Martian Law

Introduction

In the past, men have been exploring the high seas in search for new land in order to
have the sovereign over it. The motives that spur human beings to examine their environment
are many. Strong among them are the satisfaction of curiosity, the pursuit of trade, the spread
of religion, and the desire for security and political power. At different times and in different
places, different motives are dominant. Sometimes one motive inspires the promoters of
discovery, and another motive may inspire the individuals who carry out the search.

However, in these recent years, as the technology has become advanced, the exploration
of land on Earth has become impossible since almost every inch of the land in the world has
already been occupied by people and under the sovereignty of states. In addition to that, there
are international laws such as treaties and conventions that prohibit the occupation of land
through colonisation or war. In fact, if a country conquers another country through war, they
cannot claim sovereignty over the new country. Furthermore, nowadays, the population of the
world is increasing rapidly. According to a UN report, the world's population is growing by
about 83 million people each year. The planet is expected to have 8.6 billion people in 2030,
and 9.8 billion by 2050.1

Hence, men started to look towards the outer space to find new resources and gain
power over a new territory. The first man to ever step in the Moon is Neil Armstrong in1969.
Since then, countries such as the US and Russia etc were racing in winning the space
exploration. Thus recently, the they are trying to explore the planet Mars.

Facts about Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar
system. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is also often described as the Red Planet
due to its reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere composed
primarily of carbon dioxide.

1
U.N. Says World's Population Will Reach 9.8 Billion By 2050.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/22/533935054/u-n-says-world-s-population-will-reach-9-
8-billion-by-2050
 Mars and Earth have approximately the same landmass. Even though Mars has only
15% of the Earths volume and just over 10% of the Earths mass, around two thirds of the
Earths surface is covered in water. Martian surface gravity is only 37% of the Earths, meaning
in theory, we could leap nearly three times higher on Mars.2

After the Earth, Mars is the most habitable planet in our solar system due to several
reasons; its soil contains water to extract, it isnt too cold or too hot and there is enough sunlight
to use solar panels. Furthermore, gravity on Mars is 37% that of our Earth's, which is believed
by many to be sufficient for the human body to adapt to. It also has an atmosphere (albeit a thin
one) that offers protection from cosmic and the Sun's radiation. Moreover, the day or night
rhythm is very similar to ours here on Earth: a Mars day is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds.

The distance between Mars and Earth is constantly changing as they travel around the
sun. In theory, the closest that Earth and Mars would approach each other would be when Mars
is at its closest point to the sun (perihelion) and Earth is at its farthest (aphelion). This would
put the planets only 54.6 million kilometres apart. However, this has never happened in
recorded history. The closest recorded approach of the two planets occurred in 2003, when they
were only 56 million km apart. The two planets are farthest apart when they are both at their
farthest from the sun, on opposite sides of the star. At this point, they can be 401 million km
apart. The average distance between the two planets is 225 million km.

The trip takes around seven months; a bit longer than astronauts currently stay on the
International Space Station. The precise duration of each journey depends on when it is taken.
Because both Mars and Earth's orbits are not perfectly circular, the time it takes to travel
between them varies from six to eight months. The exact dates and years in which Mars One
plans to execute the various stages of the plan were chosen for the beneficial astronomical
position of Earth and Mars. When determining the course to Mars, the maximum travel time
for the astronauts is very important. The most efficient route to take from Earths orbit to that
of Mars is called the Hohmann Transfer Orbit

History of Mars exploration.

Since the first spacecraft was sent to Mars was launched in 1960, there have been at
least 68 missions that have been launched to the Red Planet or have flown by it on their way to

2
Mars Facts: Life, Water and Robots on the Red Planet
https://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-planet-from-the-sun.html
other solar system bodies. Including orbiting telescopes such as Hubble Space Telescope that
have looked at Mars from near-Earth regions, the number is even higher. For this analysis, we
will look only at missions sent directly to study Mars. More than half of all missions sent to
Mars have failed. Some were destroyed on launch, others were lost in space or on the planet.
Yet, among all the missions, there have been successes along the way.

In the recent 21st century, space agencies have had more successful missions. NASAs
Mars Odyssey, the European Space Agencys Mars Express led off the march to Mars. They
are still currently operating as of this writing. The Mars Exploration Rovers A and B, also
known as Spirit and Opportunity, settled onto the Martian surface in 2004 and immediately
began searching for evidence of past water on the planet. Spirit lasted for about 7 years and
Opportunity is still operating. Both rovers made important discoveries about the surface of
Mars and the existence of water there in the distant past. Their images and data have given
scientists valuable long-term daily looks at the weather and climate of the planet, as well.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2005 has continually mapped and
imaged the planet at high resolution since then. It, along with other orbiters, provides a useful
radio link back to Earth. Mars Phoenix landed on the Red Planet and spent several months
cataloguing conditions near the Mars northern polar regions. The Russians, Chinese and British
had a run of back luck with spacecraft in 2003 and 2011 respectively. The Beagle Rover made
it to Mars, but failed upon landing. The Fobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1 mission fell back to Earth
after a launch failure.

In more recent years, the U.S. Mars Curiosity rover has been a huge success, returning
images from the surface as well as detailed mineralogy of the rocks where it landed. It continues
to explore and is currently heading up a series of hills near its landing area. The two most recent
missions to arrive at Mars (September 2014) are the Indian Space Research Organizations
Mars Orbiter Mission (nicknamed Mom) and the MAVEN mission. MOM is a proof of
concept mission returning images of the planet and data about the atmosphere. MAVEN is an
atmospheric studies satellite that is sampling the upper atmosphere in an effort to understand
how the planet is losing its atmosphere (and how it may have lost water in the past).

Law Governing in Space

The law to govern the outer space has long been discussed since the launch of Sputnik
1 satellite in October 1957 by Soviet Union. Since then, the law on the outer space has
developed and shaped into a proper framework in accordance with the development of
scientific knowledge to explore the outer space. The noted development in the outer space
technology has made the United Nation to create the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer
Space (COPUOS).

This committee in turn creates two more subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical
Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Legal subcommittee has been a primary
forum for the discussion and negotiation for international agreements relating to outer space.
For example, COPUOS has drafted the Outer Space Treaty in 1967 which govern the
principle on the activities of the states in the exploration and use of outer space which will be
one of our main treaty to be discussed here.

Watney is a Space Pirate?

In the film The Martian, Mark Watney was separated with his crews during one of the
U.S. expedition to Mars. This has force him to live on the surface of the Mars and produce a
significant scientific challenge that must be solved. Despite that, there is also legal challenge
that arises from the incident. A quote from the film by him portrays it quite clearly:

Ive been thinking about laws on Mars. Theres an international treaty saying
that no country can lay claim to anything thats not on Earth. By another treaty
if youre not in any countrys territory, maritime law applies. So Mars is
international waters. Now, NASA is an American non-military organization, it
owns the Hab. But the second I walk outside Im in international waters. So
heres the cool part. Im about to leave for the Schiaparelli Crater where Im
going to commandeer the Ares IV lander. Nobody explicitly gave me
permission to do this, and they cant until on board the Ares IV. So Im going
to be taking a craft over in international waters without permission, which by
definition makes me a pirate. Mark Watney: Space Pirate.3

Basically, what Watney was trying to say that is that all of the outer space is considered
as international water, a similar category in which high seas where piracy is commonly
happened. Watney allegation is based on the Moon Treaty which is explicitly attempted to
model the Law of Space on the Law of Sea. By entering the craft belonging to the U.S.
Government in the International Water without their permission, Watney may have
committed the crime of piracy which he thought he commits.

3
The Martian (2015)
 However, upon examining the relevant fact, it is discovered Watney was wrong all
along. The Moon Treaty was signed only by a handful number of nation and in addition does
not include the United States. Watney being a U.S. citizen makes the treaty binding upon him.
Therefore, Watney may have been wrong in his proposition that he is a Space Pirate.

According to Blacks Law Dictionary, Piracy can be defined as a robbery or forcible

depredation on the high seas without a lawful authority done animo fur-audi, in the spirit and
intention of universal hostility. It is a criminal act that is done usually in the high seas where
there is no definite and lawful authority governing the areas. It can range for many criminal
activities but usually involves robbery in the seas when merchant ships are being under attack
while travelling a great length to sell their goods in the fifteenth century where the term piracy
becomes popular. Thus, Watney does not use any force when he take over the craft, as he was
alone in Mars. Watney may only commit theft which is not enough to make him a pirate.

Furthermore, the treaty which governs in this matter is actually the Outer Space Treaty
of 1967 which the U.S. is a party. Under this treaty, when a state like U.S. launches an object
into space, the U.S. would retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over any
personnel thereof, while in outer space or on a celestial body.4 Therefore, Watney commit the
crime technically not on International Waters, but on the property of the U.S. government and
in which the law of the United States will apply.

In addition, although it is clear that Watney may have committed a crime, he actually
has a strong case for necessity. Necessity provides that a crime may be justified in order to
prevent a greater harm. Thus, Watney actually is safe from any persecution as the thing he did
was for the purpose of survival and he did not have any means to communicate to Earth other
than by taking over the craft.

Martian Law

Based on the situation derived from the film, we can obviously have discussed on the
law applicable on Mars itself. Based on Article 1 the Outer Space Treaty:

Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for
exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis

4
Article 8 of Outer Space Treaty 1967
 of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free
access to all areas of celestial bodies.

Therefore, no other state can exercise their authority over a planet and apply their own
law. Each of the state is subject to the International law governed. Any activities that the state
carry must be supervise by them. This is in accordance with Article 5 of the Outer Space Treaty:

The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon

and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing
supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty.

Based on the principles of international space law, sovereignty and appropriation are
prohibited in outer space and other celestial bodies, including Mars. if a state or a private entity
lands on Mars, they cant become the ruler or owner of the area.

Based on International Space Law, state are prohibited to exercise their own
sovereignty. However, the astronauts, stations, installments, equipment, and space vehicles that
will be sent to Mars, fall under the jurisdiction of a state on Earth. This means the state which
has registered the modules will have jurisdiction over them. This is based on Article 8 of the
Outer Space treaty:

A State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched into outer
space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over
any personnel thereof, while in outer space or on a celestial body.

Conclusion

To conclude, according to Article 1 of the United Nation's Outer Space Treaty, the most
important body of space law, international law applies on Mars:

Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration
and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in
accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies5
and as of now, no state or person can lay claim to anything that's not on Earth.

5
Article 1, Outer Space Treaty 1967
 So just because Neil Armstrong planted the American flag in lunar soil, that doesn't
mean the US owns the moon or when Yuri Gagarin finished orbiting the earth in 1961 doesnt
make the earth space belongs to Russia. And if someone lands on another planet, they couldn't
declare themselves its supreme ruler or the owner of any land.

Right now the moon, Mars, and every other planet fall under international law. In fact,
the entire universe beyond Earth technically shares the same principle with international
waters. For instance, International waters have no sovereignty, ergo is "Terra nullius" as no
state controls it. All states have the freedom of: fishing, navigation, overflight, laying cables
and pipelines, and research. The same principle applies for the outer space as it is the common
heritage to humankind whereby human needs to share, such act of sharing as expressed in
article 1234 of Majallah Al-Ahkam Al-Adliyyah 6stated human are partners in usage of fire,
water and grass. It must be for the benefit of humankind.

The Martian shall be said governed by the international law. The Law of Outer Space
shall apply at Mars. It consists of the "Outer Space Treaty", "the Rescue Agreement", "the
Liability Convention", "the Registration Convention", and "the Moon Agreement". While the
Outer Space Treaty contains the basic principles of space law, as Mars is a Celestial Body
within the solar system it shall be governed by "the Moon Agreement" which deals with the
law governing human actions on the Moon and other celestial objects. (until a separate
agreement for Mars is arrived at). 7

There is some legal precedent for the idea. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which 103
nations (including the U.S. and Russia) are party to, prohibits any nation from claiming territory
in space. The treaty makes very clear that a colony on Mars could never become a colony in
the classical legal sense of the word, like the U.S. was originally a colony of the U.K., says
Frans von der Dunk, a space law professor at the University of Nebraska.

However, The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (to which the U.S. and most other space-
faring nations are party), provides that when a State like the U.S. launches an object into space,

6
Article 1234 Majallah Al-Ahkam Al-Adliyah
7
Article 1 of AGREEMENT GOVERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF STATES ON THE MOON AND OTHER CELESTIAL
BODIES(Adopted on December 14, 1979, Resolution A/34/68 by the UN General Assembly 34st Session,
Proclaimed July 11, 1984)
the U.S. 8 would retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over any personnel
thereof, while in outer space or on a celestial body.9

Under the current legal system, for instance, American colonists on Mars would still
probably fall under U.S. jurisdiction. Sailors in international waters are expected to follow the
rules of their ship's flag, and astronauts must do the same.10 The rules even hold when they're
not on board the shipfor example, when the Apollo astronauts roamed around the moon, or
when astronauts on the International Space Station do spacewalks, they're still subject to U.S.
laws.So it doesnt matter that the MAV is unmanned its still U.S. property and U.S. law still
applies on board. That would be the law applies currently.

In paradox, future prospect suggested with the plan that Haqq-Misra lays out has five
main provisions:11

First, humans who leave Earth to permanently settle on Mars relinquish their planetary
citizenship as Earthlings and claim a planetary citizenship as Martians. Secondly, governments,
corporations, and individuals of Earth cannot engage in commerce with Mars and cannot
interfere with the political, cultural, economic, or social development of Martian civilization.

Third, scientific exploration may continue as long as it does not interfere with the
development of civilization on Mars. Sharing of research and information between Mars and
Earth is permitted only to pursue mutual scientific or educational goals. Fourth, the use of land
on Mars will be determined exclusively by the citizens of Mars. No Earthlings may own or
otherwise lay claim to land on Mars.

Last, any technology, resources, or other objects brought from Earth to Mars become
permanent fixtures of the Martian civilization. Earthlings may not make any demands for
resources on Mars.

8
Beyond the Mars Science Laboratory and MAVEN Missions. Mars Exploration Program. NASA. February
2012. Retrieved 2012-02-28
9
Article VIII Outer Space Treaty 1967
10
[(National Space Legislation in Europe: Issues of Authorisation of Private Space Activities in the Light of
Developments in European Space Cooperation )] [Author: Frans G. Von Der Dunk] [Sep-2011] page 58
11
https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2016/05/07/mars/wNoVqhR4UXWAaNEOgmyWVK/story.html
J. Haqq-Misra (2016) The Boston Globe 08 May.