Space Law at Unispace +50: Consequences and Future Perspectives

Report of IISL Session E7.4 on the occasion of the 69th International Astronautical Congress

The 50th Anniversary of the Rescue and Return Agreement: Relevance and Challenges

Report of the IISL/ECSL Symposium on the occasion of the 57th Session of the UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee, 2018 Proceedings of the IIS

Houston We Have a Law. A Model for National Regulation of Space Resources Activities.

The field of space resources activities is rapidly maturing, but we still do not have a legal regime able to cope with such development. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space finally started to debate whether commercialization of space resources is permitted under current international space law only in 2018, and yet declaring that space resources activities are lawful is barely the start. In fact, the real challenge is how to regulate them in light of the obligations set forth in international space law, without jeopardizing their economic convenience. The present paper addresses precisely this question by presenting a draft law redacted in articles, coupled with a comprehensive explanatory note. Inter alia, the paper introduces a new “space resources activities” license and proposes a detailed authorization regime based on the grant of priority rights limited in size, number and time extension. Based on the above, the paper concludes praising the importance of domestic regulation of space resources activities, when based on the same language and spirit of the OST and coordinated through mutual recognition

One Size to Fit Them All: Interoperability, the Artemis Accords and the Future of Space Exploration

On October 13th 2020, at the occasion of the 71st International Astronautical Congress, a coalition of 8 Countries including Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America presented a multilateral document called “The Artemis Accords”. Legally, the Artemis Accords constitute a political commitment towards certain “Principles for Cooperation in the Civil Exploration and Use of the Moon, Mars, Comets and Asteroids for Peaceful Purposes”. Politically, the Accords aim to “operationalize” the norms of the Outer Space Treaty for the development and execution of the Artemis Program. Unsurprisingly, this announcement has raised both appreciation and scepticism, with some States considering to sign the document and some others criticising the process as “too US- centric”. In parallel, the space law community has started to discuss the legal and policy impact of the Accords, with eminent colleagues either speaking in their support or calling for more cautiousness. In this context, this article focuses on the principle of interoperability described in Section 5 of the Accords, discussing its implications on the future of space exploration

The Multi-Level System of Space Mining: Regulatory Aspects and Enforcement Options

Few contests that space mining holds the potential to revolutionize the space sector. The utilization of space resources can reduce the costs of deep space exploration and kick-off an entirely new economy in our solar system. However, whether such a revolution will happen for good or for worse depends also on the enactment of appropriate regulation. Under the right framework, space mining will be able to deliver on its promise of a new era of prosperous and sustainable space exploration. But with the wrong rules (or lack thereof), unbalanced space resource activities can destabilize the space community to a truly unprecedented scale. With companies planning mining operations on the Moon already during this decade, the regulation of space resource activities has thus become one of the most pressing and crucial topics to be addressed by the global space community. In this context, this thesis provides a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive and innovative analysis of the regulatory and enforcement options currently shaping the multi-level governance of space mining. In addition to this, the thesis also suggests a series of correctives that can improve the system and ensure the peaceful, rational, safe, and sustainable conduct of space mining. Structurally, the thesis moves from general to particular and is divided in three chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the relationship between space law and international law to contextualize the specific assessment of space mining. Chapter 2 analyses the current regulatory framework applicable to space mining, considering both the international and national levels. Finally, Chapter 3 identifies potential enforcement options, assesses them in terms of effectiveness and legitimacy, and further proposes some pragmatic correctives to reinforce the governance system

Developing and Managing Moon and Mars Settlements in Accordance with International Space Law

Despite still being a few decades in the future, the idea of establishing an extra-terrestrial settlement on another celestial body, being it the Moon or Mars, has never been so strong. Moving from the premise that future Moon and Mars settlements shall not take place in a lawless space, this paper addresses the question of how to develop and manage them in accordance with international space law. To this end, it conducts a systematic analysis of the Outer Space Treaty (OST), with the goal of assessing the scope of the freedom to use celestial bodies under international space law. Based on this analysis, and building on the successful experience of the International Space Station, the paper proposes the development of open international settlements made of shared modular facilities. In accordance with the principles of adaptive governance and subsidiarity, the paper argues that the regulation of such settlements should be based on a multi-level framework integrating international recommendations and bilateral arrangements. Under the proposed governance scheme, international recommendations should provide a general framework enabling the development of the settlement, while leaving its management to the mutual agreement of the parties. Finally, the paper presents four essential goals to be achieved by the recommendations and ultimately concludes by arguing that while international cooperation in the development and management of extra-terrestrial settlements is not a legal obligation, it may very well be the only political option that we have to preserve the peaceful uses of outer space