Sustainability and Finance in Space Exploration: A Critical Examination of the Emerging Frontier

This study aimed to explore the determinants of sustainability (SUS) for 87 companies doing business in space exploration and space tourism globally from 2010 to 2023. The data source for firm-level data is the Wall Street Journal, and macroeconomic data is collected from the World Development Indicator (WDI) and the World Bank (WB). Pooled ordinary least square (POLS) was utilized in the linear regression to determine the simple analysis model. The panel data, as feasible generalized least square (FGLS), was utilized to determine the sustainability involved in the business of space travel and space exploration. Sustainability in the Revenue (REV) earned through transportation increased consumption of energy and liquidity (LIQ) as ESG performance strengthens the liquidity strength of a firm and positively affects sustainability (SUS). GDP helped to boost a country’s economy, with an adverse effect on energy consumption and caused a substantial threat to the environment as the CO2 emission increased. Inflation (INF) increase caused the tourism and exploration to decrease as the cost increased. Return on assets (ROA) with a negative interaction as shareholder value maximization and the investments in the environmental business niche are a costly initiative.