https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/slavic/news/artem-mokhnatkin-space-scientist-observer-of-space-debris-interested-in-international-relations-of-outer-space-at-ut-as-visiting-scholarArtem Mokhnatkin, Space Scientist, Observer of Space Debris, Interested in International Relations of Outer Space, at UT as Visiting Scholar
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
As a co-manager of the ISON initiative focused on optical observations of anthropogenic space objects like space debris and satellites that includes over 20 telescopes around the globe

Mokhnatkin also has extensive international experience

previously working in Mexico to develop a network of telescopes in the states of Sinaloa and Nuevo León.
И украл из Нуэво-Леона нашу ПЗС-камеру.Holding to the belief that space is a global commons and a common heritage of humanity, overall international cooperation in this field is imperative. Mokhnatkin’s goal is to develop a decentralized data-sharing consortium on space objects.

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In January, Artem Mokhnatkin joined UT’s Dr. Moriba K. Jah, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and affiliate faculty of the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREEES), as a visiting scholar through the J. Tinsley Oden Faculty Fellowship at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Mokhnatkin’s home institution is the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As a co-manager of the ISON initiative focused on optical observations of anthropogenic space objects like space debris and satellites that includes over 20 telescopes around the globe, in 2021, he became a member of the Russian delegation to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). That year he gave a technical presentation during the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee on the joint project of ISON and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, named ISONscope, on the provision of optical telescopes to organizations from developing countries.
His research has taken him from the Pulkovo Observatory outside of St. Petersburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to 1839, to one of the highest located observatories in the world, the Terskol Observatory in the North Caucasus mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria, at an elevation of about 10,300 ft. Mokhnatkin also has extensive international experience, previously working in Mexico to develop a network of telescopes in the states of Sinaloa and Nuevo León. As part of his work related to the implementation of the ISONscope project under the auspices of the United Nations, Mokhnatkin has also had the opportunity to travel to Kenya and Nigeria to visit organizations that are expected to be provided with equipment for observations of space objects.
One of Mokhnatkin’s most significant goals at UT is to strengthen communication and data sharing between the Oden and Keldysh Institutes. Currently, Mokhnatkin is working on the operational concept of the consortium on sharing data on anthropogenic space objects that could draw also other organizations. Besides, he has plans to participate in developing scheduling and processing software for observations of human-made objects in Earth orbit for the Oden and Keldysh Institutes. In comparing the U.S. higher education system to that in his home country, Mokhnatkin has noticed that while the U.S. education system is much more results-oriented in research, with students and professors promoting results, the Russian system has fewer time limitations, sometimes allowing for more time-intensive, specialized research projects. Mokhnatkin has also noticed that interdisciplinary studies and humanities fields are prominent in the U.S. higher education system.
Holding to the belief that space is a global commons and a common heritage of humanity, overall international cooperation in this field is imperative. Mokhnatkin’s goal is to develop a decentralized data-sharing consortium on space objects. Today, data sharing on space objects is complicated due to the amount of classified and sensitive information, which leads to little data exchange between nations. Mokhnatkin provided the analogy of planes, saying we can fly planes because there are international air traffic control standards. Without these standards, there would be significant aviation accidents. The same goes for space objects: without the exchange of information on space objects, there is a heightened risk of collisions.
Mokhnatkin suggests that the continued increase in space debris could impact the future of space exploration; therefore, data sharing on anthropogenic space objectsis urgently needed, and even though itself would not solve all the problems of the space traffic management and would not help to avert space debris catastrophe but is a solid foundation for addressing these challenges and necessary political will in this regard.
While here at UT, Mokhnatkin has traveled across the state of Texas, visiting landmarks like Dealey Plaza in Dallas and the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He has especially enjoyed traveling around Central Texas in the Hill Country along the winding and scenic roads west of Austin.