The Moon is once again among the interests of the space community for scientific and economic purposes. This is creating opportunities at different levels but it is also posing challenges. Among them, the need to regulate lunar activities seems increasingly pressing. Much has changed since the Moon became the centre of last century’s Space Race. The past 20 years have witnessed the opening of the space sector to new players, industrial and business opportunities and know-how exchanges, among others. On the one hand, this enabled new scientific and technological developments in outer space. Today, many actors of the space community, both public and private, are looking to our natural satellite to stay, research, exploit its resources and use it as an outpost to bring humans to Mars. On the other, it has shortened the distance between space and geopolitics. Space has become an integral part of countries’ strategic, industrial and economic choices. This makes space vulnerable to geopolitical tensions and conflicts on Earth, but also allows it to influence geopolitical balances itself. These dynamics risk being reflected on the Moon as well, complicating cooperation and collaboration activities that are essential in outer space. Having a legal framework for lunar activities that is certain, shared and widely applicable to all actors in the sector seems crucial to prevent the Moon from becoming the object of political, territorial and economic claims. Unfortunately, the current regulatory regime applicable to the Moon is for the most part fragmented, with general and non-moon-specific rules and full of regulatory gaps. At the international level, the primary source of law is the Outer Space Treaty, whereas the Moon Agreement has only been ratified by a few countries and has no customary value. This paper will firstly clarify the legal framework applicable to the Moon, comprising the norms of International Space Treaties regarding celestial bodies, international multilateral and bilateral agreements, customary norms and national laws. Secondly, it will use a bottom-up approach to investigate legal issues, challenges and gaps. In doing so, it will focus on planned and future lunar activities, taking into consideration the strategic and economic ambitions of the actors involved. Thirdly, it will reflect on different approaches to regulation, particularly, on the potential of non-binding legal instruments to regulate the activities of a rich and diverse community of space actors, with often different needs and interests, and on new model of international cooperation in the space sector.

Law and geopolitics of the Moon. State of the art and future challenges / Prest, MARIA VITTORIA. - (2023). (Intervento presentato al convegno 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) tenutosi a Baku).

Law and geopolitics of the Moon. State of the art and future challenges

Maria Vittoria Prest
2023

Abstract

The Moon is once again among the interests of the space community for scientific and economic purposes. This is creating opportunities at different levels but it is also posing challenges. Among them, the need to regulate lunar activities seems increasingly pressing. Much has changed since the Moon became the centre of last century’s Space Race. The past 20 years have witnessed the opening of the space sector to new players, industrial and business opportunities and know-how exchanges, among others. On the one hand, this enabled new scientific and technological developments in outer space. Today, many actors of the space community, both public and private, are looking to our natural satellite to stay, research, exploit its resources and use it as an outpost to bring humans to Mars. On the other, it has shortened the distance between space and geopolitics. Space has become an integral part of countries’ strategic, industrial and economic choices. This makes space vulnerable to geopolitical tensions and conflicts on Earth, but also allows it to influence geopolitical balances itself. These dynamics risk being reflected on the Moon as well, complicating cooperation and collaboration activities that are essential in outer space. Having a legal framework for lunar activities that is certain, shared and widely applicable to all actors in the sector seems crucial to prevent the Moon from becoming the object of political, territorial and economic claims. Unfortunately, the current regulatory regime applicable to the Moon is for the most part fragmented, with general and non-moon-specific rules and full of regulatory gaps. At the international level, the primary source of law is the Outer Space Treaty, whereas the Moon Agreement has only been ratified by a few countries and has no customary value. This paper will firstly clarify the legal framework applicable to the Moon, comprising the norms of International Space Treaties regarding celestial bodies, international multilateral and bilateral agreements, customary norms and national laws. Secondly, it will use a bottom-up approach to investigate legal issues, challenges and gaps. In doing so, it will focus on planned and future lunar activities, taking into consideration the strategic and economic ambitions of the actors involved. Thirdly, it will reflect on different approaches to regulation, particularly, on the potential of non-binding legal instruments to regulate the activities of a rich and diverse community of space actors, with often different needs and interests, and on new model of international cooperation in the space sector.
2023
74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC)
lunar activities; fragmented legal framework; Moon geopolitics; lunar economy; landing sites; space traffic management; lunar resources; environmental protection; competition; cooperation; non-legally binding instruments
04 Pubblicazione in atti di convegno::04c Atto di convegno in rivista
Law and geopolitics of the Moon. State of the art and future challenges / Prest, MARIA VITTORIA. - (2023). (Intervento presentato al convegno 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) tenutosi a Baku).
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Prest_Law-and-geopolitics_2023.pdf

solo gestori archivio

Note: articolo principale
Tipologia: Documento in Post-print (versione successiva alla peer review e accettata per la pubblicazione)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 394.66 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
394.66 kB Adobe PDF   Contatta l'autore

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1689875
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact