Hurtak_2001abstr

 

 

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL SPACE MISSION AND WHAT TYPES OF RULES WILL BE NECESSARY AFTER INITIAL SUCCESS J. J. Hurtak, Ph.D., Ph.DAFFS CorporationLos Gatos, CAjjh@affs.org www.affs.org M. Jude Egan

Bolt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley

mjegan@boalthall.berkeley.edu

  The turn to space exploration and Martian settlements should encourage global cooperation. Space exploration and the continuing development of a space infrastructure reside in a complex environment that crosses technical, political, and philosophical boundaries. For the nations of the Earth to cooperate in the human exploration of the solar system, there will have to be a common vision and shared philosophical understandings, unified in a Law that binds all equally. This requires dialogue between people involved in space-related sciences and policy-making, and the fostering of mutual respect for the larger philosophical considerations of human life.

Most all international agreements are caught in a bind between secrecy, the proprietary “technical intelligence”, and the “openness” necessary for international participation in such a venture. To encourage in-depth international programs, each participant must relinquish some of the jealously guarded managerial control and intelligence it normally exercises in its national programs, even to its former enemies. In order to ensure respect between nations, it will be necessary to draft a legal framework, a type of constitutional statement that sets forth common understandings of participation and is binding to all equally. Such a framework would not only articulate the mission statement but also define and codify the roles and understandings of all of the players as a unified entity.