Re:Space law is inadequate for the boom in human activity there
by dd36 on Thursday July 18, 2019 @01:30PM
(#20472083)
Is it much different than the laws of the sea? Sometimes laws spur innovation. If the law is: first one to establish a base owns it then there will be a lot of effort put into establishing a base.
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Re:Space law is inadequate for the boom in human activity there
by fuzzfactor on Saturday July 20, 2019 @09:02AM
(#20485494)
According to one of the earliest space lawyers in the '80's, maritime law is largely the foundation.
Re:Space law is inadequate for the boom in human activity there
by elihu on Thursday July 18, 2019 @10:09PM
(#20475671)
Then the question becomes: what counts as a "base" and how much of the surrounding land or other relevant resources are deemed to belong to the base?
Personally, I think land ownership claims around unmanned probes, rovers, and stationary facilities should be kept small, and claims around manned homesteads should not be more than about a mile radius or so, probably less. In the beginning, I think it's good to have policies that encourage settlements with different owners to be located close together, without anyone becoming a real-estate baron. The best land should go to those who have the ability to actually use it, not real-estate speculators.
See also: https://xkcd.com/2125/ as an example of how land claims shouldn't work.