The Space Peace Prize™  

The world's leading platform for peacebuilding in space.

The Space Peace Prize is a dynamic platform designed for the moment, aiming to recognise, elevate, accelerate, and inspire excellence in international space cooperation.

Outer space is becoming more crowded, contested, and vulnerable amid rising geopolitical tensions, militarisation, and mounting sustainability challenges. At the same time, unprecedented commercial activity and rapid technological advances are unlocking extraordinary opportunities for human progress. With space now woven into every facet of modern life - from trade and communications to navigation, climate monitoring, and disaster response - the Space Peace Prize seeks to galvanise the positive forces shaping our shared future, while countering the dangerous trends that threaten it. 

No other prize or recognition in the space sector takes the same modern approach to peacebuilding: centering innovative international cooperation while catalysing action.

The Space Peace Prize will be awarded through a rigorous selection process on an annual basis to a single cooperative project, in addition to elevating a shortlist of candidate projects. All international and peaceful projects in the space sector are eligible, ranging across the spheres of technology, science, diplomacy, culture, and the arts. 

Following an open nomination and rigorous selection process slated to begin in Q2 of 2026, the first Prize will be bestowed in Q4 of 2026.

The Space Peace Prize is built upon a modern philosophy of peace: one that is iterative, cooperative, and sustainable. Peace is not a static condition, but an ongoing process that requires vigilance, inclusion, and imagination. While the specific judging criteria are presently under review in collaboration with those in the Space Peace Prize Alliance, the Prize fundamentally rests on the following core principles:

Peace Through Partnership
The Space Peace Prize affirms that enduring peace arises through shared endeavour - cross-sector, cross-disciplinary, and cross-border partnerships that model the cooperation we seek to uphold.

Integrity of Purpose
The Space Peace Prize will not be instrumentalised for agendas that do not align with its founding purpose. Integrity is exemplified by refusing to reward symbolic, performative, or reputationally-driven projects. A robust ethical review mechanism will assess the intentions, affiliations, and actions of nominated projects to ensure alignment with peace-building principles. 

Active Non-Harm
Prize-winning and shortlisted projects must demonstrate a clear commitment to preventing harm and de-escalating tensions through concerted cooperation and instilling best practices, including strengthening norms of transparency, stewardship, and accountability in space. While recognising the essential role of security and sovereignty mechanisms in maintaining stability, the Prize distinguishes between legitimate defence capabilities and the proliferation of technologies or actions that actively undermine trust or contribute to the weaponisation of space. The Space Peace Prize does not seek to discredit those engaged in responsible security efforts; rather, it seeks to champion initiatives that preserve space as a peaceful and cooperative domain for all humankind.

Independence from Power Structures
To preserve its legitimacy, the Space Peace Prize must be immune to the influence of governments, commercial funders, and political ideologies. In a dynamic and nuanced space domain, the Prize must elevate good behaviors on merit alone. Founding Patrons and Partners (including The Karman Project) will contribute to the conceptual design and operationalisation of the Prize, but will not influence the selection of Prize recipients.

Representation and Inclusion
The Space Peace Prize seeks to platform projects that amplify underrepresented voices, build bridges between unlikely allies, and showcase responsibility across established, emerging, and non-space-faring ecosystems alike.

Inspiration for the Future
The Space Peace Prize is not only a reward, but a signal - a new north star for international cooperation. With its prestige and wide base of support illuminated by the Space Peace Prize Alliance, the Prize seeks to spark further demand for innovative, peacebuilding projects in space.

An independent jury of luminaries, distinct from The Karman Project team and funding partners of the Prize, will be tasked with bestowing one project annually with the coveted Space Peace Prize. The jury will be composed of individuals of high integrity, selected based on expertise, diversity, and moral standing, and have an annual turnover to avoid institutional capture. No jury member may simultaneously serve in a political office or represent a funding body. Jury deliberations will follow a structured methodology, with clear scoring frameworks to ensure reasoned and consistent decision-making.

Nominations will be openly solicited, and all judging criteria, selection processes, and jury memberships will be publicly disclosed.

Join our Space Peace Prize Alliance, consisting of a Founding Circle, an Impact Circle, and an Agency Circle.

The Founding Circle provides key financial and strategic support to the Prize - organisations may join the Founding Circle as Founding Partners, while individuals may join the Founding Circle as Founding Patrons. 

The Impact Circle provides critical guidance, outreach, and strategic support to the Prize - organisations may join the Impact Circle as Supporting Partners, while individuals may join the Impact Circle as Official Nominators or Prize Ambassadors.

The Agency Circle is reserved for  the national/regional space agencies and intergovernmental organisations expanding the Prize’s scale and mission across global ecosystems - national/regional space agencies may join the Agency Circle as Agency Partners, while intergovernmental organisations may join the Agency Circle as Intergovernmental Partners. 

If you are uncertain where your role may lie, please enquire with the Karman Project team at peace@karmanproject.org. All who share our ambition to promote peace at this critical moment in history are welcome.