(MvS) Will the colonization of space result in another age of empires? And if so, how do you maintain control over those colonies, especially in an age of weapons that could potentially destroy entire planets, including the planet from which the colonists originated. Imagine what it would have been like in the revolutionary war, if America could have actually wiped England off the face of the planet.
(MvS) What if countries start using mind drugs in the air or water supply to make colonies more docile? Would/should this be against some form of international/interstellar law, or would it be like informed consent? (i.e. “you want to come live on this colony, we get to drug you with all this stuff, now sign here….”)
(MvS) What if we actually do encounter intelligent
life out there?
What rights will they have, if any, in our society?
(MvS) All societies produce trash. What about the
trash coming off
our huge space station settlements? Do we just jettison it off into
space and hope it doesn’t hit anything important? Could nanites solve
that problem by recycling all our trash into useful things?
(MvS) What if a one of a country’s satellite colonies discovers something of immeasurable importance to mankind, a cure for some sort of disease, or an element that makes interstellar travel faster or more efficient… Does that country have an obligation to make that thing available for the benefit of all (the common heritage of mankind principle), or would the system remain a finders keepers game as it is on earth today as far as natural resources in your own country?
(PYS) Geosynchronous orbit--around the equator at an orbital distance
that keeps the satellite above a fixed point on the earth's surface, or
close--is crowded. It thus provides an early example of the
problem of how to divvy up Space. Can it be done by some form of
property rights? Defined how? Are there other possibilities?
(PYS) Commercial enterprises are discovering ways to exploit natural resources in space profitably, but it will not be possible to exploit these resources without some degree of appropriation. How should the current space property rights regime be changed to encourage such private sector investments yet maintain the common good nature of space activities?
(PYS) An American scientist is conducting an experiment aboard an orbiting multinational space station built by the United States, Russia, Canada and other nations. The American passes through the Russian module, where a Canadian astronaut is repairing an instrument panel. The astronaut pushes aside a wrench, which floats away and injures the American scientist. Which state's choice of law applies? Which state’s substantive laws will apply to the issues of the astronaut’s liability and the American's ability to recover damages?