By Lucie Poulet & Öykü Gürsu
Karman Fellow Lucie Poulet Explores Space Sustainability at EPFL Space Center
As part of The Karman Project’s ongoing partnership with the EPFL Space Center, one of our Fellows, Lucie Poulet, recently took part in their renowned Space Sustainability course and came away inspired, informed, and ready to integrate what she learned into her ongoing research.
The program, now in its second year of partnership with The Karman Project, brings together space professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in today’s space ecosystem: how to ensure the long-term sustainability of human activities in space. Through a combination of lectures, hands-on workshops, and collaborative discussions, participants dive deep into both technical and governance aspects of space debris mitigation and sustainability frameworks.
For Lucie, the experience exceeded expectations:
“I participated in the Space Sustainability course offered by EPFL Space Center because I wanted to learn more about challenges associated with space debris—both from technical and governance perspectives—and discover the tools used to assess space sustainability. The experience exceeded all my expectations.”
Among her personal highlights were lectures from industry legends like former astronaut Claude Nicollier and Prof. Sascha Nick, as well as interactive sessions led by Dr. Minoo Rathnasabapathy, who facilitated a mock UNCOPUOS negotiation, and Mathieu Udriot, who introduced participants to space Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies.
A key milestone for Lucie was discovering the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) — a tool she now plans to integrate directly into her research. This, alongside learning about space LCA, offered actionable frameworks she can carry forward into her work.
But it wasn’t just the course content that left an impact.
“The group discussions were vivid, and being surrounded by participants from such a wide range of backgrounds, all eager to share their knowledge, made the experience unforgettable. Coupled with the diversity of topics covered during the course, this really broadened my perspective and understanding of space sustainability.”
Lucie also had the unique opportunity to take part in a beta version of the Space Fresco workshop immediately after the course — an interactive tool designed to deepen awareness around the complex dynamics of space sustainability. This, she said, was a powerful complement to the program and further opened her eyes to the challenges and opportunities ahead.
She was quick to recognize the outstanding efforts of the EPFL Space Center team, led by Emmanuelle David, in crafting such a seamless and thoughtfully designed program:
“From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, everything was meticulously organized and taken care of for us, allowing us to fully focus on the course content.”
At The Karman Project, we’re proud to support Fellows in accessing these opportunities. The Space Sustainability course represents not only a meaningful collaboration with our partners at EPFL Space Center but also a chance to equip future leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to help shape a more responsible future in space.
