War on Mars: Elon Musk, Blue Origin and how the United States formed the first extraterrestrial government

The moment when the first man sets foot on Mars is always approaching. The 140 million-mile distance between Earth and the Red Planet is set to be surpassed within the next two decades, NASA predicts.

Recently, the space agency announced plans for its Artemis lunar mission – Aiming to take place in 2024 – It is possible to establish a lunar base on the moon one step before the first planetary space.

For some, however, taking the first step on an alien planet is not far off in the future. Once a community is set up on Mars, discussions should take place about how it is managed and functioning. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, is one such planner, and seems to be laying the groundwork already based on the service of the company’s current products.

“The parties recognize Mars as a free planet for services rendered on Mars, or when they go to Mars via starship or other colonial spacecraft, and any Earth-based government has no authority or sovereignty over Mars operations,” the ruling law said.

“Accordingly, during the Mars settlement, disputes will be resolved through well-established sovereign policies in good faith.”

SpaceX did not respond to several attempts for further information The Independent, But experts say the inclusion of this category may actually have two purposes: first it is a joke; Second, it lays the foundation for the Martian constitution – based on how much the current law on space exploration actually allows.

According to Randy Sekel, a law firm with Hussein Lovells, Musk added, “A little tongue in cheek with his deals. He’s referring to this Tuesday’s constitution.” “He’s trying to add to his business … how are you going to comply with applicable law.”

The law applicable here is the Artemis Agreement of 2020 and the 1957 External Space Agreement (signatures of the Artemis Agreement claim to be permanent). The law includes this line: “Outer space is not subject to national quota by sovereignty, application or occupation, or in any other way.” As a result, these agreements stop space exploration from becoming a “land grab”, Sekel describes.

However, the terms generally refer to Segel as “motherhood and the apple pie” – an American phrase that refers to what any reasonable person would agree to, such as transparency, mobility and emergency assistance in space exploration.

“Throughout space law, we on this planet share the rights and responsibilities to create a space where we can all share together,” Segel says.

“Generally, if a rule is illegal, you will study the rest of the contract as enforceable and stand alone. He added a section relating to Mars services (which was not offered today, so no effect), but in five or 10 years “he could amend his contract.

“I do not know if such a rule, apart from being humorous and predictable, would do anything to the rest of the deal. The answer is not clear; but if you say enough, people may come around. ”

Muskin contracts are not legally binding (Or, as one professor put it, “absurd.”), Can start a conversation about how legislators should go about planning the Martian constitution. This is something that SpaceX’s General Committee David Anderman is already looking into.

“Our goal is to be able to send 1,000 starships with 100 people every two years,” Anderman said Business Insider.

“Until we have a truly stable colony 100, then a couple hundred, then 100,000, then a million. It’s going to happen in my lifetime. It’s faster than you think.”

He said he expects SpaceX to “impose our own rule of law,” but added that “regional governments have control and it will be interesting to see how this works.” Anderman did not respond to requests for comment The Independent Before release.

While colonization is the way SpaceX and other companies think about extraterrestrial exploration, legally Musk is more likely to create a community than a colony because he will still be under American rule.

“A community is a group of people with common interests and characteristics. Colony is a legal term used for territory under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the colonial state, ”said Saeed Mostasher, director of the London Space Policy and Law Institute. The Independent.

Currently, if SpaceX or Kasturi creates a community on Mars, his activity will be subject to US rule. In the future, however, legislators will see the need for a constitution that governs the entire planet, rather than being divided into geographical jurisdictions as they are now.

We need to see how it works. In 2016, Musk said his intentions for a Mars government would be a direct democracy, where people are now voting for themselves on issues rather than through politicians under Democrats.

“So people will be people who vote directly on issues, and I think it’s probably better, because the potential for corruption is significantly reduced in a direct democracy against a direct democracy.

“I think I suggest some changes to the inaction of the laws, it should be easier to remove a law than to make a law,” Musk said. “I think it’s probably good because laws have infinite lifespan.

The advantages and disadvantages of such a system, as with many governmental systems on earth, Plenty, Experts say the self-determined Mars government on Mars could be very effective.

Other astronauts, such as SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, have the opportunity to explore similar projects – although “somewhat more coherent and logical work than SpaceX,” said Van der Dunk, a Nebraska law college professor of space law. The Independent.

“It is very pertinent to think about how conflicts that require a legal settlement can develop. In the end, only SpaceX and all other companies can go so far,” he said, adding that when companies set the agenda, the government must decide whether to accept it.

The motives of the Blue Origin for the Governor of Mars are not known. Its founder, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, made a few notes on his idea of ​​an alien life,Incredible civilizationAccording to physicist Gerard O’Neill, one trillion people live in buccal colonies such as hypotheses.

“They are not what you imagine. That is, they would have farms and rivers and universities; They can hold a million people. They are cities. But I want to come back to earth, “he said. Bezos said, But is taking a slower approach to space than Musk. Regarding the law, Blue Origin said The Independent That is not the topic being talked about.

Whatever the future of those laws may be, the bizarre legal cases of the past can provide some guidance. A murder in the Arctic, it is said, already because there is no jurisdiction The killer was acquitted of all charges, Can provide the basis for alienation laws that do not reach territorial jurisdiction.

There is a human impetus to build stability through legislation, Anderson said The Independent, And will be the result of the drive for a structure that can be applied to the entire planet in a way that cannot be done on Earth due to geographical and cultural boundaries.

Whether Kasturi – or any other space travel pioneer – should seek favorable arrangements to ensure that the law they want is enforced, there are many ways.

Districts like Luxembourg are already setting their sights Privatization of space, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates, respectively, attract potential space launches due to geographical conditions and tax concessions. Although neither is particularly known as the home of the next SpaceX or Blue Origin launch site – both companies are deeply immersed in the industrial ecosystem of the United States to manufacture spacecraft – they present the possibility of a UN-US dominance outside of us. Planet, Anderson Hypothesis.

To the final and debatable most important question of when Mars could become self-sufficient with its own legal system, lawyers are not sure – but it seems that once the first society is established it may reasonably seek self-regulation. Due to the rapid planetary communication difficulties.

“I have to defer to the real scientists here, some of them 10 years, others a century or more,” says Professor van der Dunk. “I’ll probably position myself safely somewhere in the middle.”