25 years ago, the Russian Federation and the United States signed an agreement on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
The document is based on the "Treaty on the principles of activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies", which back in 1967 became the basis of international space law and proclaimed space to be the property of all mankind.
By the time of its creation, it was signed by only three states (USA, Great Britain and the USSR). To date, it has been ratified by over 100 countries.
In this regard, we decided to recall what humanity has done (or planned to do) in relation to space over the past half century, and tried to understand how legal it is.
Space exploration
According to article I of the treaty, outer space "is open for exploration and use by all states without any discrimination."
And humanity is actively using this.
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Over the 50 years of the document's existence, we managed to do a lot: we sent research vehicles to almost every significant object of our solar system, went beyond it (thanks to the automatic station Voyager-1), deprived Pluto of the status of the ninth planet (but at the same time we continue to observe it as part of the program New Horizons) and even began to look for places potentially suitable for life (this is what the Kepler telescope is doing now).
We also have over a million images of stars and nebulae taken by the orbiting observatory Hubble, and already in April 2017, scientists plan to replenish this collection with a snapshot of the event horizon of a black hole, presumably located in the center of our galaxy.
The main requirements for research programs are their peaceful nature and "environmental safety". To put it in an extremely simplified way, in the course of experiments it is important not to infect the earth with alien organisms, but space with earthly ones.
Apparently, while humanity manages to observe all the precautions.
ISS and other international projects
The International Space Station has been in orbit since 1998. During this time, 50 long-term expeditions managed to visit it.
What is worth knowing about this object from the point of view of space law?
That the ISS, in accordance with Article XII of the treaty, in the future can be visited by representatives of all countries that have ratified it. But so far, only 14 states are involved in the project: the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and 10 countries representing the European Space Agency (ESA).
That cosmonauts are primarily viewed as "envoys of humanity into space" and only then as representatives of specific states. Nevertheless, each of them is under the jurisdiction of the country of which he is a citizen.
And that the priority is cooperation and feasible mutual assistance (since space legislation does not encourage competition).
As for the modules that make up the ISS, each specific segment belongs to the state that built it. It is also responsible for him and disposes of his future fate. So, the laboratory module "Science", which is planned to be attached to the station in late 2017 - early 2018, if a decision is made to flood the ISS, it will be disconnected to become the basis for a new, exclusively Russian orbital station.
Space tourism
Not prohibited, but limited in terms of locations. So far, the only accessible tourist site is the ISS.
During the entire existence of the station, seven non-cosmonauts have visited it. These include Hungarian billionaire Charles Simonyi, Ultima and Lineage game developer Richard Garriott, and Cirque du Soleil creator Guy Laliberté. British singer Sarah Brightman, who was planning a tourist flight into space in 2015, is known to have abandoned it in the end, citing family circumstances.
However, information has recently appeared that in September 2017, the eighth space tourist may go to the ISS, who may even make a spacewalk. But so far nothing is known about the identity of the candidate.
Space taxi
Tourism is also one of the priority branches of development for private astronautics.
Among the tasks to be solved in the first place is the creation of reusable spacecraft (the so-called space taxis). Some of the first attempts were made back in the USSR, during the construction of the Buran spacecraft, which made its only flight in 1988 (later the program was closed due to unprofitability and general crisis in the space sector).
Now the American company SpaceX is engaged in similar developments. So far on her account - the creation of the transport ship Dragon, the only one capable of "painlessly" returning to Earth after a space flight. By the end of the year, its manned version can be tested, and if everything goes well, regular tourist flights into space will become a little closer.
True, both the achievements and the failures of private astronautics are still officially responsible for the country on whose territory a particular company is registered (Article VI). So most of the private projects are implemented under the auspices of the national space agencies (and controlled by them).
Military tests
It is strictly prohibited in space. As well as the deployment of military bases and weapons of mass destruction in the orbit of the Earth, the Moon or any other space site (Article IV).
At the same time, the agreement does not prohibit the military from taking part in the exploration and study of space, as well as carrying out programs related to defense issues (for example, the deployment of the GLONASS space navigation system, recently transferred to the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Defense).
Plans to colonize other planets
It is illegal in this formulation.
Since, according to Article II, "outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation either by the proclamation of sovereignty thereon, or by use or occupation, or by any other means."
Therefore, the first expeditions to Mars will not give any territorial advantages to the countries whose astronauts will be included in the crews.
However, such flights are not expected in the near future. The estimated date of the first manned flight to Mars is 2030.
Space real estate trade
It is also impossible - for the reason already mentioned in the previous paragraph (Article II). However, there are a number of organizations trying to close such deals.
For example, the "Lunar embassy" (Lunar embassy), whose creator declared himself the owner of all space objects in the solar system back in 1980. For obvious reasons, any contracts for the acquisition of alien property entered into with this organization are null and void.
So there are no sites on the moon, holdings on Mars, or gift certificates for the stars. It's illegal.
