth transportation meet the minimum requirements of economies of scale and transaction costs to do business? How would new outer space entrepreneurial ventures contribute to expanding or reducing social as well as economic inequalities on Earth? Table 1 exhibits specific examples of the challenges that global supply chains are facing toward the achievement of some of the SDGs on Earth, generating questions for the future about how those challenges may emerge for the management of IPSCs too.

Table 1 Examples of SDG challenges in global supply chains and questions for IPSCs
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Interplanetary supply chains, which would be essential for sustaining extraterrestrial businesses, must exhibit specific characteristics to ensure sustainability. Firstly, the integration of blockchain technology with decentralized storage systems, such as the Interplanetary File System (an open and verifiable network that connects application-developers, scientists, infrastructure developers, and researchers), is crucial for securely managing data related to the supply chain (Ahmad et al., 2021; Rana et al., 2021; Reza et al., 2022). This integration ensures traceability, transparency, and trustworthiness (Cordova & Nava-Aguirre, 2022), which are vital for sustainable IPSCs. Additionally, the use of blockchain enhances security and reliability in supply chain transactions, contributing to sustainability (Agarwal et al., 2022; Hellani et al., 2021). Furthermore, modeling and simulation of IPSCs using space logistics frameworks provides a quantitative way to evaluate and optimize these supply chains, thereby enhancing their sustainability (Armar & Weck, 2009; Gralla et al., 2006; Lee et al., 2008). These models enable the assessment of life-cycle costs and logistics strategies, which are essential for sustainable interplanetary businesses, addressing the statements of Fritz and Cordova (2023). Moreover, the scalability and efficiency of blockchain-based supply chain systems are crucial for achieving sustainability in extraterrestrial businesses (Hellani et al., 2021).

Finally, the management of IPSCs in the new space economy would have to be strictly guided by international policy-making (Gonzalez-Perez & Cordova, 2024) that may represent a shift from the current international regulations to interplanetary ones, which may consider sharing locations, routes, models, and resources in extraterrestrial space.

6 Discussion and Conclusions

According to our analysis, we argue that interdisciplinary research will be instrumental in the study of IPSCs, since achieving quality in the delivery and operational efficiency would depend not only on managerial skills, but for instance on astrophysics dynamics, technological capabilities, climate phenomena, or industrial chemistry applications. Besides, we state that more research of the new space economy from the business and management fields including an interdisciplinary perspective is needed, since complex international business processes such as global supply chains would become IPSCs over time.

Interplanetary value chains are far more complex networks than GVCs, given the space environment and the highly specialized knowledge needed to operate in them. Nevertheless, IPSCs would continue contributing added value through key supply chain processes such as extracting, procurement, warehousing, manufacturing, distributing, etc., should they decide to operate outside planet Earth. Thus, firms will decide how they would continue participating in IPSCs, on Earth or in space, finding new locations and building new infrastructure for it.

In addition to this, we posit that AI has the potential to revolutionize IPSCs by improving resilience, sustainability, and efficiency. By leveraging AI technologies, supply chains can become more adaptive, responsive, and capable of addressing the unique challenges of interplanetary logistics. However, as human and AI activities expand into space, ethical considerations become crucial. Ethics includes respecting potential extraterrestrial life forms and considering the long-term implications of terraforming activities, which would be related to incorporating a sustainable development perspective toward the new space economy. Also, ethics considerations would mean having AI-driven systems in the form of robots or intelligent software that would help humans to take decisions in space.

Sustainable development challenges add additional complexity to the management of IPSCs. Key to these challenges is the integration of advanced technologies such as blockchain, decentralized storage systems, efficient modeling and simulation frameworks, and scalability tools. These innovations are essential for ensuring traceability, transparency, security, and cost-effectiveness in sustainable IPSCs.

Central to sustainability in extraterrestrial businesses are three core principles: economic viability, environmental responsibility, and social equity. The overarching goal is to minimize waste and reduce environmental impact, creating a balance between exploration and conservation. Minimizing the impact on extraterrestrial environments is a primary concern. Measures include avoiding the contamination of celestial bodies and effectively managing space debris, as guided by NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection and its protocols for avoiding biological contamination. This appropriate balance would make us think in a sustainable way for developing the new space economy but also if there were those besides humans who would be able to raise complaints about any transgression, new stakeholders in a new business playground.

Efficient resource utilization is another critical aspect. Utilizing in-situ resources, such as lunar water ice for fuel or Martian soil for construction, is vital to reduce dependence on Earth-based supplies. This approach not only promotes sustainability but also enhances the feasibility of long-term space missions. Indeed, resource extraction in outer space places before humans the need of strong interplanetary regulation in order to steward the resources.

Doubtless, the socio-economic impact of space activities cannot be overlooked. Ensuring equitable resource distribution and preventing the monopolization of space resources are fundamental to maintaining socio-economic balance in space exploration. Otherwise, such issues would substantially increase the social and economic inequalities on Earth.

Besides, sustainability in space technology should focus on longevity, repairability, and adaptability. Hence, designing AI systems and other technologies to be robust and sustainable in the harsh space environment is essential for the success of long-term space missions.

An additional crucial consideration is the role of international collaboration and governance. Developing extraterrestrial SDGs requires a global effort and consensus, similar to the Antarctic Treaty System, to ensure peaceful and sustainable space exploration. Moreover, adaptability and resilience are key in the unpredictable space environment. SDGs for space activities should prioritize these elements to effectively navigate and manage the unknown challenges of space exploration. Hence, gathering the different global standpoints to progress toward combined and holistic regulations for the new space economy is fundamental as well as urgent.

Therefore, would the SDGs framework still be enough to summarize the most important concerns of humanity when including extraterrestrial business? Should new SDGs due to the development of interplanetary value chains be generated? Which other concerns regarding interplanetary sustainability would be relevant to identify and analyze? The extractive activity of natural resources makes it almost impossible to talk about sustainable supply chains. Would the new space economy worsen or improve that?

It is crucial to consider the particular resource, ethical, and environmental difficulties in space environments while adapting the SDGs for extraterrestrial activities involving humans and AI. The SDGs, which were first developed for Earth, can be modified for space by interweaving them with the unique opportunities and problems of space travel and colonization. The United Nations Agenda 2030 developed the 17 SDGs, which offer a global framework for peace and prosperity. However, it is critical to take into account the environmental difficulties of space, such as resource scarcity, restricted habitable space, and the requirement for closed-loop life support systems, in order to modify these aims for extraterrestrial activity.

In sum, even though some supply chain participants could change the location of their activities to space, extending the scope of traditional supply chain management and incorporating an interdisciplinary approach to fully understand the usual requirements of speed, delivery, and cost, these would not be replaced but be supplemented by new ones of traceability, transparency, resiliency, adaptability, and responsivity. In addition, sustainability is a driving force in the realm of space exploration and development. Ongoing research and international discourse are continually shaping our approaches to these complex challenges, ensuring that our ventures into space are conducted responsibly and sustainably.