Geekosystem's Sci-Fi Scenarios Aren't as Far-Fetched as You Think

"Who owns the moon?" is the second most common question I get when I tell people I studied space law. "Space law: that's a thing?" is the first.

(No one, and yes.)

The electronic magazine Geekosystem ran a great article today about space law, a primer on the subject for your average non-lawyer. It's a great introduction for people who have never heard of space law, or who are wondering just what law there is in space. The interview portion also includes two extremely knowledgeable people I've had the pleasure of working with, Elsbeth Magilton and Frans von der Dunk. And I'm not just saying that because one of them quoted me. (I have never met the third interviewee, Julie McMahon, but, since she has the good sense to be a space law buff, I assume good things about her as well.)

Geekosystem, of course, got to the good stuff quickly. Star Wars. Gravity. Avatar. How do these movies stack up with space law? These are things that people really care about. I've written before about how science fiction says a lot about our culture, and literature can offer us important insights into our society.

But science fiction is just that: fiction. Star Wars and Avatar are unrealistic. (Gravity, although it gets a lot wrong on the science, highlights some real issues.) Questions like "Who is responsible for the space junk left over from blowing up the Death Star?" and "Can the Resources Development Administration be held responsible for damaging the Tree of Souls?" are fun, but fantastical. Right?

Wrong. They aren't as far-fetched as you think.

50 Years Ago, We Aimed for the Moon

Today is the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's famous "Moon Speech". On September 12, 1962, Kennedy spoke at Rice University in Houston, Texas, to explain the goal of getting to the moon. During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union had launched a hollowed out ICBM shell into space as the U.S. watched. The most well-known segment from his speech is this:

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

This kind of challenge, he said, would push the United States to be better, to be stronger, and to advance the cause of peace over the shadow of war. Space would be won for peaceful nations, and it would be a place for peace and knowledge.