Guiding Principles for Stardust's Sunlight Reflection Technology (SRT) Research
Our Guiding Principles for responsible sunlight reflection research are grounded in safety, scientific integrity, transparency, and international cooperation.
​Stardust is dedicated to advancing the responsible research and development of sunlight reflection technology. We see this research as a moral imperative, essential for any future informed decision-making by governments on whether, and how, to deploy such technology. Stardust is pursuing R&D, not deployment. Our goal is to turn sunlight reflection from a scientific concept into a safe and practical option.
In the absence of dedicated governance frameworks for sunlight reflection research, these Guiding Principles serve as a voluntary set of commitments shaping Stardust's policies and activities.
The work we do is grounded in our founding mission: to advance the responsible development of sunlight reflection technology. In partnership with external scientific and governance experts, we’ve been developing a set of principles to guide our work and decision-making. Mr. Janos Pasztor, a world-class leader in this field, published a report with more details on our efforts so far, which can be found here.
While this report is independent of our work, we endorse it, and its valuable insights help us shape our strategy.
Our principles include:
01
Safety first - prioritizing scientific integrity in all aspects of our work.
02
Assessing research questions within a rigorous risk-vs-risk framework.
03
The publication of unfavorable results as well as favorable ones.
04
Collaborating with the academic community and sharing data with appropriate administrative bodies upon completion of relevant research.
05
Supporting comprehensive regulation of this emerging field, including governance mechanisms for the stratosphere and external independent assessment of all proposed solutions.
06
Sunlight reflection deployment should be conducted under established governance, guided by governments and authorized bodies.
07
​Declining cooperation from entities likely to engage in irresponsible deployment or misuse of our work.
08
Employing only materials that can be independently validated to be safe.