These 11 laws are what keep space from becoming the wild west (2024)

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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.

Source: The United Nations Outer Space Treaty.

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 Treatyreads.

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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 inthe science fiction bestseller"The Martian." In the story themain 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'tgive 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!"

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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 Agreementreads.

It also reinforces the idea that no one can usethe moon as a military base or keepan 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.

Hope has gone as far as to set up a Lunar Embassy and claim he's the elected president of the Galactic Government.

"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.

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6. Anything that launches into space has to be registered.

The Registration Conventionlawissort of like a vehicle registration for spacecraft.

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, thegovernment 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.

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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 anydamage 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. Contaminationcould also trick us into thinking we've found life beyond Earth if we unknowinglybring along some stowaway microbes.

While it'simpossible to get rid of every trace of Earth, spacecraft 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 alsowhy an astronautcouldn't open the hatch of his or herspaceship and push a dead body out into space.

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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 theSpace Act of 2015includesthis 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 legalunder 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.