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A booming global space industry will mean every business will be a space business by 2030, according to a new report.
KPMG Australia's report "30 Voices on 2030 - The future of space" forecasts the global space industry will be worth US$600 billion in 20 years.
It comes after Australia's own space industry has experienced 10.9 per cent growth annually over the past five years, placing our industry at a pivotal moment.
KPMG says by 2030 manufacturing in space will be real and viable, and we may even be conducting mining operations on the moon for water.
Space programs will be run in partnership with governments and private industry, with the public sector acting more as a customer of civil space business.
"Today's 'small startups' will be sector leaders in 2030," says partner-in-charge of Space and Defence Industry at KPMG Australia Mike Kalms.
"Already many multi-national businesses are investing in the space sector and understanding how it can add value to their businesses on Earth.
"By 2030 we expect many businesses across all industries to have dedicated space teams and resources. The majority of space companies will be valued in billions of dollars and operate across multiple countries. Global levels of cooperation will help enhance economic and political ties between nation states."
While space travel will remain prohibitively expensive for most of us, humans will be working in space by 2030 on projects like medical research in zero gravity.
KPMG also predicts that the human genome may be altered to further support humanity's sustained exploration of space.
But with the increased activity in space will come issues with sustainability, with the report anticipating a moratorium on space debris.
"Businesses are already putting sustainability at the forefront of what they do on Earth," says Kalms.
"We anticipate the same will be applied to space activities in the years ahead. Debris in space has long been an area of concern, which will only escalate.
"We will need international agreements, and ways to recover and recycle commissioned satellites. Legislation and treaties will need to evolve as space becomes its own legal jurisdiction."
30 Predictions for 2030
Humans will live, work and holiday in space
1. Space travel will be a collaborative multinational venture
2. Living in space will be easier but not easy
3. Zero gravity new medical conditions and new treatments will be created
4. Many will experience space but not all will go
5. You will know an astronaut
6. The human genome will change to support human deep space exploration
Deep space exploration
7. We'll successfully mine the Moon for water by 2030
8. We may finally discover evidence of life in space
9. We'll operate assets remotely on the Moon like mines in the Pilbara
10. Growing and eating food in space will be commonplace
11. Virtual companions will assist with the mental health challenges of long space travel
12. We will look back in time more than 4 billion years
Space business models
13. Every business will be a space business
14. The leading space businesses of 2030 are start-ups today
15. Long-established terrestrial industries will build a presence in space
16. Government will be a customer of civil space businesses
17. Multinational co-operation, while challenging, will drive the peace dividend
18. Manufacturing in space will be real and viable
Sustainability in space
19. Sustainability in space will benefit sustainability on Earth
20. There will be a 'CFC moment' in space which will trigger a moratorium on space debris
21. Space ecology will be imperative for our millennial generation
22. Space will get its own legal jurisdiction
23. Space will be forced to accelerate quickly as an operational domain for armed forces
24. A Masters of Space Ecology will be offered at universities
Space data comes back to earth
25. Space data will become completely commoditised
26. An international regulatory body for space data will be established
27. AI will be commonplace in space
28. Data will not be owned rather shared
29. Governments will conduct their census from space
30. Personal privacy will be challenged
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