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These 11 laws are what keep space from becoming the wild west
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When Russia launched the world's first
satellite in 1957, it revealed a glaring hole in legal policy -
how should we regulate outer space? Should Russia get in trouble
for violating international law by flying a satellite over US
airspace without permission?
It was clear we'd need a new set of rules to
govern airspace as humanity started climbing higher into the sky
and eventually into outer space.
That, and the
Cold War idea that the United States or Russia would try to
colonize space and create a nuclear weapons base there helped
inspire the United Nations
Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
The treaty was the founding body of space law and it's inspired
several other international conventions and agreements.
Here are some of the major laws that currently govern space, and
what policies we'll need in the future:
One of the most important bodies of space law is the United Nations "Outer Space Treaty." It lays out several rules that dictate how countries must behave in space.
1. Space is common ground and everyone is allowed to explore it.
"Outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all
States," the Outer Space Treaty reads.
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2. But anyone exploring space has to do it peacefully.
"The Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively
for peaceful purposes," the treaty reads.
3. That means no military bases.
No country is allowed to put nuclear weapons into orbit or set up
a military base beyond Earth.
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4. And it's not just military bases — no country can claim any land in space.
Just because the United States planted its flag in the moon in
1969 doesn't mean it has any right to lunar land.
Everything in space essentially counts as international
waters.
This can manifest in hilarious ways, and there's a great example
in the science fiction bestseller "The Martian." In the story the
main character Mark Watney gets stranded on Mars. When he is
inside a NASA-owned Mars habitat, US law applies. But as soon as
he steps outside onto Martian soil, he's in international waters.
At one point, Watney needs to use a NASA-owned spacecraft for his
escape. But his communications system is broken so NASA can't
give him permission to climb aboard, and according to the Outer
Space Treaty, you can't lay claim to anything in space. So Watney
has to "commandeer" the ship, an action that will technically
make him a pirate under international law. A space pirate.
"After I board Ares 4, before talking to NASA, I will take
control of a craft in international waters without permission,"
Watney says in the
book. "That makes me a pirate! A space pirate!"
5. The "Moon Agreement" elaborates on the idea that no country can own any celestial object.
"Neither the surface nor the subsurface of the moon, nor
any part thereof or natural resources in place shall become
property of any state, international intergovernmental or
non-governmental organization, national organization, or
non-governmental entity or of any natural person," the
Moon Agreement reads.
It also reinforces the idea that no one can use the moon as a
military base or keep an arsenal of nuclear weapons in orbit
around it.
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Not that people don't try.
People like Dennis Hope have been selling property on the moon
for years.
"I sent the United Nations a declaration of ownership
detailing my intent to subdivide and sell the moon and have never
heard back," Hope told the
U.S. News and World Report in 2013. "There is a loophole in
the treaty - it does not apply to individuals."
However most policy makers and lawyers agree that Hope
doesn't have a good argument here, and anyone who purchases lunar
property from him doesn't have legal rights to the land.
6. Anything that launches into space has to be registered.
But in addition to the model, age, and ownership details, you
have to register your spacecraft's orbital path, where you're
launching it from, and what it will be doing in space.
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7. If there's a spaceship crash, the state is held responsible for the damage.
According to the treaty, the government is on the hook for any
damage to its spacecraft and it's held responsible for all
activities in space regardless if they're carried out by a
government or non-government group.
8. In fact, people were so worried about damages from space exploration, that they created a whole separate liability treaty.
If your country's satellite bumps into another one and breaks it,
then you're on the hook for the damage under the
Liability Convention. AKA: You break it, you bought it.
The same applies if a satellite, spacecraft, or space station
crash-lands on Earth. Whoever built the object is responsible for
paying for any damage it causes.
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9. No one is supposed to contaminate space.
NASA and other space agencies are required to do all they can to
avoid contaminating outer space when they send spacecraft out to
explore the cosmos.
If we bring Earth microbes to another planet it could kill off
other life forms that may be lurking there. Contamination could
also trick us into thinking we've found life beyond Earth if we
unknowingly bring along some stowaway microbes.
While it's impossible to get rid of every trace of Earth,
s pacecraft and any rovers or objects that will land on a
planet's surface are scrubbed and sterilized as thoroughly as
possible before launch.
This part of the Outer Space Treaty is also why an astronaut
couldn't open the hatch of his or her spaceship and
push a dead body out into space.
10. The "Rescue Agreement."
This one is great news in case we ever have a real
Matt-Damon-stranded-on-Mars case on our hands.
"States shall take all possible steps to rescue and assist
astronauts in distress and promptly return them to the launching
State," the
treaty reads.
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11. US citizens can now harvest minerals from asteroids.
The Outer Space Treaty forbids anyone from owning property
in space, but the Space Act of 2015 includes this controversial
passage that seems to grant ownership over resources harvested in
space to individuals:
"A United States citizen engaged in commercial recovery
of an asteroid resource or a space resource under this chapter
shall be entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource
obtained, including to possess, own, transport, use, and sell the
asteroid resource or space resource obtained in accordance with
applicable law, including the international obligations of the
United States."
There's still discussion about
whether or not this is totally legal under the Outer Space
Treaty. Although, the US has brought back moon rocks and no one
has yet disputed that the US owns those rocks. It seems some kind
of mining license system could help clear up the problem, as
Wired
reports.
Either way, we'll need a lot of new policies introduced to govern
commercial endeavors in space.
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