This publication presents a pre-operational conceptual framework addressing Human Readiness and Institutional Responsibility in space-enabled environments and other high-risk contexts. The work responds to the increasing pace of commercial and civilian space activities, where governance frameworks remain predominantly mission- and operator-centric, while the human dimension is not yet systematically addressed. The paper introduces Human Readiness & Safety as a distinct governance layer, focusing on pre-access evaluation, exposure conditions, institutional responsibility, and post-exposure considerations. This document is explicitly:– pre-operational – non-implementational – non-normative – non-commercial It does not propose policies, programmes or regulatory measures. Its purpose is to support institutional dialogue by clarifying conceptual governance boundaries prior to large-scale normalization of civilian participation in space-enabled environments. The framework is relevant to ongoing discussions within international and UN-affiliated contexts, including COPUOS and space and global health initiatives.
Žana Mihaljević (Fri,) studied this question.