We field many questions regarding Lunar Governance, that’s part of our business. These questions include:
Who owns the Moon? No one. The Outer Space Treaty makes this clear. However hardware already on the Moon needs to be preserved via agreed-upon safety zones – we incorporate these into our Lunar Governance maps.
Can we mine the Moon? Yes. However, there’s a tonne of paperwork just to launch a satellite, the decreasing cost of launch is making the prospect of mining the Moon probable and profitable but at a slow pace, and the business case (what to mine and where) is an evolving and emerging project
As part of our campaign to improve existing Lunar Governance, we will add notable events that we have attended, virtual and in-person.
Space Law Symposium
German Language version: https://raumfahrtkoordinator.hessen.de/symposium-weltraumrecht
Left to right: Prof. Dr. Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Kevin Mac Gowan, Sabine Groth (event organisater), Simon Drake
On 3rd November was the first symposium on space law organized by the Hesse Space Coordinator, at the Hessian State Chancellery in Wiesbaden. Hesse is a state of Germany, notable for cities such as Frankfurt (one of the finance hubs of Europe) and Darmstadt (one of the major space centres of Europe).
The event was organised by Sabine Groth, as an initiative of the Hessian Space Coordinators Office at the Hessian State Chancellery.
Prof. Dr. Johann-Dietrich Wörner opened the event, followed by a virtual greeting from the Hessen Minister President Boris Rhein.
The symposium focussed on the legal issues of space law today, and included the following presenters and topics:
- Prof. Dr. Stephan Hobe from the University of Cologne, Institute for Air and Space Law and Cyberlaw. He gave an introduction on the legal framework of space and then focussed on current legal issues in the field of space law, e.g. space mining.
- Silvia Castañer, Administrative Director of EUMETSAT. She provided a perspective of current legal issues from the point of view of EUMETSAT and the EUMETSAT data policy.
- Kevin Mac Gowan and Simon Drake presented the concept of their start-up “Lunar Resources Registry”, including solutions for Lunar Governance.
- Dr. Stephan Recher, Vice President of CGI, spoke of the challenges for German space actors with regard to critical infrastructures and their protection.
- Prof. Dr. Hobe finished off the symposium with a presentation on space governance in Europe and the relationships and roles of ESA and EUSPA.
The positive feedback from almost 40 participants showed the need for continued and complex dialogue on space law, on a national, European and international level.
Due to requests, a follow-on symposium will be implemented by the Hesse Space Coordinators Office at the Hessian State Chancellery in 2024.