Planetary Protection Explained: The Rules That Keep Earth Life Off Other Worlds
Planetary protection explained: Article IX, COSPAR's five categories, the 2026 Icy Worlds update, and why private missions remain a regulatory gap.
Topic
Outer Space Treaty
Can You Buy Land on the Moon? What the Law Says About Lunar Deeds
Can you buy land on the Moon? No. Why lunar deeds have no legal effect, what the Outer Space Treaty says, and…
Who Governs Mars? Mars Colony Law, the Outer Space Treaty and the ‘Free Planet’ Clause
Mars colony law explained: why no one can own Mars, whose law applies in a settlement, the Starlink 'free planet' clause and…
Explainers10 min read
10 min
Crime in Space: Who Has Jurisdiction on the ISS, Private Stations and the Moon
Crime in space explained: how the Outer Space Treaty and ISS Article 22 decide who can prosecute, what US and Canadian law say, and the gaps…
Explainers11 min read
11 min
Where Does Space Begin? The Kármán Line, the 80 km Debate and Why the Law Has No Boundary
Where does space begin? The Kármán line, the 80 km debate, the national laws that pick 100 km, and why international law still sets no boundary…
Explainers13 min read
13 min
The Rescue Agreement Explained: What States Owe Astronauts in Distress and Rocket Parts That Fall to Earth
The Rescue Agreement explained: what States owe astronauts in distress, what happens when rocket debris lands abroad, and where the 1968 treaty falls short.
Explainers12 min read
12 min
The Registration Convention Explained: Who Registers a Satellite and Why It Decides Who Controls It
The Registration Convention explained: what States must register with the UN, who counts as the launching State, and why registration decides jurisdiction.
Explainers11 min read
11 min
The Artemis Accords Explained: What They Say, Who Has Signed and Why It Matters
The Artemis Accords explained: what the text says, why Sections 10 and 11 matter for lunar mining, and who the 76 signatories are as of October…
Explainers15 min read
15 min
Space Tourism: Who Flies, What It Costs and What the Law Says About Safety
Space tourism now spans ten-minute suborbital hops, private orbital flights and paid stays on the ISS, at prices from $750,000 to a reported $55 million. This…
Commercial Space13 min read
13 min
ISS Retirement in 2030: The Deorbit Plan and What Replaces It
NASA still plans to bring the ISS down at the end of 2030, using a $843 million SpaceX deorbit vehicle it will own. But a Senate…
Explainers12 min read
12 min
The Moon Agreement: Why Almost No One Ratified It
Adopted in 1979, in force since 1984, and ratified by just 17 states, none of which launches its own astronauts. How one article on the common…
Opinion13 min read
13 min
A Robot Tried to Save a NASA Telescope. US Law Still Has No Box for What It Was Doing
Katalyst's attempt to capture and boost NASA's Swift observatory was called off in August. It had every licence US law asks for, and none for the…