Lecture 21 2011 Nyampong

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Yaw NyampongInstitute of Air and Space Law,

Faculty of Law, McGill University

March 2, 2011



Object: To define what is meant by planetary protection

To identify the role of law in planetary protection by briefly

outlining and describing various regulatory initiatives that

have been adopted and/or implemented at different levels

for purposes of protecting the earth-space environment.



What is Planetary Protection? There are various definitions of the term “Planetary Protection”

but the most comprehensive is the one provided by NASA:the practice of protecting solar system bodies (i.e., planets, moons,comets, and asteroids) from contamination by Earth life (forward

contamination), and protecting Earth from possible life forms thatmay be returned from other solar system bodies (backwardcontamination)

Planetary protection is essential for several important reasons:• to preserve our ability to study other worlds as they exist in

their natural states;

• to avoid contamination that would obscure our ability to findlife elsewhere - if it exists; and

• to ensure that we take prudent precautions to protect Earth'sbiosphere in case it does



A General Primer on Space Law International Law versus Municipal (Domestic) Law

What is Space Law?

Who makes Space Law? At the International Level:

The United Nations (UN) is the primary forum for allinternational matters; its Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is responsible for all outer spacematters, including the formulation of international space law.

At the Domestic (National) Level:

The national lawmaking body. In Canada, the FederalParliament (in the US, the Congress) and the Government.



General Principles of International

Space Law1. Common interest:“The exploration and use of outer space, including the

moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried outfor the benefit and in the interests of all countries,irrespective of their degree of economic or scientificdevelopment, and shall be the province of allmankind” – Art. I para. 1 of 1967 OST

2. Freedom of Exploration and UseAll States are free to launch and operate all sorts of space objects without discrimination of any kind




Space Law3. Non-appropriation “Outer space … is not subject to national

appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of useor occupation, or by any other means” – Art II of 1967OST

This prohibition applies to all States as well as to theirsubjects - private individuals and companies




Space Law4. International Responsibility of, and Authorization &

Continuing Supervision by, States

States are internationally responsible for theirNATIONAL space activities whether such activities arecarried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that suchactivities are carried out in conformity with the 1967

Outer Space Treaty. Art. VI of 1967 OST The space activities of non-governmental entities

require authorization and continuing supervision bythe appropriate State




Space Law5. International liability

A launching State is internationally liable for damagecaused to another State or to its natural or juridicalpersons by its object or the component parts thereof onthe Earth, in air space or in outer space. Art. VII of OST 1967; Liability Convention 1972



Specific Space Law Provisions Relevant to

Planetary Protection – Outer Space Treaty Art. IX of 1967 OST:

In the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestialbodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation andmutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including themoon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the Treaty .

States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the moonand other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their

harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earthresulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary,shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose.

If a State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity or experimentplanned by it or its nationals in outer space, including the moon and other celestialbodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities of other StatesParties in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon andother celestial bodies, it shall undertake appropriate international consultationsbefore proceeding with any such activity or experiment.

A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to believe that an activity orexperiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the moon andother celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities in thepeaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial

bodies, may request consultation concerning the activity or experiment.



Specific Space Law Provisions Relevant to

Planetary Protection – Moon Agreement Art. 7 of the Moon Agreement, 1979:1. In exploring and using the moon, States Parties shall take measures

to prevent the disruption of the existing balance of itsenvironment, whether by introducing adverse changes in thatenvironment, by its harmful contamination through the introductionof extra-environmental matter or otherwise. States Parties shall alsotake measures to avoid harmfully affecting the environment of theearth through the introduction of extraterrestrial matter or otherwise.

2. States Parties shall inform the Secretary-General of the United Nationsof the measures being adopted by them in accordance with paragraph 1of this article and shall also, to the maximum extent feasible, notify him in advance of all placements by them of radio-active materials onthe moon and of the purposes of such placements.

3. States Parties shall report to other States Parties and to the Secretary-General concerning areas of the moon having special scientific interestin order that, without prejudice to the rights of other States Parties,consideration may be given to the designation of such areas asinternational scientific preserves for which special protectivearrangements are to be agreed upon in consultation with the

competent bodies of the United Nations.



Other International Initiatives

1992 UN Resolution on Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclearpower Sources in Outer Space (1992 NPS Principles)

1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty

2007 UN/IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines

COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy

Technical aspects of planetary protection are developed throughdeliberations by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR),

part of the International Council of Science (ICSU), which

consults with the United Nations in this area

The COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection develops and makes

recommendations on planetary protection policy to COSPAR,

which may adopt them as part of the official COSPAR Planetary

Protection Policy



Other International Initiatives COSPAR Policy Continued:

The Policy (adopted on 20 October 2002; amended on 24 March 2005

provides guidelines to facilitate compliance with Art. XI of the 1967

OST

Therefore, for certain space mission/target planet combinations, controls

on contamination must be imposed.

The Policy sets out five categories of target body/mission type

combinations and proposes a range of requirements in each respective

category based on:

- Methods used to control the biological burden, decontaminate and/or sterilize

the space flight hardware.

- The organic inventory of all impacting or landed spacecraft or spacecraft-

components, for quantities exceeding 1 kg.

- For the end-of-mission, the disposition of the spacecraft and all of its major

components, either in space or for landed components by position (or

estimated position) on a planetary surface.



Mission

Category

Mission

TypePlanet Status

I Any

Not of direct interest for understanding the process of

chemical evolution. No protection of such planets is

warranted (no requirements).

II Any

Of significant interest relative to the process of chemical

evolution, but having only a remote chance that

contamination by spacecraft could jeopardize future

exploration

IIIFlyby,

orbiter

Of significant interest relative to the process of chemical

evolution and/or the origin of life, or having a significant

chance of contamination by spacecraft that could jeopardize

a future biological experiment.

IVLander,

probeAs above.

VEarth

return

Any Solar System body from which a sample is to be

returned.



National Initiatives – The NASA

Example NASA’s Planetary Protection Policy

The NASA policy generally follows the COSPAR policy.

The conduct of scientific investigations of possible extraterrestrial

life forms, precursors, and remnants must not be jeopardized. Inaddition, the Earth must be protected from the potential hazard

posed by extraterrestrial matter carried by a spacecraft returning

from another planet or other extraterrestrial sources.

Therefore, for certain space-mission/target-planet combinations,controls on organic and biological contamination carried by

spacecraft shall be imposed in accordance with directives

implementing this policy.



International Environmental Law Art. III of the 1967 OST provides that States Parties to the

Treaty shall carry on activities in the exploration and use of outer space … in accordance with international law … inthe interest of maintaining international peace andsecurity and promoting international cooperation andunderstanding.

The Precautionary Principle is of general application ingeneral international (environmental) law. It provides: In order to protect the environment, the precautionary

approach shall be widely applied by States according to theircapabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversibledamage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a

reason for postponing cost effective measures to preventenvironmental degradation.

There are questions concerning the legal status of theprecautionary Principle



Conclusions Access to and use of outer space is steadily becoming

dangerous and difficult;

Increasing privatization, commercialization andmilitarization of outer space will inevitably increasecontamination of the earth-space environment;

At present, the existing international and domesticregulatory mechanisms for planetary protection areinadequate and increasing contamination of the Earth,outer space and other planets is unfortunately not a

priority for law-makers; and the general public is not fullyaware of this problem;

it is necessary to take appropriate international andnational regulatory measures as soon as possible, lest itbecomes too late.



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Lecture 21 2011 Nyampong

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