This monograph addresses the legal and policy issues relating to the commercial exploitation of natural resources in outer space. It begins by establishing the economic necessity and technical feasibility of space mining today, an estimate of the financial commitments required, followed by a risk analysis of a commercial mining venture in space, identifying the economic and legal risks. This leads to the recognition that the legal risks must be minimised to enable such projects to be financed. This is followed by a discussion of the principles of international space law, particularly dealing with state responsibility and international liability, as well as some of the issues arising from space mining activities. Much detail is devoted to the analysis of the content of the common heritage of mankind doctrine. The monograph then attempts to balance such interests in creating a legal and policy compromise to create a new regulatory regime.

This monograph addresses the legal and policy issues relating to the commercial exploitation of natural resources in outer space. It begins by establishing the economic necessity and technical feasibility of space mining today, an estimate of the financial commitments required, followed by a risk analysis of a commercial mining venture in space, identifying the economic and legal risks. This leads to the recognition that the legal risks must be minimised to enable such projects to be financed. This is followed by a discussion of the principles of international space law, particularly dealing with state responsibility and international liability, as well as some of the issues arising from space mining activities. Much detail is devoted to the analysis of the content of the common heritage of mankind doctrine. The monograph then attempts to balance such interests in creating a legal and policy compromise to create a new regulatory regime.

The thawing Antarctic continent offers living space and marine and mineral resources that were previously inaccessible. This book discusses how revisiting the Antarctic Treaty System and dividing up the continent preemptively could spare the world serious conflict. The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements—collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)—regulate the seventh continent, which is the only continent without a native human population. The main treaty within the ATS came into force in 1961 and suspended all territorial claims in Antarctica. The Antarctic Environmental Protocol followed in 1998 and prohibited any minerals exploitation in the continent. With this prohibition up for review in 2048, this book asks whether the Antarctic Treaty can continue to protect Antarctica. Doaa Abdel-Motaal—an expert on environmental issues who has traveled through the Arctic and Antarctic—explains that the international community must urgently turn its attention to examining how to divide up the thawing continent in a peaceful manner. She discusses why the Antarctic Treaty is unlikely to be an adequate measure in the face of international competition for invaluable resources in the 21st century. She argues that factors such as global warming, the growth in climate refugees that the world is about to witness, and the increasingly critical quest for energy resources will make the Antarctic continent a highly sought-after objective. Readers will come to appreciate that what has likely protected Antarctica so far was not the Antarctic Treaty but the continent's harsh climate and isolation. With Antarctica potentially becoming habitable only a few decades from now, revisiting the Antarctic Treaty in favor of an orderly division of the continent is likely to be the best plan for avoiding costly conflict.

The book speaks to the need for a regulatory framework with regards to space resource utilization. In doing so, significant elements of the subject matter have been explored, taking into account the different phases of a space mission and the perspectives of the various actors and participants in the space arena. The book tackles the subject matter from a number of angles. An analysis of the current national and international governance frameworks is performed, with regards to resource extraction and utilization in space. The view of established and emerging space nations is analyzed next, specifically with extraction and utilization in mind, and in light of the new United State (US) Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA) of 2015. A brief analysis of the various budgets allocated to space exploration is given.

The Space Race was a rivalry of the twentieth century between two great Super Powers in the Cold War, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (USA), aimed at achieving the highest positions in space flight capabilities. It derives from the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race that followed the Second World War. The technological advantage needed to quickly achieve milestones in space flight was considered essential for national security and combined with the symbolism and ideology to time. The Space Race led to pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, unmanned space probes to the Moon, Venus and Mars, and human space flights in low Earth orbit and the Moon.

This volume provides an authoritative, cutting-edge resource on the characteristics of both technological and social change in warfare in the twenty-first century, and the challenges such change presents to international law. The character of contemporary warfare has recently undergone significant transformation in several important respects: the nature of the actors, the changing technological capabilities available to them, and the sites and spaces in which war is fought. These changes have augmented the phenomenon of non-obvious warfare, making understanding warfare one of the key challenges. Such developments have been accompanied by significant flux and uncertainty in the international legal sphere. This handbook brings together a unique blend of expertise, combining scholars and practitioners in science and technology, international law, strategy and policy, in order properly to understand and identify the chief characteristics and features of a range of innovative developments, means and processes in the context of obvious and non-obvious warfare. The handbook has six thematic sections: Law, war and technology Cyber warfare Autonomy, robotics and drones Synthetic biology New frontiers International perspectives. This interdisciplinary blend and the novel, rich and insightful contribution that it makes across various fields will make this volume a crucial research tool and guide for practitioners, scholars and students of war studies, security studies, technology and design, ethics, international relations and international law.

Although its roots lie in early rocket technologies and the international tensions that followed World War II, the space race began after the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. The space race became an important part of the cultural and technological rivalry between the USSR and the United States during the Cold War. Modern space exploration is reaching unbelievable areas. Mars is the focal point of space exploration. In the long term, there are tentative plans for manned orbital and landing missions to the Moon and Mars, establishing scientific outposts that will then give way to permanent and self-sufficient settlements. Additional exploration will potentially involve expeditions and settlements on other planets and their moons, as well as the establishment of mining and fueling outposts, particularly in the asteroid belt. Physical exploration outside the solar system will be robotic in the foreseeable future.