She attended the 36th annual Space Studies Program (SSP) at the International Space University (ISU). Hosted in partnership with Rice University and NASA’s Johnson Space Center, this year’s program was exceptionally held in Houston, or “Space City”, if you prefer.
A trajectory that was anything but straight
Mirzoeva first learned about ISU in her 1L year while scrolling the web (during a break in her Constitutional Law class) as she was looking for opportunities to pursue her passion for space, and planning for the first summer after law school. Initially, she thought the program was out of reach due to the 20,000 Euro price tag, and instead pursued a summer job with MDA Space.
A few months later, when her team won a hackathon organized by the Space Generation Advisory Council, her dream was launched into reality; the prize for the hackathon was a partial scholarship to attend the ISU. Additional funding from the Common Law Students’ Society (AÉCLSS) gave her the final boost she needed to reach new heights.
Stellar student
As a JD student, simultaneously pursuing a Master’s degree in International Affairs at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Mirzoeva never imagined herself studying alongside AI experts, robotics surgeons, aerospace engineers, pilots and more.
Yet she quickly found her orbit at ISU, forming lifelong friendships and gaining invaluable insights into the complexities of the space sector . By the end of the program, Mirzoeva had led a team of 46 to complete a project for NASA’s Gateway lunar space station team, was selected as Class Speaker for the SSP graduation ceremony, and was awarded the Morna Milne Academic Achievement Award, given to the student with the highest academic average of the SPP class of 155 participants.
One of the founding members of the uOttawa Space Law Society, she is eager to bring her new knowledge and expanded network to the group and to the broader Common Law Section community. Her experience at ISU has strengthened her belief that law students should explore opportunities and interests beyond the traditional legal curriculum.
“Go for it with your whole heart,” Mirzoeva advises fellow law students. “It will only help you grow. You will gain a depth of understanding in your field, and it will expose you to your future clients, partners and stakeholders.”
In addition to her studies, Mirzoeva is also working on two exciting projects. The first is a research paper on lunar governance with one of her space law heroes, Michelle Hanlon, the Executive Director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
The second is an 8-month Fellowship with the Digital Policy Hub through the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), which will explore how lessons learned from Canada’s mining sector can inform space mining. She is grateful to be supervised by uOttawa professors Jeremy de Beer, who first supported her interest in space as a 1L student in his property law class, and Dr. Aram Kerkonian, who teaches space law at the Faculty and is the Faculty Liaison for the Space Law Society.
The 3Is (International, Interculture, Interdisciplinary)
The prestigious Space Studies Program provides graduate-level professional training to the future leaders of the emerging global space community and instills in their students the 3Is mindset: International, Intercultural, Interdisciplinary. ISU faculty members include astronauts, space agency leaders, space engineers, space scientists, managers, and experts in space law and policy. The Chancellor of the International Space University is Dr. Valanathan Munsami, Deputy CEO of the Saudi Space Agency, and was preceded by Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin. ISU’s alumni network boasts a number of astronauts including Soyeon Yi and Jessica Meir; who both returned to speak to the SSP24 Cohort.
The participants in Mirzoeva’s cohort gathered from around the globe, hailing from 35 countries to be exact. Their expertise covered a variety of disciplines as they relate to space: science, engineering, policy and law, business and management, humanities, space applications and human performance in space.
“Unprecedented leaps for humanity require unprecedented levels of human cooperation across disciplines, across cultures, across nations,” Mirzoeva explains. “Space has both been shaped by and transcended geopolitics – and looking forward I see it as a beacon of hope for international and interdisciplinary cooperation.”
Sky’s the limit
Looking ahead, Mirzoeva is enthusiastic about continuing to contribute to the space law community. Along with her team at the Space Law Society (Noor Elsabagh (3L), Sacha Nandlall (2L), Shira Gerstein (3L), Jenna Park (2L) adn Laurence Theriault (2L-Civil Law), she is already planning to bring Canadian astronauts and other luminaries in the space industry to engage with the Faculty of Law. Her experience at ISU has opened doors that she never imagined and strengthened her commitment to advancing international cooperation in space for the betterment of all humanity.