In this section, we will provide a brief description of the current legal regime of outer space. Parts of Public International Law will also be taken into account as applicable to space activities. It should be noted that a growing number of countries are creating a specific set of rules or space acts. For example, the US Space Bill states that any invention made, used, or sold in outer space on a space object under the jurisdiction or control of the United States shall be considered to be made, used, or sold within US territory.

Current International Space Law

The basic rules that have to be followed for the "exploration and use of outer space" have been written in broad terms; their application is not particularly difficult. Specific provisions have a more direct application to our project.

• General Principles: Most of the following principles were adopted unanimously in a United Nations General Assembly as the "Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space." These principles were later codified in the Space Treaties.

Article I of the Outer Space Treaty (1967) provides the most fundamental principle that all states are free to explore and use outer space, the Moon and other celestial bodies on the basis of equality, without any type of discrimination. Furthermore, the treaty states that "there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies" by the states. It establishes the freedom of scientific exploration. Outer space constitutes a res extra commercium, i.e. it is an area not subject to national appropriation. The Outer Space Treaty in Article II prohibits "any claim of sovereignty, by means of occupation, or by any other means."

In addition, Article IV prevents nations from placing any object carrying nuclear weapons or any other weapon of mass destruction in orbit around the Earth. The principle of peaceful purpose is an ordinary rule of international law that is found in the United Nations Charter.

The Outer Space Treaty does not use the concept of nationality when it deals with space objects. The registration requirements contain a very important rule for space activities: the state that launches a space object shall retain jurisdiction and control over that object and also over the personnel thereof. This rule will principally permit identification of the space object in case of litigation and will consequently determine any liabilities . In fact, states are liable for damage caused by their space objects.

International Law makes a distinction between "responsibility" and "liability." The international responsibility for national space activities, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities is stated in Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty. Concerning liability, the state that will be declared liable in the case of litigation is the launching state. Currently, companies are not able to get insurance coverage if they are not backed up by their state. Therefore, state liability is unavoidable. It is then up to the state to recover eventual expenses from the company. It is possible that this liability system could become obsolete, too complex, and unwieldy. However, in the future this concept might become a reality.

The Rescue Agreement imposes obligations on the signatory states, and duties for the launching authority. Article V of the Outer Space Treaty declares astronauts as envoys of mankind in outer space; therefore the state in which their recovery occurs must assist.

Finally, the Moon agreement defines the Moon and its natural resources as the Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM). The principle of CHM addresses directly all the peoples of the world, cementing their global society, thereby limiting the sovereign independence of States, and the active principle of self-determination (Wassenbergh, 1993). Because this principle applies to the Moon and other celestial bodies, states need to establish an international regime to govern the exploitation of natural extra-terrestrial resources. This agreement has only been ratified by nine states (Australia, Austria, Chile, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines and Uruguay) and is consequently not applicable to all other countries.

Space Law also contains some provisions that have a more direct link with our strategy.

• Provisions specifically related to the strategy:

The concept of exploration and use of outer space is mentioned often in the space treaties but relates more to scientific research. In the course of our strategy, our concern is settlement on other planets. The prohibition of any establishment of military bases has a direct impact on our strategy.

References also are made in the treaties to landing and construction on celestial bodies: ownership of space objects shall not be affected by their presence in outer space ; the fact that the object is or is not in space does not in any way impact ownership. As there is no territorial sovereignty in outer space and on celestial bodies, these areas are not subject to national appropriation, even under private law.

The principles of cooperation and mutual assistance in outer space should also be stressed, as they are essential aspects of our strategy. The success of our strategy depends strongly on the quality of relationships between states.

Furthermore, the stations, installations, and equipment shall be open and accessible to representatives of other states . This requirement is applicable only on a reciprocity basis. This principle should not impact our project in the near term. However, in the long term new rules could be created to reflect a more business-like space development approach.

The current legal framework provides some important requirements for our strategy and must be respected in order to achieve our goals

Other Agreements

• UN Charter: The General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted the principle that International Law, including the Charter of the UN, applies to outer space and celestial bodies.

Our strategy should reflect the spirit of the Charter. The main goals of this chapter are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, and achieve international cooperation. In the development of the strategy, members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means.

• International Telecommunications Union: In order to protect radio frequencies against harmful interference, international regulations are adopted through ITU, a specialized agency of the United Nations.

States require their operating agencies to obtain radio licenses from their appropriate authorities. In the case of a settlement on a different planet, we will also have to look at possible similar requirements for the implementation of any satellite network. One recommendation could be to ask the ITU to plan the allocation of radio frequencies for communication with celestial bodies.

• Environment: The Outer Space Treaty contains rights and obligations in the interest of protecting the environment.

States shall avoid harmful contamination of the Moon and other celestial bodies and adverse changes to the Earth environment. In addition, one of the biggest issues related to the environment of outer space is the problem of space debris; however, there is no legal framework dealing with this issue. Spacefaring nations established the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) in 1993 and started to exchange their information and technical data about space debris. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is also working on space debris to establish a common understanding that could serve as the basis for further deliberations.

Applicability to Precursor Mission

The regulations described earlier apply to the precursor mission, especially the registration requirements (refer to 3.3.1).

The precursor mission will take place on the Moon. We must thus examine the liability issues, as the Lunar Rover Race (see 4.3 and 4.4) is an international competition involving private companies, states, and international associations.

• Applicability of the Moon Agreement?

The scope of the Moon Agreement covers celestial bodies in the solar system, orbits, and trajectories. A moratorium on the exploitation of the resources of the seabed and ocean floor was created in 1970. The same question arose for the natural resources of the Moon. This provoked a huge controversy. The Moon Agreement provides additional requirements for the states than the ones included in the Outer Space Treaty. Consequently, only a few countries have ratified it, as it limits the exploitation of natural resources. The applicability of the Moon Agreement to our strategy leads us to consider different options for our interpretation of the Treaty:

• We could stimulate the ratification of the Treaty by a majority of states. Although it would guarantee a better protection of natural resources on the Moon, it would create a precedent for agreements on every planet in the future.
   
• The Moon Treaty binds the countries that have ratified it and is respected by the other countries. Even if it does not bind all countries, the agreement has to be taken into account. The Outer Space Treaty already covers most of the principles stated in the Moon Agreement.

Thus we recommend the use of the Moon Agreement as long as it follows the principles of the Outer Space Treaty and does not go further.

For those countries that have already ratified the Moon Agreement, the following principles will apply.

States Parties have to provide information about any mission they undertake "to the greatest extent feasible and practicable of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities" to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The usual interpretation of this statement is that it relates mainly to scientific research activities. Furthermore, the broadness of wording "to the greatest extent feasible and practicable" leads to a restriction to the scope of its application. However, Article XI of the Moon Agreement has the same broad disposition. It could be interpreted as limiting the obligation of providing information in cases in which lack of information would represent a danger for other space activities.

States Parties may use mineral and other substances of the Moon in quantities appropriate for the support of their mission. Paragraph 7-d of Article XI specifies that "an equitable sharing by all state parties in the benefits derived from those resources…shall be given special consideration." As "equitable" does not mean equal, the purpose of this provision is not to enforce distribution of all possible profits but to introduce the concept of a fair and just sharing of these benefits among possible investors.

Measures have to be taken to prevent the introduction of adverse changes to the environment by harmful contamination through the introduction of foreign matter or otherwise. This is directly applicable to the Lunar Precursor Mission described in chapter 4. As the rovers will stay on the Moon after the competition, attention shall be drawn to this. Will the rovers left behind represent "harmful contamination?" It depends on the meaning of these words; one could interpret the Moon Treaty and state that those rovers are not causing any harmful contamination (they do not contain toxic elements). Therefore the rovers do not represent an adverse impact on future scientific or exploratory missions.

• Liability issues:

States party to the treaty bear international responsibility for national activities on the Moon. As a non-governmental body will organize the Lunar Rover Race, Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty will apply. These activities shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate state party to the treaty. Which is the appropriate state? There are number of "appropriate State Parties" because activities can be carried out by a single state party or jointly. As such, the situation may be too complex, and the nomination of one state party might be necessary (it could be the state of incorporation of a company).
 
The liability concerning damage caused on the Moon relies on the rules on liability found in the 1967 Treaty.

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