#moonagreement

[humanspaceflightday]

The legacy of the moon agreement

The Legacy of the moon agrement, revisitedn context, opportunities and risks. Webinars

[humanspaceflightday]

Challenge for implementing the moon agrement.

“One caution lawyers, diplomats and statesmen should observe is to avoid trying to treat layman’s language as if it were formulated in terms of technical legal concepts. . . . On the other hand, the phrase, common heritage of humankind, a layman’s formula if ever there was one should be given the greatest respect. While it should not, indeed cannot be viewed as a prescription, it can be accepted as an important hortatory message, a kind of policy directive.” -- L.F.E. Goldie

The Moon Agreement: Its effectiveness in the 21st century; Forty years after the Promethean achievement of Apollo 11, the major space-faring nations are showing a renewed interest in missions to the Moon. While in the 1960s, in the context of the Cold War, the decision to land humans on the Moon was perceived as a strategic political instrument between the two blocs, now in the 21st century, a considerably increased number of space actors complicates the scene with multiple sectorial and national interests. Security still predominates, although economic considerations also play an increasing role. 

The commercialisation and privatisation of space activities leads to new challenges which raise the issue of the role of the international legal framework. In this context, the Agreement Governing the Activities of the States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 1979 (known as the Moon Agreement) should be able to play a relevant role. There are several political and legal questions that arise for discussion. At its forty-sixth session, the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) decided to include a discussion on the activities which are being or to be carried out on the Moon and other celestial bodies in the forty-seventh session of the Subcommittee in 2008. A joint statement by some State Parties to the Agreement addresses questions raised during these discussions. United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs.