Outer space - Is it a global commons?

Article 1 of the Outer Space Treaty, which has been ratified by 112 countries, provides that the "exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind." Thus, outer space has traditionally been interpreted as a global commons, other global commons being Antarctica and the high seas. However, the USA’s Executive Order in 2020 explicitly mentioned that outer space is not a global common. That piece of document has since sparked discussions on whether outer space is a global commons with many jurists (example being the scholars at Outer Space Institute, Canada) reiterating that outer space is and continues to be a global common. Amidst these debates, we would like to explore questions such as:

• What is a global common, and what characteristics make a global common?
• Does outer space fulfill such characteristics?
• If it is a global common, how should that influence outer space exploration and use?
• How do we protect this global common which is being used and explored?
• How do we ensure that all States, including developing countries, have access to outer space?
• Does the Outer Space Treaty require space to be a global commons, or can the “benefit and interests of all countries” be achieved in other ways?
• What tools does the Outer Space Treaty provide for the establishment of a global commons, or are other tools required to make that successful?
• What could be learned from the other global commons (i.e. Antarctica, high seas) for outer space?
These and any other related questions will form part of this research series.

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Outer Space Treaty, Global commons, outer space

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