Palestinian-Jordanian researcher Sahbaa Shawa: Outer space is not neutral, but rather a mirror of justice and injustice on Earth

Sahbaa Al Shawa is a space and sustainability researcher. The Palestine Space Research Institute Foundation and the Jordanian Space Research Initiative “Jisri”.

In this article*, through her personal and scientific experience, Al Shawa tells us how space technology and satellite data can be a witness to injustice and a bridge towards justice and sustainable development.

“It is said that borders cannot be seen from space. But as a Palestinian-Jordanian space scientist, I know that this is not true. When we look at Gaza from orbit, the border appears clearer than anywhere else: a suffocating line encircling an entire life, transforming geography into features of violence. From space, injustice appears visible, as if the Earth itself is telling its story.

Although I had never been to Palestine, my grandmother’s stories about Gaza shaped my vision. She used to talk about it as if it were another planet, full of sea, memory and life, before it turned into a symbol of pain and resilience. Over time, I realized that the path to justice sometimes begins at the furthest point imaginable; From space, and from data that reveals what is intended to be hidden on Earth.

I chose to study space and sustainability because I believe in our ability to make a positive impact on this world

As a daughter of both Palestine and Jordan, I grew up with the belief that belonging is not just a place, but rather a responsibility, a vision, and a life path. Believing in our ability to make a positive impact on this world, I chose to study space and sustainability. Then I carried this knowledge to use space technology to serve the communities to which I belong.

My path to the space sector was not easy, and it took more than a decade to get there. I carried an identity that was considered ‘political’ and a passport that limited access opportunities, and I also faced a prevailing view that demanded that some people remain silent in order to continue working. But I learned that my voice is not a burden, but rather a guide to the path I should take.

In 2020, the Jordanian Space Research Initiative established “Jisri” to be a bridge between space and sustainable development, and a bridge that allows Jordanian youth to access the space sector.

Within a few years, “Jisri” became a space for education, research, and opportunities, and we succeeded in implementing the first analogue space simulation mission in Jordan, and the first analogue space mission in the world consisting entirely of Arab women. These experiments were not just scientific achievements, but rather were a redefinition of what is possible in our region.

Three years later, I founded the Palestine Space Institute to be the second bridge between knowledge and justice. Space technology can be a means of sustainable development, but it can also be used for harm. The idea of ​​the institute emerged from one question: How do we protect human values ​​in a sector controlled by political and economic interests that go beyond human rights?

We work on equitable access to technology, and on linking knowledge with ethical responsibility

We work on equitable access to technology, link knowledge with moral responsibility, and use satellite data to track what is happening in Gaza; From changing the shape of the land, to destruction, in addition to the environmental and social effects of bombing. We believe that technology can be a witness, not a weapon.

Therefore, we are also working at the Palestine Space Institute, through the ‘Space and Military Industrial Complex’ database, to uncover the role that some space and defense companies play in financing the genocide in Gaza or in providing it with the tools with which it is carried out. These companies, often presented as symbols of scientific progress, actually have paths of influence and profit that make them part of the system of violence we see today.

The pictures were not neutral statements. Rather, they meant to me the faces that I had not seen, the homes that I heard about in my family’s stories, and the future that many people were denied the right to imagine. It also meant Gaza, which my grandmother carried in her memory and which I carry today in my heart.

My selection by the United Nations was a sign that our voices are being heard, and that our narratives are not out of consideration

Many times I felt that hope was declining, and that international systems were unable to protect the most basic human rights. Despite this pain, a feeling remained within me that change was possible. That is why I felt that my selection by the United Nations as a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals was a signal that our voices are being heard, that our narratives are not out of consideration, and that there is a real desire to rethink how space and international systems can truly serve humanity.

For me, this choice is not so much an honor as a responsibility. A responsibility to carry with me the voice of youth in Palestine and Jordan, and to demand a world that uses space for sustainability and not for harm.

We are not mere observers of this world; We are its makers. Every time we choose the truth, every time we link knowledge with responsibility, and every time we refuse to normalize injustice, we draw a new part of the future in which we want to live.

“We may not be able to remove borders from space, but we can reimagine the world that created them.”

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*The article has been shortened for editorial purposes