Fly Me to the Moon: Legal and Political Considerations of Space Exploration Initiatives

摘要

The recent announcements by the United States, the European Space Agency, the People's Republic of China and others of their respective space exploration programmes indicate a resurgent interest in large-scale space exploration on the part of a growing number of nations, organizations and commercial enterprises. The authors of this paper examine elements of the legal and political backgrounds of the announced exploration initiatives. After a short introduction, the authors sketch the current status of international law applicable to these initiatives, including issues of non-appropriation, planetary protection, the use of nuclear power sources, and international cooperation. This account of the status quo of international law is followed by an analysis of the political impulses driving space exploration initiatives. Based on these findings the authors develop prospects for the further development of international law.