Law and Governance of Outer Space Technologies

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/R_LaGoOST

Course Objective

Upon graduating this course, the students will: 1. Analyse and critically assess concepts of international space law such as space objects, space debris, launching operations, common heritage, celestial bodies, treaty interpretation, position, navigation, timing. 2. Demonstrate understanding of the key players (states, space agencies) in the space sector including the role of the privatization and commercialization of the space sector, the so-called “NewSpace phenomenon”. 3. Demonstrate understanding of how international space law (in particular, the main five international treaties representing the core of international space law) deals with space related activities, such as exploration of space resources, liability and damage caused by space objects, responsibility, ownership of celestial bodies, human settlements on celestial bodies. 4. Get a basic understanding of various of types of technologies used in space related activities, differentiating between the upstream and downstream space sectors as well as how artificial intelligence is challenging existing provisions of international space law. 5. Demonstrate the ability to work with peers by acknowledging and supporting an inclusive and diverse environment 6. Demonstrate ability to clearly formulate legal arguments verbally and in writing and to resolve complex legal problems from various perspectives.

Course Content

Artificial intelligence is disrupting our daily lives. This emerging technology offered unprecedented scientific discoveries on Earth as well as in Space. Over the last decade, along with a spectacularly increasing budgets and a growing number of space actors, artificial intelligence had an enormous impact on the developments in space related activities. NASA and the European Space Agency indicate that technology autonomy is treated as a top priority. Very soon, fully autonomous systems will function without human intervention, they will act on their own, which will create a series of advantages, such as: (i) enabling spacecraft to rapidly assess and react to events and environments, thus increasing the reliability and productivity of missions, (ii) enabling new deep space exploration missions, which were not possible before (e.g., exploring Mars), (iii) reaching a new level of human-machine interaction (e.g., humans can receive AI assistance during long-term missions on the International Space Station), (iv) prevent and mitigate space pollution (space junk), etc. In the space industry, the growing dependence on artificial intelligence as well as the rise of private actors alongside states, is referred to as the “NewSpace”. This phenomenon does not come without legal implications. Therefore, during this course, students will get acquainted with the challenges posed by artificial intelligence in relation to the existing norms regulating human activities in and relating to outer space, i.e., the so-called “Space Law” (a branch of international law mainly comprised of treaties, conventions, and United Nations General Assembly resolutions). Examples of themes discussed in the course include:
- Governing Outer Space: what laws are applicable in space, main actors involved, the commercialization of the space sector, the legal regime of outer space (e.g. ownership rights in outer space)
- Liability for damage caused by space objects in accordance with the Outer Space Treaty and the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects: how is AI challenging the liability regimes imposed by these international treaties; how is international law able to provide an alternative fallback mechanism for addressing such challenges?
- Real Estate in Space & Space Mining: who owns the resources extracted from celestial bodies (e.g. Mars, the Moon etc.)?
- Human Settlements in Outer Space: legal implications of setting up permanent human habitats and the role of AI in the development of such future habitats
- International Space Station: past, present, future; legal status and legal implications on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
- Sustainability & Environmental Protection: regulatory frameworks on space pollution (space junk), mitigating and preventing space junk with the help of AI
- National sovereignty of states in an outer space context
- Cyber Space: regulatory frameworks on cybersecurity and their intersection with space law, how AI can mitigate the risks of cyber attacks on different types of satellites
- Navigation: legal aspects concerning Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GPS, Galileo etc.)
- Militarization and War in Space: applicable laws.

Teaching Methods

The teaching methods will combine on campus and online lectures (7 x 2 hours each) and tutorials (3 x 2 hours each). Part of the lectures will be given by guest lecturers, experts in their fields (space and technology law professors, attorneys from Magic Circle law firms, policy experts from the European Space Agency, European Commission, industry experts involved in designing AI technologies launched in outer space, NGOs representatives). The tutorials will contain practical exercises aiming to familiarize the students with various roles in the legal industry: attorneys, in-house legal advisors, entrepreneurs, representatives of the civil society, judges etc. Students will also practice representing clients and delivering legal advice in \"real-life\" simulated environments.

Method of Assessment

Method of assessment: participation in tutorials and a final writtenassessment (exam online or on campus).

Literature

Each lecture and tutorial will contain selected reading materialspublished on Canvas in due time. You can start to familiarize yourselfwith space law by reading the following: Frans von der Dunk, Advanced Introduction to Space Law, 2020, Edward Elgar Publishing.

Target Audience

Apart from regular students, the course is also available for: Students from other universities/faculties. Contractor (students who pay for one course). Courses from a master at the faculty can only be taken as a secondary course if you have a diploma that gives access to the relevant master/specialization (and if you are enrolled in a master).

Additional Information

In addition to lectures and tutorials, students will benefit from the following optional activities (these are extracurricular activities and they do not influence the assessment during the course):
- individual mentorship and coaching sessions
- membership of the AI ∞ Space Law Society (read more here https://www.aispacelawsociety.org/).