Living in outer space has been the subject of fascination among both science fiction enthusiasts and scientists alike for decades, but one question has perhaps been mostly overlooked in the public eye – how do we live long, prosper and establish governance and jurisdiction on the moon?
The Global Space Law Center, part of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, presented its 2020 symposium on March 6 when host panelists discussed ideas for what standards could be set as mankind continues to explore outer space and eventually establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface.
Professor Mark Sundahl, director of the Global Space Law Center, served as main moderator for “Returning to the Moon: Legal Challenges as Humanity Begins to Settle the Solar System.”
Sundahl said he thought the first steps toward a moon village involve asking big questions and setting up the legal precedents to make it successful. The Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967 laid the groundwork, but he said that existing laws may not be quite enough to govern a lunar society, which would eventually be accessible to many industries.
“Maybe someone goes up there to open up a therapy practice because it can be lonely being up on the moon,” Sundahl said. “Really, a restaurant, a movie theater -- everything we have here on earth, eventually migrated to another celestial body.”
“Imagine that we have public governmental facilities, and we have private facilities, and they are all in the same vicinity with similar needs—a need for everything that sustains life and power,” he continued. “And imagine that this settlement grows relatively large. It starts out with just a handful of astronauts, and over the years, we have maybe 50 people living there. 24-7, 365. This is the idea of a moon village.”
The laws of outer space and a future moon village may seem like a notion out of science fiction to many who are not familiar with them, but the symposium’s timing was relevant. According to NASA’s website, the first phase of the new Artemis space program, planned to take place in 2020, will ultimately lead to NASA sending two astronauts to the lunar surface in 2024.
Panelists from quite a few disciplines and regions, such as Steven Mirmina, an attorney at NASA in the International Law division, and Michelle Hanlon, an associate director for the National Center for Air and Space Law in Mississippi, joined Sundahl to explore various aspects of the issue.
Different panels covered areas such as producing aerospace technology, regulation of public and private companies’ space activities, and to how to potentially enforce jurisdiction for a moon village.
During the panel where speakers discussed what a moon village might look like, Sundahl welcomed Dr. Giuseppe Reibaldi, founder of the Moon Village Association, who joined the symposium via video chat from Rome.
The Moon Village Association is a non-governmental group with a goal to achieve cooperation and understanding between any entities, be they government or private actors, who plan to explore or eventually establish a presence on the moon.
Officials of the Moon Village Association had been working toward finalizing a draft of principles for human occupation on the moon – essentially, a set of best practices for a lunar colony. Reibaldi announced that the principles are now available for public commentary as of that day at moonvillageassociation.org.
Another panel covered the topic of lunar land rights, resource allocation, and preservation of important cultural sites on the moon’s surface. Michelle Hanlon, along with her position at National Center for Air and Space Law, is the president of the nonprofit organization For All Moonkind, Inc.
Hanlon’s organization advocates for the protection of culturally significant sites in outer space. Hanlon said she does not believe every site of human interaction on the moon need to be protected, “but we do need to manage what we protect,” she said.
As an example, Hanlon used the site of the very first moon landing. She said that no law now exists to protect the astronauts’ boot print marks at the site from potential destruction by other entities who land near them.
“We need to make the boot prints on the moon as an important site as footprints fossilized from Tanzania,” Hanlon said.
“Returning to the Moon” offered legal professionals continuing legal education (CLE) credit hours, and the general public could attend for free.
Kristina Schiavone, a member of the Global Space Law Center Research Council, helped organize the symposium, and said she was pleased with the turnout. Schiavone said she believes it is becoming increasingly important for the public to learn more about outer space law.
“Innovation is surpassing law, and in more than just space law,” she said. “Just think about cybersecurity. I think it needs to be discussed, it needs to be talked about. Government is involved with it, as [seen] today. I think the public is ready to hear about it, and they need to hear about it.”
(As originally published in the Cleveland Stater student newspaper printed edition) By Sheena Holland ...