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2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

10. The Legacy of the Dinosaurs: Regulation of Planetary Defence and Near-Earth Objects at a Global Level

Authors : George Leloudas, Michael Chatzipanagiotis, Konstantina Liperi

Published in: The Space Treaties at Crossroads

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

In recent years, Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) have caused increasing concerns among space scientists and policymakers. Despite the initiatives at UN COPUOS, international law falls considerably short of addressing issues pertaining to the detection and mitigation of hazardous NEOs. This paper proposes the creation of a Convention on Planetary Defence. The convention will address co-operation issues among States and, moreover, establish a Global Fund for Planetary Defence, which will be used for R&D on NEOs, for identifying best practices in deterring potential attacks, and for compensating relevant damages.

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Footnotes
1
Secure World Foundation, Near Earth Objects: Responding to the International Challenge (April 2014) p. 2, online: http://​swfound.​org/​media/​170684/​SWF_​NEOs-Responding_​to_​the_​International_​Challenge_​2014.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
2
Astronomers call the Earth to Sun distance one “astronomical unit”. See on definition of NEOs UK Task Force on potentially hazardous Near Earth objects, Report (September 2000), pp. 11–12, online: NSS http://​www.​nss.​org/​resources/​library/​planetarydefense​/​2000-ReportOfTheTaskF​orceOnPotentiall​yHazardousNearEa​rthObjects-UK.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
3
International Academy of Astronautics, Dealing with the threat to earth from asteroids and comets, Edited by I. Bekey, p.16, online: http://​swfound.​org/​media/​167468/​Dealing_​With_​Threat_​To_​Earth_​Asteroids_​Comets.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
4
Ibid.
 
5
NASA, Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection Analysis of Alternatives, Report to the Congress (March 2007), p. 7, online: http://​www.​nasa.​gov/​pdf/​171331main_​NEO_​report_​march07.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
6
Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS), online: https://​cneos.​jpl.​nasa.​gov/​about/​target_​earth.​html (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
7
See details in C. Chapman, Impact lethality and risks in today’s world: Lessons for interpreting Earth history in C. Koeberl and K. MacLeod. (eds), Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions: Impacts and Beyond, Geological Society of America Special Paper 356, Colorado 2002, pp. 7–19.
 
8
Secure World Foundation, Near Earth Objects: Responding to the International Challenge, April 2014 p. 6, online: http://​swfound.​org/​media/​170684/​SWF_​NEOs-Responding_​to_​the_​International_​Challenge_​2014.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
9
Ibid.
 
10
Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG), Goals Document Goal II: Planetary Defense, Draft version 0.5 (26/6/2015), p. 1, online: http://​www.​lpi.​usra.​edu/​sbag/​goals/​Goal_​II_​sbag_​pdg_​draft0.​5.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
11
NASA, supra note 5, p. 8.
 
12
It is developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory for the Defense Advanced Research Projects agency and the US Air Force. For more info, see http://​www.​darpa.​mil/​program/​space-surveillance-telescope (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
13
Chile is also developing the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope which is anticipated to be operational in 2020. More information herein online: Large Synoptic Survey Telescope http://​www.​lsst.​org/​ (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
14
Some of the current space-based instruments are NASA’s NEOWISE and Canada’s NEOSSAT; see infra para. 3.2.
 
15
NASA, supra note 5, p. 9.
 
16
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Planetary defence, online: https://​www.​nasa.​gov/​planetarydefense​/​faq.
 
17
International Academy of Astronautics, supra note 3, p. 7.
 
18
Ibid., p. 8.
 
19
International Academy of Astronautics, supra note 3, p. 8.
 
20
Secure World Foundation, supra note 8, pp. 13–14.
 
21
Association of Space Explorers, Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response (25 September 2008), p. 14, online: Space Explorers http://​www.​space-explorers.​org/​ATACGR.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
22
International Academy of Astronautics, supra note 3, p. 9.
 
23
Report of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Vienna, 19–30 July 1999 (18 October 1999), A/CONF.184/6.
 
24
Report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Fifty-sixth Session (2001), A/56/20.
 
25
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 11 December 2013 (16 December 2013), A/RES/68/7520.
 
26
These measures were initially proposed by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) in their report, Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response (2008); see supra note 21. ASE recommended that the UN should support asteroid warning and information sharing, mission operations planning, as well as authorisation and oversight functions. The report was submitted to UN COPUOS in 2009 for consideration and subsequent action. The UN COPUOS Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, its NEO Working Group, and AT-14 discussed and refined these proposals.
 
27
More information herein online: United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs http://​www.​unoosa.​org/​oosa/​en/​ourwork/​topics/​neos/​iawn.​html (last visited 15 January 2018).
 
28
See SMPAG Terms of Reference, online: http://​www.​cosmos.​esa.​int/​web/​smpag/​terms-of-reference-v0 (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
29
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, supra note 27.
 
30
See, for instance, the NEOshield-2 project. More information herein online: http://​www.​neoshield.​eu/​science-technology-asteroid-impact/​ (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
32
Ibid.
 
33
See National Space Policy of the United States of America (28 June 2010) p. 4, online: http://​history.​nasa.​gov/​national_​space_​policy_​6-28-10.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018) and NASA Strategic Plan 2014, p.8, online: http://​www.​nasa.​gov/​sites/​default/​files/​files/​FY2014_​NASA_​SP_​508c.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
34
Also known as the George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth Object Survey Act.
 
35
Section 321 of the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (Public Law No. 109–155). More information herein online: http://​www.​gpo.​gov/​fdsys/​pkg/​PLAW-109publ155/​pdf/​PLAW-109publ155.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018). The programme, however, has been unsuccessful so far, owing to administrative and budget restraints. More information herein online: http://​phys.​org/​news/​2014-09-nasa-asteroid-defense-falls-short.​html (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
36
See CNEOS, NEO Search Programme. More information herein online: http://​neo.​jpl.​nasa.​gov/​programs/​intro.​html (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
37
Secure World Foundation, supra note 8, p. 8.
 
38
More information herein online: NASA, Planetary Defence Coordination Office: https://​www.​nasa.​gov/​planetarydefense​/​overview (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
39
More information herein online: Canadian Space Agency, online: http://​www.​asc-csa.​gc.​ca/​eng/​satellites/​neossat/​ (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
40
Secure World Foundation, supra note 8, p. 8–9.
 
41
See NASA Science Beta, Japan Launches Asteroid Mission, (4 December 2014) online: http://​science.​nasa.​gov/​science-news/​science-at-nasa/​2014/​04dec_​hayabusa2/​ (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
42
See The Spaceguard Foundation, online: http://​spaceguard.​rm.​iasf.​cnr.​it/​SGF/​INDEX.​html (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
43
See Emergency Asteroid Defence Project, online: http://eadproject.com/ (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
44
NASA’s Efforts to Identify Near-Earth Objects and Mitigate Hazards, Audit report (15 September 2014) online: https://​oig.​nasa.​gov/​audits/​reports/​FY14/​IG-14-030.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
45
R. Posner, Catastrophe. Risk and response (OUP 2004), pp. 28–29.
 
46
Ibid., p. 250.
 
47
P. Slovic, “Perception of risk from asteroid impact” in P. Bobrowsky and H. Rickman (eds.) Comet/Asteroid impacts and human society (Springer 2007), pp. 369, 379.
 
48
Ibid.
 
49
U Beck, World risk society (Polity Press 1999), p. 135.
 
50
G. Mythen, Ulrich Beck: A critical introduction to the risk society (Pluto Press 2004), p. 22.
 
51
U Beck, supra note 50, p. 44.
 
52
See supra para. 1.2.
 
53
R. Posner, supra note 46, p. 24.
 
54
P. Slovic, supra note 48, p. 380.
 
55
T. Horlick-Jones, “Modern disasters as outrage and betrayal” (1995) 13 International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, pp. 305, 311.
 
56
J. Reason, “Human error. Models and management” (2000) 172 West J Med, pp. 393–396.
 
57
For details on the history of the claims, see A. Ito, Legal aspects of satellite remote sensing (Martinus Nijhoff 2011), pp. 191–194 and University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Programme on Space and Telecommunications Law, “Legal Aspects of NEO Threat Response and Related Institutional Issues. Final Report” (9 February 2010), para. 4.3, online: Secure World Foundation http://​swfound.​org/​media/​40426/​legal_​aspects_​neo_​response_​institutional_​issues_​final_​report.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
58
Supra Chap. 3.
 
59
Supra para. 3.1.1.
 
60
Arts I, III, and IV of the 1963 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.
 
61
The analysis of this duty is outside the scope of this paper.
 
62
The ICACF is set up by the 2009 Convention on Compensation for Damage to Third Parties, Resulting from Acts of Unlawful Interference Involving Aircraft. As of 4 August 2015, the convention has not entered into force.
 
63
The Funds are set up by the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, and the Protocol of 2003 to the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage.
 
64
See the 1960 Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy, as amended by the Additional Protocol of 28th January 1964, by the Protocol of 16th November 1982, and the 2004 Protocol to amend the 1960 Paris Convention as amended. See also the 1963 Convention supplementary to the 1960 Paris Convention as amended. Finally see the 1963 Vienna Convention in Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, as amended by the 1997 Protocol to amend the 1963 Vienna Convention and the 2007 Vienna Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.
 
65
See H. Mayer, “Is a special legal regime for planetary defence measures necessary?” (6 June 2015), online: International Academy of Astronautics http://​iaaweb.​org/​iaa/​Scientific%20​Activity/​conf/​pdc2015/​IAA-PDC-15-06-06po.​pdf (last accessed on 15 January 2018).
 
66
Nebraska legal report, supra note 58, para. 6.8.
 
67
Ibid., para. 6.7.
 
68
Ibid., para. 6.13.
 
69
Articles 56 and 57 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed at Chicago, on 7 December 1944 (Chicago Convention).
 
70
See also Article 90 of the Chicago Convention.
 
71
Nebraska legal report, supra note 58, para. 6.9.
 
72
Ibid., para. 6.10.
 
73
Ibid., para. 6.6.
 
74
Ibid., paras 4.1 ff.
 
75
Ibid., para. 4.29.
 
76
For a review of the varying interpretations of the term wilful misconduct in private international law conventions, refer to M Clarke, International Carriage of Goods by Road: CMR (Informa Law from Routledge 2014), paras 100–103 and D Mclean et al.; Shawcross and Beaumont on Air Law (Lexis Nexis 2017), Chapter 30, paras 515–534.
 
77
G Leloudas, Risk and liability in air law (Informa 2009), para. 8.9.
 
Metadata
Title
The Legacy of the Dinosaurs: Regulation of Planetary Defence and Near-Earth Objects at a Global Level
Authors
George Leloudas
Michael Chatzipanagiotis
Konstantina Liperi
Copyright Year
2019
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01479-7_10

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