Space law

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Hubble Deep Field (full mosaic) released by NASA on January 15, 1996.

 

Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts, environmental preservation, information sharing, new technologies, and ethics. Other fields of law, such as administrative law, intellectual property law, arms control law, insurance law, environmental law, criminal law, and commercial law, are also integrated within space law.

The origins of space law date back to 1919, with international law recognizing each country's sovereignty over the airspace directly above their territory, later reinforced at the Chicago Convention in 1944. The onset of domestic space programs during the Cold War propelled the official creation of international space policy (i.e. the International Geophysical Year) initiated by the International Council of Scientific Unions. The Soviet Union's 1957 launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, directly spurred the United States Congress to pass the Space Act, thus creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Because space exploration required crossing transnational boundaries, it was during this era where space law became a field independent from traditional aerospace law.

Since the Cold War, the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the "Outer Space Treaty") and the International Telecommunications Union have served as the constitutional legal framework and set of principles and procedures constituting space law. Further, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), along with its Legal and Scientific and Technical Subcommittees, are responsible for debating issues of international space law and policy. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) serves as the secretariat of the Committee and is promoting Access to Space for All through a wide range of conferences and capacity-building programs. Challenges that space law will continue to face in the future are fourfold—spanning across dimensions of domestic compliance, international cooperation, ethics, and the advent of scientific innovations. Furthermore, specific guidelines on the definition of airspace have yet to be universally determined.

Early developments

At Caltech in 1942 Theodore von Kármán and other rocket scientists banded together to form Aerojet rocket company with the help of lawyer Andrew G. Haley. To toast the new corporation, Kármán said, "Now, Andy, we will make the rockets – you must make the corporation and obtain the money. Later on you will have to see that we behave well in outer space...After all, we are the scientists but you are the lawyer, and you must tell us how to behave ourselves according to law and to safeguard our innocence." Indeed, twenty years later Haley published the fundamental textbook, Space Law and Government.

Beginning in 1957 with the Space Race, nations began discussing systems to ensure the peaceful use of outer space. Bilateral discussions between the United States and USSR in 1958 resulted in the presentation of issues to the UN for debate. In 1959, the UN created the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). COPUOS in turn created two subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The COPUOS Legal Subcommittee has been a primary forum for discussion and negotiation of international agreements relating to outer space.

In 1960 the International Astronautical Congress met in Stockholm and heard several submissions including a survey of legal opinion on extraterrestrial jurisdiction by Andrew G. Haley.

In 1963 Yale University Press published Law and Public Order in Space by Myres McDougal, Harold Lasswell and Ivan Vlasic.

International treaties

Five international treaties have been negotiated and drafted in the COPUOS:

• The 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the "Outer Space Treaty").
• The 1968 Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (the "Rescue Agreement").
• The 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (the "Liability Convention").
• The 1975 Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (the "Registration Convention").
• The 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the "Moon Treaty").

The Outer Space Treaty is the most widely adopted treaty, with 104 parties. The rescue agreement, the liability convention and the registration convention all elaborate on provisions of the outer space treaty. UN delegates apparently intended that the moon treaty serve as a new comprehensive treaty which would supersede or supplement the outer space treaty, most notably by elaborating upon the outer space treaty's provisions regarding resource appropriation and prohibition of territorial sovereignty. The moon treaty has only 17 parties  however, and many consider it to be a failed treaty due to its limited acceptance. India is the only nation that has both signed the moon treaty and declared itself interested in going to the moon. India has not ratified the treaty; an analysis of India's treaty law is required to understand how this affects India legally.

In addition, the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water ("Partial Test Ban Treaty") banned the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space.

International principles and declarations

The five treaties and agreements of international space law cover "non-appropriation of outer space by any one country, arms control, the freedom of exploration, liability for damage caused by space objects, the safety and rescue of spacecraft and astronauts, the prevention of harmful interference with space activities and the environment, the notification and registration of space activities, scientific investigation and the exploitation of natural resources in outer space and the settlement of disputes."

The United Nations General Assembly adopted five declarations and legal principles which encourage exercising the international laws, as well as unified communication between countries. The five declarations and principles are:

• The Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space (1963)

All space exploration will be done with good intentions and is equally open to all States that comply with international law. No one nation may claim ownership of outer space or any celestial body. Activities carried out in space must abide by the international law and the nations undergoing these said activities must accept responsibility for the governmental or non-governmental agency involved. Objects launched into space are subject to their nation of belonging, including people. Objects, parts, and components discovered outside the jurisdiction of a nation will be returned upon identification. If a nation launches an object into space, they are responsible for any damages that occur internationally.

• Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (1979)
  

• Apollo 15 Moon landing. Jul 26, 1971 – Aug 7, 1971
  The agreement exists to promote the exploration of outer space but to keep the moon and other celestial bodies in pristine conditions for the common heritage of man, meaning that no nation may claim sovereignty over any part of space. All countries should have equal rights to conduct research on the moon or other celestial bodies. Weapons of mass destruction of any kind including nuclear and bases built for military purposes are specifically banned by the treaty. The United Nations resolution also states that all State Parties may conduct their enterprises below the surface of the moon or any celestial body so long as efforts are made to protect it from contamination. All activities in space are required to be attached to a nation and any damages to other nations equipment or facilities caused by another party must be repaid in full to that nation. Any discovery of a dangerous hazard such as an area that is radioactive must notify the United Nations Secretary General and the greater international scientific community immediately.
  

All missions in space lasting longer than 60 days must notify the UN Secretary General and the greater scientific community every 30 days of progress. Any samples that are collected from space must be made available at earliest convenience to the scientific community. The agreement does not include objects that fall to earth by natural means. Currently not a single nation that conducts its own missions in space has ratified the agreement. This likely signifies that the 'Moon Treaty is likely a failed treaty because none of the nations that actually go into space signed or ratified the agreement.

 

• The Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting (1982)

 

Activities of this nature must be transpired in accordance with the sovereign rights of States. Said activities should "promote the free dissemination and mutual exchange of information and knowledge in cultural and scientific fields, assist in educational, social and economic development, particularly in the developing countries, enhance the qualities of life of all peoples and provide recreation with due respect to the political and cultural integrity of States." All States have equal rights to pursue these activities and must maintain responsibility for anything carried out under their boundaries of authority. States planning activities need to contact the Secretary-General of the United Nations with details of the undergoing activities.

• The Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space (1986)

 

Fifteen principles are stated under this category. The basic understanding comes from these descriptions given by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs:

 

(a) The term "remote sensing" means the sensing of the Earth's surface from space by making use of the properties of electromagnetic waves emitted, reflected or :diffracted by the sensed objects, for the purpose of improving natural resources management, land use and the protection of the environment;

(b) The term "primary data" means those raw data that are acquired by remote sensors borne by a space object and that are transmitted or delivered to the ground :from space by telemetry in the form of electromagnetic signals, by photographic film, magnetic tape or any other means;

(c) The term "processed data" means the products resulting from the processing of the primary data, needed to make such data usable;

(d) The term "analysed information" means the information resulting from the interpretation of processed data, inputs of data and knowledge from other sources;

(e) The term "remote sensing activities" means the operation of remote sensing space systems, primary data collection and storage stations, and activities in :processing, interpreting and disseminating the processed data.

• The Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space (1992)

 

"States launching space objects with nuclear power sources on board shall endeavour to protect individuals, populations and the biosphere against radiological hazards. The design and use of space objects with nuclear power sources on board shall ensure, with a high degree of confidence, that the hazards, in foreseeable operational or accidental circumstances, are kept below acceptable levels..."

• The Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries (1996)

 

"States are free to determine all aspects of their participation in international cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space on an equitable and mutually acceptable basis. All States, particularly those with relevant space capabilities and with programmes for the exploration and use of outer space, should contribute to promoting and fostering international cooperation on an equitable and mutually acceptable basis. In this context, particular attention should be given to the benefit for and the interests of developing countries and countries with incipient space programmes stemming from such international cooperation conducted with countries with more advanced space capabilities. International cooperation should be conducted in the modes that are considered most effective and appropriate by the countries concerned, including, inter alia, governmental and non-governmental; commercial and non-commercial; global, multilateral, regional or bilateral; and international cooperation among countries in all levels of development."

Consensus

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Scientific and Technical and Legal Subcommittees operate on the basis of consensus, i.e. all delegations from member States must agree on any matter, be it treaty language before it can be included in the final version of a treaty or new items on Committee/Subcommittee's agendas. One reason that the U.N. space treaties lack definitions and are unclear in other respects, is that it is easier to achieve consensus when language and terms are vague. In recent years, the Legal Subcommittee has been unable to achieve consensus on discussion of a new comprehensive space agreement (the idea of which, though, was proposed just by a few member States). It is also unlikely that the Subcommittee will be able to agree to amend the Outer Space Treaty in the foreseeable future. Many space faring nations seem to believe that discussing a new space agreement or amendment of the Outer Space Treaty would be futile and time-consuming, because entrenched differences regarding resource appropriation, property rights and other issues relating to commercial activity make consensus unlikely.

1998 ISS agreement

In addition to the international treaties that have been negotiated at the United Nations, the nations participating in the International Space Station have entered into the 1998 Agreement among the governments of Canada, Member States of the European Space Agency, Japan, Russian Federation, and the United States concerning cooperation on the Civil International Space Station. This agreement provides, among other things, that NASA is the lead agency in coordinating the member states' contributions to and activities on the space station, and that each nation has jurisdiction over its own module(s). The agreement also provides for protection of intellectual property and procedures for criminal prosecution. This agreement may very well serve as a model for future agreements regarding international cooperation in facilities on the Moon and Mars, where the first off-world colonies and scientific/industrial bases are likely to be established.

National law

Space law also encompasses national laws, and many countries have passed national space legislation in recent years. The Outer Space Treaty gives responsibility for regulating space activities, including both government and private sector, to the individual countries where the activity is taking place. If a national of, or an organization incorporated in one country launches a spacecraft in a different country, interpretations differ as to whether the home country or the launching country has jurisdiction.

The Outer Space Treaty also incorporates the UN Charter by reference, and requires parties to ensure that activities are conducted in accordance with other forms of international law such as customary international law (the custom and practice of states). 

The advent of commercial activities like space mining, space tourism, private exploration, and the development of many commercial spaceports, is leading many countries to consider how to regulate private space activities. The challenge is to regulate these activities in a manner that does not hinder or preclude investment, while still ensuring that commercial activities comply with international law. The developing nations are concerned that the spacefaring nations will monopolize space resources.^{[citation needed]} Royalties paid to developing countries is one reason the United States has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and why some oppose applying the same principles to outer space.

Several nations have recently updated their statutory space law, among them Luxembourg in 2017, the United States in 2015, and Japan, with the Basic Space Law in 2008. Due to the expansion of the domain of space research and allied activities, in India, the Draft Space Activities Bill was introduced in the year 2017.

Geostationary orbit allocation

Source: Own work, Earth bitmap is File:North_pole_february_ice-pack_1978-2002.png by Geo Swan. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. (No changes made.)

Allocative Limitations

Objects in geostationary orbits remain stationary over a point on the earth due to gravity. There are numerous advantages in being able to use these orbits, mostly due to the unique ability to send radio frequencies to and from satellites to collect data and send signals to various locations. The United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has approved seven nonmilitary uses for these orbits: communications, meteorology, earth resources and environment, navigation and aircraft control, testing of new systems, astronomy, and data relay. The requirement to space these satellites apart means that there is a limited number of orbital "slots" available, thus only a limited number of satellites can be placed in geostationary orbit. This has led to conflict between different countries wishing access to the same orbital slots (countries at the same longitude but differing latitudes). These disputes are addressed through the ITU allocation mechanism.

Countries located at the Earth's equator have also asserted their legal claim to control the use of space above their territory, notably in 1976, when many countries located at the Earth's equator created the Bogota Declaration, in which they asserted their legal claim to control the use of space above their territory.

Political Controversy

Future developments using geostationary orbits may include an expansion of services in telecommunication, broadcasting, and meteorology. As a result, uses for geostationary orbits may stir political controversy. For example, broadcasting and telecommunication services of satellites orbiting above Earth from certain nations may accidentally "spill over" into other nations' territory. This may prompt conflict with nations that wish to restrict access to information and communication. Current and future political and legal concerns allocation may pose may be addressed by international legislatures, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Telecommunication Union.

Ethics

Ethics can be defined as "the task of being human." In space law, ethics extend to topics regarding space exploration, space tourism, space ownership, the militarization of space, environmental protection, and distinguishing the boundaries of space itself.

Commercial Use

Early discussions regarding space ethics revolved around whether or not the space frontier should be available for use, gaining prominence at the time of the Soviet Union and United States' Space Race. In 1967, the "Outer Space Treaty" dictated that all nations in compliance with international regulation are permitted to exploit space. As a result, the commercial use of space is open to exploitation by public and private entities, especially in relation to mining and space tourism. This principle has been the subject of controversy, particularly by those in favor of environmental protection, sustainability, and conservation.

Environmental Protection

More recent discussions focus on the need for the international community to draft and institute a code of space ethics to prevent the destruction of the space environment. Furthermore, the advancement of life in space pertain to questions related to the ethics of biocentrism and anthropocentrism, or in other words, determining how much value we place in all living things versus human beings specifically. Currently, researchers in the bioengineering field are working towards contamination control measures integrated into spacecrafts to protect both space and earth's biosphere.

Defining "space"

Many ethical questions arise from the difficulty of defining the term "space." Scholars not only debate its geographical definition (i.e. upper and lower limits), but also whether or not it also encompasses various objects within it (i.e. celestial objects, human beings, man-made devices). Lower limits are generally estimated to be about 50 kilometers. More difficulties arise trying to define the upper bounds of "space," as it would require more inquiry into the nature of the universe and the role of earth (along with within it.)

Future developments

Exploitation

American Society of International Law Space Interest Group 2014 Board meeting

 

While this field of the law is still in its infancy, it is in an era of rapid change and development. Arguably the resources of space are infinite. If commercial space transportation becomes widely available, with substantially lower launch costs, then all countries will be able to directly reap the benefits of space resources. In that situation, it seems likely that consensus will be much easier to achieve with respect to commercial development and human settlement of outer space. High costs are not the only factor preventing the economic exploitation of space: it is argued that space should be considered as a pristine environment worthy of protection and conservation, and that the legal regime for space should further protect it from being used as a resource for Earth's needs. Debate is also focused on whether space should continue to be legally defined as part of the “common heritage of man,” and therefore unavailable for national claims, or whether its legal definition should be changed to allow private property in space.

As of 2013, NASA's plans to capture an asteroid by 2021 has raised questions about how space law would be applied in practice.

In 2016, the nation of Luxembourg has set out a formal legal framework which ensures that private companies engaged in mining resources in space have rights to those resources.

Legal profession

Michael Dodge, of Long Beach, Mississippi, was the first law school graduate to receive a space law certificate in the United States. Dodge graduated from the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2008. He is now an assistant professor in the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota.

The University of Mississippi School of Law continues to be the only law school in the United States to offer a Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program in Air and Space Law.

The University of Sunderland is the first UK University to offer a space law module as part of its LLB programme.

The University of Nebraska College of Law offers the U.S.’s first and only LL.M. and Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) in space, cyber, and telecommunications law. Professor Frans von der Dunk, former Director of space law research at Leiden University joined the program in 2007. In addition to the LL.M., students can earn a J.D. at Nebraska Law with an emphasis in space and telecommunications law. The program also hosts three space and telecommunications conferences each year.

For more than 10 years, the University of Paris-Sud with the Institute of Space and Telecommunications Law have offered a Master's degree in Space Activities and Telecommunications Law. This Master is supported by numerous companies of space and telecommunications sectors.

In August 2012, students at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California created the McGeorge Society for Space Law and Policy.

In September 2012, the Space Law Society (SLS) at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law was established. A legal resources team united in Maryland, a "Space Science State," with Jorge Rodriguez, Lee Sampson, Patrick Gardiner, Lyra Correa and Juliana Neelbauer as SLS founding members.

In August 2014, students at Northeastern University School of Law founded the school's Space Law Society. 

Since 1951, the McGill Faculty of Law in Montreal, Canada hosts the Institute of Air and Space Law, and offers an LL.M. in Air and Space law. Leiden University, Netherlands hosts an International Institute of Air and Space Law and offers an LL.M. degree. 

In 2014, students at American University Washington College of Law founded the school's Space Law Society, with the help of Pamela L. Meredith, space lawyer and adjunct professor of Satellite Communications and Space Law.

The Mars Generation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Abbreviation	TMG
Formation	January 1, 2015; 4 years ago
Founder	Abigail Harrison "Astronaut Abby"
Type	NGO Nonprofit corporation 501(c)(3)
Legal status	The Mars Generation is a "public charity" and is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions
Purpose	STEM education and space advocacy for human mission to Mars
Headquarters	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Key people	Board of Directors: Abigail Harrison (Chair) Gordon Russell (Treasurer), Orbital ATK Yvonne Hundshamer (Secretary) Nicole Harrison (Vice President) Advisory Board: Tory Bruno, CEO United Launch Alliance Julie Van Kleeck, VP, Advanced Space and Launch Business Unit Aerojet Rocketdyne Astronaut Kent Rominger, Vice President Orbital ATK Astronaut, Wendy Lawrence Astronaut, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger Robert Pearlman, collectSPACE Myron Fletcher, Boeing Kristin Maija Peterson, Art Director, Grand Ciel Designs Dawn Brown White, Executive Director, Compas Inc. Elizabeth Bierman, Honeywell & Society of Women Engineers Dr. Phil Metzger, University of Central Florida & Co-Founder, NASA Swamp Works Kate-Madonna Hindes, PR/Media Director Michael Seely, VP Development, Florida Institute of Technology Student Space Ambassador Program Advisory Board: Ken Buckley (Chair) Morgan Irons (Vice Chair) Nicole Chase (Director of SSA)
Website	themarsgeneration.org

The Mars Generation is an American internationally active, non-governmental nonprofit organization involved in public outreach and advocating for human space exploration and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

The mission of The Mars Generation is to educate and inspire people of all ages about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and human space exploration and the importance of space and STEM to the future of humankind. The Mars Generation is volunteer-driven by executive and advisory boards with leaders from the space industry including astronauts, engineers and scientists as well as nonprofit, education and business sectors.since its founding in 2015.

In June 2017, The Mars Generation was recognized with a business innovation award for their use of technology to build the organization and its programs. This unique approach to creating a nonprofit is credited to the organization's founder and leader Abigail Harrison leveraging her own internet personality as Astronaut Abby to grow the organization. As of August 2017, The Mars Generation and Astronaut Abby have over one million followers of their combined social media channels and have reached an estimated 25 million.

History

The Mars Generation was founded in 2015 by 18-year-old Abigail Harrison, popularly known as "Astronaut Abby" and has the support of high-level advisory board members which includes astronauts, engineers and scientists as well as nonprofit, education and business professionals.

Harrison started STEM and space advocacy work at the age of 13 by initially setting up a Twitter account under her childhood nickname "Astronaut Abby." She used her @AstronautAbby Twitter account to connect with NASA employees to try and procure a quote for her National History Day project. Her account biography stated that she was aspiring to be an astronaut and had a goal to be the first person to set foot on Mars. After she received the NASA quote, she began to share her journey to Mars which included tweets about space events, school and her personal life with the goal of not only exciting people about mars exploration but creating advocates for human space exploration.

In May 2013, at 15-years old, Harrison partnered with her mentor, Astronaut Luca Parmitano as his Earth Liaison and shared his experience living in space on the International Space Station during Expedition 36 and Expedition 37. Harrison setup an international outreach program consisting of classroom web chats, an email pen pal program, classroom visits, blogging on AstronautAbby.com, writing for other publications, speaking at events, and sharing on social media. Initially called the Soyuz Adventure, after Astronaut Parmitano returned to Earth, it was renamed "The Future of Space" and Harrison continued to run the program. This program was the basis for the development of The Mars Generation nonprofit in 2015.

Programs

Core programs

The Mars Generation offers 3 core programs that are focused on helping the organization reach its mission of exciting and educating people of all ages about STEM education and human space exploration.

The Future of Space Outreach Program

The Future of Space Outreach program excites and educates people of all ages about human space exploration as well as STEM education and encourages the support of space exploration and STEM education.

Student Space Ambassador Leadership Program

The Student Space Ambassador Leadership Program (SSA) is a dual program in mentorship and leadership designed to provide school and career guidance to students ages 13–24. The program also provides encouragement for students to share their passion and excitement about space exploration and STEM education as ambassadors within their communities.

Space Camp Scholarship Program

This program provides full paid scholarships to include transportation, flight suits and a small spending stipend for students demonstrating financial need to attend U.S. Space Camp. In order to apply for consideration students need to be age 15–17, demonstrate interest in space exploration and an aptitude in STEM and complete the application, including obtaining a recommendation from a teacher and/or mentor.

Additional programs and initiatives

24 Under 24 Leaders and Innovators In STEAM and Space Awards

In March 2017, The Mars Generation announced the launch of the 24 Under 24 Leaders and Innovators In STEAM and Space Awards, a program designed to recognize and encourage students and young adults who are making a significant impact in the world through space and/or STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).

Train Like A Martian Challenge

The Train Like A Martian Challenge is an annual event sponsored by The Mars Generation that raises awareness about human space exploration and STEM education while encouraging people of all ages to become more physically active. The event challenges participants to participate in a daily activity and share videos and photos of the activity on social media channels using the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag.

Membership program

In 2016, The Mars Generation launched its membership program providing a way for people to support the organization while receiving perks that are only available to members. These membership perks include invitations to special events, discounts, updates and offers.

Partnerships and engagements

Partnerships

The Mars Generation has several strategic partnerships with organizations to help promote advocacy and excitement for STEM and space exploration.

Team America Rocketry Challenge

An outreach partnership was formed in 2016 between The Mars Generation and the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), a nationwide American model rocketry competition that is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry.

Explore Mars

In 2016 an outreach partnership was formed with Explore Mars the organization that hosts the annual Humans to Mars Summit, a leading Mars advocacy and information conference.

National Geographic Kids

An outreach partnership was formed in 2017 between The Mars Generation and National Geographic Kids to promote STEAM awareness through their Guinness World Records rocket project.

Engagements

As an international outreach organization, The Mars Generation has been invited to attend multiple engagements to talk about the nonprofit and outreach work they do to excite and educate people about space exploration and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

TEDx Snowlibaries

(2015) – The Mars Generation Advisory board member, Astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger gave a TEDx talk titled "The Mars Generation" where she shared her own journey to becoming an astronaut, the past and present of human spaceflight|human space exploration and how The Mars Generation nonprofit is playing a role in the future of human spaceflight|human space exploration.

Humans to Mars Summit

(2016 & 2017) – The Mars Generation founder Abigail Harrison represented The Mars Generation as a speaker for the 2016 and 2017 Humans to Mars Summit hosted by Explore Mars in Washington D.C. 

Project Space Forum

(2017) – The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates invited The Mars Generation founder Abigail Harrison to tour their space agency and speak at their Project Space forum as an representative of The Mars Generation and an international space ambassador.

STEM in 30 show

(2017) – The Mars Generation founder, Abigail Harrison represented The Mars Generation as a guest on the live broadcast of the STEM in 30 show produced by National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by NASA. The show is geared towards elementary and middle school classrooms.

Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center Complex

(2017) – As part of the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center Summer Of Mars Initiative The Mars Generation founder Abigail Harrison appeared to speak and for a photo opportunity to represent the nonprofit.

Weapons in science fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Fictional rayguns are often depicted in science fiction.

 

Strange and exotic weapons are a recurring feature in science fiction. In some cases, weapons first introduced in science fiction have been made a reality; other science fiction weapons remain purely fictional, and are often beyond the realms of known physical possibility.

At its most prosaic, science fiction features an endless variety of sidearms—mostly variations on real weapons such as guns and swords. Among the best-known of these are the phaser—used in the Star Trek television series, films and novels—and the lightsaber and blaster—featured in Star Wars movies, comics, novels and TV shows. 

Besides adding action and entertainment value, weaponry in science fiction sometimes touch on deeper concerns and become a theme, often motivated by contemporary issues. One example is science fiction that deals with weapons of mass destruction.

Weapons in early science fiction

Weapons of early science fiction novels were usually bigger and better versions of conventional weapons, effectively more advanced methods of delivering explosives to a target. Examples of such weapons include Jules Verne's fulgurator and the "glass arrow" of the Comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam.

A classic science fiction weapon particularly in British and American science fiction novels and films is the ray gun. A very early example of a ray gun is the Heat-Ray featured in H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (1898). The discovery of x-rays and radioactivity in the last years of the 19th century led to an increase in the popularity of this family of weapons, with numerous examples in the early twentieth century, such as the disintegrator rays of George Griffith's future war novel The Lord of Labour (1911). Early science fiction film often showed raygun beams making bright light and loud noise like lightning or large electric arcs. 

Wells also prefigured modern armored warfare with his description of tanks in his 1903 short story "The Land Ironclads", and aerial warfare in his 1907 novel The War in the Air.

Lasers and particle beams

Arthur C. Clarke envisaged particle beam weapons in his 1955 novel Earthlight, in which energy would be delivered by high-velocity beams of matter.

After the invention of the laser in 1960, it briefly became the death ray of choice for science fiction writers. For instance, characters in the Star Trek pilot episode The Cage (1964) and in the Lost in Space TV series (1965–1968) carried handheld laser weapons.

By the late 1960s and 1970s, as the laser's limits as a weapon became evident, the ray gun began to be replaced by similar weapons with names that better reflected the destructive capabilities of the device. These names ranged from the generic "pulse rifle" to series-specific weapons, such as the phasers from Star Trek. 

In the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, a faction known as the Imperial Guard has a "lasgun" as their main weapon, and larger cannon versions being mounted onto tanks and being carried around by Space Marines. The Eldar has a special unit called the Swooping Hawks equipped with a "lasblaster".

Plasma weaponry

Weapons using plasma (high-energy ionized gas) have been featured in a number of fictional universes, such as Transformers, the Halo franchise, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Warframe, and the miniature game Warhammer 40,000.

Weapons of mass destruction

Nuclear weapons are a staple element in science fiction novels. The phrase "atomic bomb" predates their existence, and dates back to H. G. Wells' The World Set Free (1914) when scientists had discovered that radioactive decay implied potentially limitless energy locked inside of atomic particles (Wells' atomic bombs were only as powerful as conventional explosives, but would continue exploding for days on end). Cleve Cartmill predicted a chain-reaction-type nuclear bomb in his 1944 science-fiction story "Deadline", which led to the FBI investigating him, due to concern over a potential breach of security on the Manhattan Project.

The use of radiological, biological and chemical weapons is another common theme in science fiction. In the aftermath of World War I, the use of chemical weapons, particularly poison gas, was a major worry, and was often employed in the science fiction of this period, for example Neil Bell's The Gas War of 1940 (1931). Robert A. Heinlein's 1940 story "Solution Unsatisfactory" posits radioactive dust as a weapon that the US develops in a crash program to end World War II; the dust's existence forces drastic changes in the postwar world. In The Dalek Invasion of Earth, set in the 22nd Century, it is claimed the Daleks invaded Earth after it was bombarded with meteorites and a plague wiped out entire continents. 

A subgenre of science fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, uses the aftermath of nuclear or biological warfare as its setting.

Powered armor and fighting suits

Glove-scientist-weapons-concept

 

The idea of powered armor has appeared in a wide variety of fiction, beginning with E. E. Smith's Lensman series in 1937. One of the most famous early versions was Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel Starship Troopers, which can be seen as spawning the entire subgenre concept of military "powered armor", which would be further developed in Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. The Marvel character Iron Man is another noteworthy example. Other examples include the power armor used by the Space Marines and other characters from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40k franchise, and the power armor used by the Brotherhood of Steel in the Fallout franchise, and the MJOLNIR Armor worn by protagonist Master Chief in the Halo series of video games. The anime series Gundam Wing centers around nuclear powered piloted suits of armor called mobile suits, The Mobile suits referred to as Gundams (Being made from the highly durable material, Gundanium) are virtually indestructible, highly maneuverable and boasting formidable firepower. 

Powered armor suits appear numerous times in the later Command and Conquer games.

Some science fiction stories contain accounts of hand-to-hand combat in zero gravity, and the idea that old-fashioned edged weapons—daggers, saws, mechanical cutters—may still have the advantage in close-up situations where projectile weapons are impractical.

Cyberwarfare and cyberweapons

The idea of cyberwarfare, in which wars are fought within the structures of communication systems and computers using software and information as weapons, was first explored by science fiction. 

John Brunner's 1975 novel The Shockwave Rider is notable for coining the word "worm" to describe a computer program that propagates itself through a computer network, used as a weapon in the novel. William Gibson's Neuromancer coined the phrase cyberspace, a virtual battleground in which battles are fought using software weapons and counterweapons. The Star Trek episode A Taste of Armageddon is another notable example.

Certain Dale Brown novels place cyberweapons in different roles. The first is the "netrusion" technology used by the U.S. Air Force. It sends corrupt data to oncoming missiles to shut them down, as well as hostile aircraft by giving them a "shutdown" order in which the systems turn off one by one. It is also used to send false messages to hostiles, in order to place the tide of battle in the favor of America. The technology is later reverse-engineered by the Russian Federation to shut down American anti-ballistic missile satellites from a tracking station at Socotra Island, Yemen. 

Cyberwarfare has moved from a theoretical idea to something that is now seriously considered as a threat by modern states.

In a similar but unrelated series of incidents involved various groups of hackers from India and Pakistan that hacked and defaced several websites of companies and government organizations based in each other's country. The actions were committed by various groups based in both countries, but not known to be affiliated with the governments of India or Pakistan. The cyber wars are believed to have begun in 2008 following the Mumbai attacks believed to be by a group of Indian cyber groups hacking into Pakistani websites. Hours after the cyber attacks, a number of Indian websites (both government and private) were attacked by groups of Pakistani hackers, claiming to be retaliation for Indian attacks on Pakistani websites. The back and forth attacks have persisted on occasions since then.

Doomsday machines

A Doomsday machine is a hypothetical construction which could destroy all life, either on Earth or beyond, generally as part of a policy of mutual assured destruction. 

In Fred Saberhagen's 1967 Berserker stories, the Berserkers of the title are giant computerized self-replicating spacecraft, once used as a doomsday device in an interstellar war aeons ago, and, having destroyed both their enemies and their makers, still attempting to fulfil their mission of destroying all life in the universe. The 1967 Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine" written by Norman Spinrad, explores a similar theme. 

Alien doomsday machines are common in science fiction as "Big Dumb Objects", McGuffins around which the plot can be constructed. An example is the Halo megastructures in the video game franchise Halo, which are world-sized doomsday machines.

The sentient weapon

The science fiction themes of autonomous weapons systems and the use of computers in warfare date back to the 1960s, often in a Frankensteinian context, notably in Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and films such as The Forbin Project, originally released in 1970 (based on a novel by Dennis Feltham Jones). In Keith Laumer's Bolo novels, the eponymous protagonists are huge main battle tanks with self-aware artificial intelligence. 

Another common theme is that of dehumanised, cyborg or android soldiers: human, or quasi-human beings who are themselves weapons. Philip K. Dick's 1953 short story "Second Variety" features self-replicating robot weapons, this time with the added theme of weapons imitating humans. In his short story "Impostor", Dick goes one step further, making its protagonist a manlike robot bomb that actually believes itself to be a human being. 

The idea of robot killing machines disguised as humans is central to James Cameron's film The Terminator, and its subsequent media franchise. They also appear as the central problem of the 1995 cult film Screamers (based on "Second Variety") and its sequel. The Battlestar Galactica's cylons are sentient weapons too, even in the original series and in its reboot in the 2000s. However, human-looking cylons are the central characters of the remake series (in the original series, only one prototype was human-looking). 

In Harlan Ellison's 1957 short story "Soldier From Tomorrow" the protagonist is a soldier who has been conditioned from birth by the State solely to fight and kill the enemy. Samuel R. Delany's 1966 novella Babel-17 features TW-55, a purpose-grown cloned assassin. Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner, like Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, on which it is loosely based, uses the story of a hunt for escaped military androids to explore the idea what it means to be human. 

In John Carpenter's 1974 film Dark Star, a notable portion of the plot involves the characters trying to convince a large intelligent bomb not to detonate inside the ship. 

The idea of animate weapons is now so much a science fiction trope that it has spawned a whole genre of science fiction films such as Hardware, Death Machine and Universal Soldier.

War on the mind

Themes of brainwashing, conditioning, memory-erasing, and other mind control methods as weapons of war feature in much science fiction of the late 1950s and 1960s, parallelling the contemporary panic about communist brainwashing, existence of sleeper agents, and the real-world attempts of governments in programs such as MK-ULTRA to make such things real. 

David Langford's short story BLIT (1988) posits the existence of images (called basilisks) that are destructive to the human brain, which are used as weapons of terror by posting copies of them in areas where they are likely to be seen by the intended victims. Langford revisited the idea in a fictional FAQ on the images, published by the science journal Nature in 1999. The neuralyzer from the Men in Black films are compact objects which can erase and modify the short-term memories of witnesses by the means of a brief flash of light, ensuring that no one remembers encountering either aliens or the agents themselves. 

The TV series Dollhouse (2009) features technology that can "mindwipe" people (transforming them into "actives", or "dolls") and replace their inherent personalities with another one, either "real" (from another actual person's mind), fabricated (for example, a soldier trained in many styles of combat and weaponry, or unable to feel pain), or a mixture of both. In a future timeline of the series, the technology has been devised into a mass weapon, able to "remote wipe" anyone and replace them with any personality. A war erupts between those controlling actives, and "actuals" (a term to describe those still retaining their original personas). An offshoot technology allows actual people to upload upgrades to their personas (such as fighting or language skills), similar to the process seen in The Matrix, albeit for only one skill at a time.

The resizeability of weapons in science fiction

Kylo Ren's three bladed lightsaber.

 

Some weapons in science fiction can be folded and put away for easy storage. For instance the sword carried by Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek movie of 2009 had its blade unfold from its own form into the fully extended position from the state of a simple handle. Another example of this are the weapons of the Mass Effect universe. The weaponry in the games would fold up into smaller and more compact shapes when holstered or deactivated. Lightsabers from Star Wars are no larger than a flashlight until they are turned on.

Parallels between science fiction and real-world weapons

Some new forms of real world weaponry resemble weapons previously envisaged in science fiction. The early 1980s-era Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (Intercontinental ballistic missiles and Submarine-launched ballistic missiles), gained the popular name "Star Wars" after the popular franchise created by George Lucas.

In some cases, the influence of science fiction on weapons programs has been specifically acknowledged. In 2007, the science fiction author Thomas Easton was invited to address engineers working on a DARPA program to create weaponized cyborg insects, as envisaged in his novel Sparrowhawk. 

Active research on powered exoskeletons for military use has a long history, beginning with the abortive 1960s Hardiman powered exoskeleton project at General Electric, and continuing into the 21st century. The borrowing between fiction and reality has worked both ways, with the power loader from the film Aliens resembling the prototypes of the Hardiman system.

American military research on high power laser weapons started in the 1960s, and has continued to the present day, with the U.S. Army planning, as of 2008, the deployment of practical battlefield laser weapons. Lower-powered lasers are currently used for military purposes as laser target designators and for military rangefinding. Laser weapons intended to blind combatants have also been developed, but are currently banned by the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, although low-power versions designed to dazzle rather than blind have been developed experimentally. Gun-mounted lasers have also been used as psychological weapons, to let opponents know that they have been targeted in order encourage them to hide or flee without having to actually open fire on them.