Peter Martinez

Director

Peter Martinez is Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation, which works on space sustainability and governance. He holds a BSc in physics and applied mathematics, a BSc (Hons) in materials engineering, and a master's degree and PhD in astronomy, all from the University of Cape Town. He spent 15 years in executive management at the South African Astronomical Observatory, a facility of the National Research Foundation, and was Professor of Space Studies at the University of Cape Town from 2014 to 2018; he is now an Honorary Professor there. He chaired the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities from 2011 to 2018 and was Chairman of the South African Council for Space Affairs from 2010 to 2015. He won the Frank J. Malina Astronautics Medal in 2020, is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications on space policy, sustainability, law and astronomy.