Design Strategy
NASA: Research and Strategic Development
Overview
This project explores strategic solutions to expand the opportunity landscape for the International Space Station (ISS).
The project aims to create sustainable frameworks that enhance long-term space operations.
Through interdisciplinary research and strategic foresight, the project identifies pathways for innovation, commercialization, and accessibility in space.
This work-in-progress project leverages systems thinking, human-centered design, and speculative design to propose actionable strategies for the future of space exploration and habitation.
This project showcases my expertise in strategic design, management, leadership, facilitation, systems thinking, and research.
Project Timeline: Jan 2025 – May 2025 (15 Weeks)
Project Outcomes
The project is currently in development, with eventual goals to build strategic solutions for the ISS that:
Expand commercialisation and business opportunities
Improve sustainability and resource management
Enhance international collaboration and policy integration
Create inclusive pathways for new stakeholders in space economies
Collaborators
This project is being developed under the External Engagement Studio at Parsons School of Design, in partnership with NASA’s International Space Station. Contributions to this initiative have been made by Swasti, Anisha, Ren, Michelle, Abhishek, Khush, Saniya, Meha, Shoro, Dhruvi, Shruti, Henry, Nana, Hussein, Prerana, and Yasmeen.
The project has been guided and facilitated at every stage by our professor, Mark Kroeckel and Christie Cox and Lynn Harper, NASA, ISS.
This project employs a mixed-methods research approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis to assess challenges and opportunities in space expansion. Utilizing systems thinking, speculative design, and business model innovation, the methodology includes literature reviews, stakeholder interviews, trend analysis, and scenario planning to develop strategic solutions.
We conducted a stakeholder analysis to identify gaps, map power dynamics, and gain insights into the financial, political, and operational structures influencing the International Space Station.
The project developed a three-phase strategic framework:
Awareness (Preparing for Launch), Transition (Lift Off), and Sustainability (In Orbit). Each phase targeted specific user groups and engagement levels, optimizing content creation and distribution to maximize reach and impact.
The resulting suite of validated prototypes offers scalable solutions that address public engagement, equitable access, sustainable governance, and commercial viability in space exploration. By employing cross-pollination strategies across digital platforms, we effectively increased public awareness, diversified funding participation, and promoted global collaboration toward a thriving, just, and sustainable space economy.
