Space diplomacy is an important subject, but countries in the Global South are often left out conversations in this area despite growing capabilities in space technology. This piece looks at space diplomacy from a Global South perspective.

As the global community faces new challenges, civil space-based Earth observations offer the United States unique opportunities to employ science diplomacy in cooperation and competition. 

This article focuses on a small number of important collaborative activities between the U.S. and the USSR and Russia. Most of the following examples are based on Schweitzer's experience as the first science attaché at the U.S. embassy in Moscow (1963–66); first executive director of the team that carried out the U.S. launch of the International Science and Technology Center in Moscow (1992–94); and director for programs in Eastern Europe and Eurasia at the National Academies (1985–92) and (1994–present).

As the world moves to a militarized space, the European Union may have the tools to assist in the establishment of confidence building measures between China, Russia, and the United States in the domain of space.