What we do
Our planet is one small world in one small solar system. We think everyone on it deserves to understand how it works, for free, and a say in how we look after it.
The Local Solar System Foundation is a humanity-run project on planet Earth: people on our one planet, working in the open to understand it and look after it. We explain the science behind our planet’s biggest problems, we teach space and science for free in as many languages as we can, and we fund it all with transparent, pre-screened crypto donations. Every public address and every donation is listed on our transparency page.
We are organised as a DAO, a decentralised autonomous organisation: people who make decisions openly under written rules, inside a legal wrapper that is being formed.
Problems get solved for good when the solution also makes economic sense for the people who must adopt it.
That is what our tagline, Applying Capitalism to Science, means.
Four initiatives, one mission
Initiatives are areas of work and participation. They are not separate funds.
| Initiative | Focus |
|---|---|
| Blue | Urgent environmental threats: ocean and water pollution, plastics, air quality, sea-level rise. |
| Green | Energy and natural resources: resource use, population and consumption (educational), low-footprint wind energy. |
| Red | Quality of life: the Light Initiative for night-sky preservation, visual pollution, healthy-ageing research explainers. |
| Magenta | Free space learning, our current priority: courses and interactive tools about the solar system and the space economy. |
How we work
We start at the source. Cleaning up after a problem is necessary, but it never ends. We look for the drivers: the supply chains, rules and economics that produce pollution in the first place. We will not solve ocean plastic by collecting bottles from beaches. We solve it by understanding why the bottles get there, and changing that.
We look from every angle. Science, industry, finance and regulation each see a problem differently. We aim to be a knowledgeable bridge between them, explaining the evidence to businesses, policymakers and the public in terms each can act on.
We teach, for free. Knowledge is the most durable tool there is. Everything we publish is free to read and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, so anyone can copy, translate and share it. Our learning platform needs no account.
We are open about money. Every donation is screened, reviewed and published, without personal data. See how donations work and the public ledger.
How we are organised
We are working to form a legal entity for the DAO, a non-profit DAO LLC, so that the treasury, contracts and intellectual property belong to the organisation and not to individuals. A Swiss association or foundation is a long-term goal once donations justify it. Until then, no foundation exists, and we do not use that word to describe ourselves.
Read more about governance, including roles, voting and the Council.
How the project is funded
The Local Solar System Foundation is funded entirely by voluntary donations in crypto-assets. All donations go to the Treasury, which pays for everything the project needs, now and as it grows: the people who build and run it, suppliers and service providers, servers, software and licences, equipment, research, testing and prototypes, and legal, compliance and administrative costs. Donations may not be tax-deductible in your jurisdiction: tax treatment depends on where you live and on your circumstances, so please ask a local adviser.
We will publish an annual public report on our activities and finances.
Get involved
You can help without giving money. Translate a lesson, review an explainer, write code, organise a dark-sky evening or start a local chapter. See the contribution board.