Elon, Fly Me to the Moon! Legal Dimensions of Space Tourism Beyond Earth Orbit

摘要

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk announced on February 27, 2017 plans to launch two paying "private individuals" on a touristic space orbital journey around the moon and back to earth by the end of 2018. While several companies are applying for governmental licenses to launch "space tourists" into sub-orbital trajectories, SpaceX's proposal is among the first initiatives to expand commercial space tourism beyond the earth orbital region. This paper examines whether states, already conducting governmental space missions outside earth's orbital region, will perceive a legal or policy obligation to regulate commercial space tourism in the lunar region as a new category of space activity within the context of the Outer Space Treaty's Article VI stipulation for "continuing supervision" of space activities and the Moon Agreement's provisions regarding exploitation of the moon and other celestial bodies.