An increase in solar activity will result in more atmospheric drag on satellites and risk damaging or disrupting those spacecraft. Credit: NASA

From space, no political borders or boundaries are visible. The Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and land masses are subject to common geophysical forces, and human-induced effects are confronting the whole globe. Looking beyond our home planet, the Moon, the planets of our solar system, and the cosmos beyond beckon us and hold the dreams of all humanity. No one nation or group of nations can claim sovereignty over the “High Frontier” of space.

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Daniel N. Baker is director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.