Laws Governing Outer Space and Interplanetary Activities in Our Solar System

For those of you interested in Outer Space - This article provides a brief overview of the current laws and regulations developed to date related to Outer Space, Inter-Planetary Exploration and Colonization, Mining Asteroids, Policing and Enforcement, Commercialization, Ownership and much more. As we gear up to become an Interplanetary species, we need to do a lot more thinking about these and the many other complex issues and challenges that may emerge over the coming century. Are you ready for  some of your grandchildren to be working in space?

Background & Definitions

The origins of ‘space law’ date all the way back to 1919, with international law recognizing each country's sovereignty over the airspace directly above their territory, later reinforced at the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation in 1944. The onset of domestic space programs during the Cold War propelled the official creation of initial international space policy by the International Council of Scientific Unions.

The Soviet Union's 1957 launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, directly spurred the US Congress to pass the Space Act, creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Because space exploration required crossing transnational boundaries, it was during this era where space law became a field independent from traditional aerospace law.

 

Since the Cold War, the “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies”, commonly referred to as the "Outer Space Treaty", has served as the constitutional legal framework and provided a set of principles and procedures constituting current space law. Further, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), along with its various subcommittees, are responsible for debating issues of international space law and policy. The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) serves as the secretariat of the Committee and is promoting the policy of “Access to Space for All”.‎

Space law - The body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Key fields of law and domains of interest that need to be included within a comprehensive body of space law over the coming century include: commercial law, space colonization and governance, property and ownership laws, environmental law, mining, health care issues, liability and insurance, transportation, housing, labor laws, militarization and weapons in space, criminal law and law enforcement, ethics and much more. - See Wikipedia on Space Law

Key international treaties on Outer Space that have been negotiated and passed by COPUOS include:

• The 1963 “Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water”, called the "Partial Test Ban Treaty".
• The 1967 "Outer Space Treaty", the most widely adopted treaty agreed to by 104 nations.
• The 1968 “Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space”, referred to as the "Rescue Agreement".
• The 1972 “Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects”, commonly referred to as the "Liability Convention".
• The 1975 “Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space”, called the "Registration Convention".
• The 1979 “Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies”, referred to as the "Moon Treaty".

These key treaties and agreements of international space law cover "non-appropriation of outer space by any one country, arms control, the freedom of exploration, liability for damage caused by space objects, the safety and rescue of spacecraft and astronauts, the prevention of harmful interference with space activities and the environment, the notification and registration of space activities, scientific investigation and the exploitation of natural resources in outer space and the settlement of disputes.”

In addition to the key treaties and agreements on international space law, the UN General Assembly has also adopted the following declarations and legal principles that are described in more detail at Wikipedia on Space Law. They include:

• The Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space (1963)
• Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (1979)
• The Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting (1982)
• The Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space (1986)
• The Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space (1992)
• The Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries (1996)

We are now on the threshold of moving from a Type 0 Civilization to a Type I Interplanetary Civilization. (See http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale) Type 0 civilization extracts its energy, information, raw-materials from crude organic-based sources (i.e. food/wood/fossil fuel/books/oral tradition); pressures via natural disaster, natural selection, and societal collapse creates extreme risk of extinction; it's capable of orbital spaceflight; societies that fail to improve social, environmental and medical understanding concurrently with other advancements, frequently accelerated their own extinction. Type I civilization extracts its energy, information, and raw-materials from fusion power, hydrogen, and other "high-density" renewable-resources; is capable of interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary communication, megascale engineering, and interplanetary colonization, medical and technological singularity, planetary engineering, world government and trade, and stellar system-scale influence; but are still vulnerable to possible extinction.

Findings & Selected Articles

Some of the many other recent articles on Space Laws and Treaties that you might want to explore further include:

• What you need to know about the Laws of Space
• Who Owns the Moon? Law & Outer Space Treaties
• The Entrepreneur's Guide to Space Law

• NASA needs to update its rules on how to keep the Solar System clean

• How an international treaty signed 50 years ago became the Backbone for Space Law

• As Space Becomes a Busy Place, NASA Bolsters Its Planet Contamination Police

• We urgently need a legal framework for Space Colonisation and Governance

• President Obama signs U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act

• Planetary protection and Space Law - Space Legal Issues

• Outer Space Treaties Didn't Anticipate the Privatization of Space Travel

Conclusions & Next Steps

The following is a brief summary of some key conclusions, legal issues, and next steps with regards to our civilization’s move into Outer Space and and towards Interplanetary Exploration and Colonization.

• We are now on the threshold of moving from a Type 0: Earth-bound Civilization to a Type I: Interplanetary Civilization. (See http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale)
• In a National Geographic article, Elon Musk estimates that a million people could be living and working on Mars and in Outer Space by 2060. Do a quick Internet search on Jobs in Outer Space, you may be surprised by what you find.
• A more comprehensive body of space law will be needed over the coming century addressing: commercial law, space colonization & governance, property & ownership laws, liability & insurance, militarization & weapons in space, criminal law & law enforcement, environmental issues, mining, health care, housing, labor laws, transportation issues, ethics and so much more.

If you thought the rate of change was going to level off, forget it. I’ve already been preparing my grandkids for the prospect of working in the Space Industry – if not actually working off planet in the coming century. Think about it.

Selected Links

European Space Agency International Institute of Space Law National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Space Society (NSS) Space Law: SpaceLegalIssues.com UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) US Space Command and US Space Force