POLICY AND LAW CONSIDERATIONS ON SPACE EXPLORATION RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

摘要

On January' 14, 2004, U.S. President Bush announced a new vision for NASA. This announcement outlined in the President's policy statement entitled "A Renewed Spirit of Discovery" calls for a robust space exploration program to advance U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests. In order to implement this vision, a commission was established to provide with recommendations. Although this vision has not received Congress approval yet, the shift in the U.S. policy may play a significant role on international space policy and law developments.rnFocusing at the legal issues, the newly defined U.S. policy constitutes an interesting opportunity to have a fresh look at the current body of international space law dealing with exploration activities, as well as other sources of law. Some legal issues will be particularly relevant; among them, the development of key technologies and the use of nuclear power sources, human return to the Moon and the Moon Agreement status. In addition, as international cooperation is concerned, the vision consists of an ambitious space exploration endeavour where international partnership may play a great role.rnThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the legal issues behind space exploration, with a focus on those dealing with the new US vision and roadmap, identify and discuss potential gaps. This part will be studied in the light of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space recent developments. In addition, based on past and current experiences defined at bilateral and multilateral levels, it will also address the cooperation framework, trying to define possible international working scenarios.