Philosophy
Nina is a PhD research student at the University of Glasgow. Her area of research is in Ethics in Space Exploration. Her supervisors are Dr Mona Simion, Dr Christoph Kelp and Dr Glen Pettigrove. Nina is also a member of British Interplanetary Society (BIS). She is a space enthusiast and a member of international Mars Society and Mars Society UK. She is a keen campaigner for cleaning LEO (Lower Earth Orbit). She is an aspirational space explorer and in 2021 she applied for the vacancy of the ESA astronaut job. Although she passed all the medical tests she was refused on the basis that her MA’s not being in engineering or biology, as specified by ESA.
Nina still hopes that one day she will be able to go up in space.
Nina’s academic articles are regularly published in the SpaceFlight Magazine, which is one of the publications of the BIS. You can read her latest articles in the September 2021, December 2021 and January 2022 editions.
Nina is a member of American Association for the Advancement of Science/ AAAS.
In November 2021 Nina was one of the speakers at the British Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Philosophical Thought, the conference organised by the British Postgraduate Philosophical Association BPPA.
During COP 2021 in Glasgow Nina was holding whole day talks for the pupils at the Belmont Academy, (in South Ayrshire) on Space Junk and Pollution in Lower Earth Orbit.
In October 2022, Nina attended 25th Mars Society Convention at the Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA, where she gave a talk on Ethics in Extraterrestrial Nanotechnology.
SpaceUp Scotland came back as a live event on November 5th. Nina had 2 talks: ‘Ethics in Extraterrestrial Nanotechnology‘ and ‘Film in Space-Magna Carta on Mars’.
On November 15th Nina attended the Critical Code roundtable, which was organised by the University of Edinburgh. Amongst the speakers was the well renowned philosopher, Shannon Vallor. The event was by invitation only.
In October 2023 Nina attended the 26th Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University in Phoenix. Nina presented her concept of the Martian dome, how to travel there and back for free, and not costing $250,000 as suggested by Elon Musk.
After that she opened the SmartCom conference in Zreče, Slovenia, with her talk on Space Junk.
Less than 24 hours later she was already in Liverpool, England, where she attended the 90th Anniversary of the British Interplanetary Society. Nina’s talk in the morning was on Ethics in Extraterrestrial Nanotechnology, and in the afternoon Nina was a guest speaker on the panel discussion: Beyond the Moon.
Nina was back to Slovenia on 20th of October, this time to Ljubljana where she talked to the students of the Faculty of Law, Department for Space Law at University of Ljubljana. Nina talked about ethical dilemmas and legal issues regarding Space Junk.
In the March 2024 edition of JBIS (Journal of the British Interplanetary Society), Nina published an academic article titled Panopticon on Mars. In it, she introduces the concept of a Martian dome accessible not only to the ultra-wealthy but also to everyday professionals such as nurses and school teachers—people who cannot afford a $250,000 ticket to Mars. Her concept is grounded in philosophical inquiry, exploring moral norms and ethical dilemmas that may arise when living on barren planets, where tyranny can easily emerge and fundamental rights—such as autonomy, bodily autonomy, liberty, and freedom of movement—are at risk.
LINKS:
Panopticon on Mars (PDF)
Panopticon on Mars (BIS Shop)
In November 2024 at the Reinventing Space Conference, hosted by the British Interplanetary Society in collaboration with the Royal Aeronautical Society, Nina delivered two talks during the three-day event. On the first day, she gave a presentation titled “Ethical and Practical Challenges in Detecting Alien Life”. On the second day, at the Beyond the Moon Symposium, she presented her concept of the Martian dome in a talk entitled “Panopticon on Mars”, which is grounded in her philosophical and ethical research.
