Chandrayaan 3 makes strong case for blockchain technology

CHENNAI: The successful Chandrayaan 3 landing on Aug 23 made headlines and rightfully so as we, as a nation stood in unison to salute the pathbreaking achievement that stamped the nation’s authority in space technology. This event could herald a new revolution for India. We need not remain merely leaders in this “space” but can leverage frontier technology like blockchain to emerge as the world leader in space technology.

A quick preview into blockchain’s applications for the space economy, will support this line of thinking.

Enhanced automation and precision in space exploration is a significant benefit of blockchain. Smart contracts enable autonomous spacecraft and robots to be programmed to perform specific tasks with great accuracy, decreasing the chance of human error and enhancing productivity. This can entail duties like satellite placement, debris clean-up, and even asteroid mining.

Space missions provide companies with a wealth of data, and private space companies are investigating the feasibility of offering utility tokens that could distribute data gathered on these missions, allowing them to fund future missions by monetising the data gathered on previous ones. The data mined by one business will surely be useful to other private enterprises and space authorities planning future missions.

With blockchain, manufacturing and supply chain management could improve production traceability and accountability throughout the chain, increasing customer transparency. Using satellites as data processing or storage nodes could lead to the development of space-based blockchain applications.

There are huge opportunities for blockchain in satellite networks. In fact, its arrival in the space sector is but a natural evolution. Blockchain creates transparency, trust, and efficiency in the satellite value chain. For example, in logistics, smart contracts are commonly used for launching and operating satellites, accessing transparent information for insurance purposes, and performing governmental functions — such as using blockchain in the licensing process of launching a satellite and monitoring space operations. It is also useful for distributing blockchain information through satellite and even transforming satellites into “smart emancipated devices” with the use of smart contracts.

Satellites can also be valuable sources of space data for upgrading blocks and confirming data integrity and origin. They would power smart contracts and logistics applications while also benefiting the insurance industry. Space, for example, provides an ideal setting for implementing “smart contracts” without the need for human interaction.

A major application is to provide a persistent and sovereign-agnostic worldwide distribution network. Another is to bring edge computer processing to space. Deep space applications such as space mining may will also leverage blockchain to help track and manage resources.

In fact, all space missions will necessitate crews making decisions “inside the human loop” owing to transmission time delays between workers near or on Mars and resources on Earth. Edge computing, made possible by blockchain and AI, will also play a vital role.

The potential for blockchain technology to play a stellar role in the future of the space sector is obvious as it continues to grow and evolve. Innovation, automation and precision are the future of space sector, with tremendous scope for blockchain-enabled space tourism and exploration. Our nation has just set the tempo for this. With blockchain, surely we can take the next big leap.