Danielle Wood spoke and served as a moderator for the workshop called "Satellites for Peace: An Idea Whose Time Has Come" 2026, hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in Vatican City.  

The conference title echoes a 1979 Washington Post article inspired by Senator Adlai Stevenson, who envisioned satellites serving peace as well as human progress. Nearly fifty years later, this vision is no longer aspirational: global sharing of satellite imagery has advanced dramatically in reach, resolution, and analytical value.

The global space industry—valued at $630 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035—has rapidly expanded around the deployment of low-earth-orbit satellites. These systems now underpin essential civilian applications: scientific research, communications, navigation, and earthobservation. Satellite imagery is indispensable for monitoring agriculture, climate, deforestation, water resources, urbanization, and poverty—capabilities central to food security, environmental stewardship, sustainable development, and effective aid delivery.

The conference will examine the contribution of satellite imagery for humanitarian action in conflict areas, convening experts in conflict analysis, crisis management, mediation, humanitarian assistance, science diplomacy, and space technology.