Social Science Workshop Insights on Moon Village Agreement

Paper number

IAC-18,E1,4,2,x45037

Author

Mr. Mukesh Bhatt, United Kingdom, Birkbeck, University of London

Coauthor

Mr. Andrei Sapera, Romania, International Space University

Coauthor

Mr. Nyamkhuu Tsoodol, Mongolia, ISU

Coauthor

Mr. Konstantin Chterev, United Kingdom, International Space University

Coauthor

Mr. Julian Fischer, Germany, International Space University (ISU)

Coauthor

Mr. Tuva Atasever, Turkey

Coauthor

Ms. Helen Tung, Australia, Moon Village Association (MVA)

Year

2018

Abstract

As humans strive to become a multiplanetary species, the Moon has become a key target as a destination, and as a staging post for further exploration. But if human communities regularly use or live on the Moon, we must decide what elements of life on Earth to bring with us. Law, religion, language, culture, and customs will all need to be considered alongside the engineering demands of living on another planetary body. We have already seen the International Space Station become home to multiple languages and religions, but as off-planet communities develop autonomy, what fundamental rules will they adopt? 

The Moon Village Association has suggested that a participation mechanism will be more practical than a new international treaty for a lunar community. Participants at the International Space University’s 2018 Space Studies Program (SSP) held in Delft, Netherlands, were asked to take the role of the decision-makers to create a draft text representing the fundamental "house rules" of a lunar village. The workshop, was done as a joint activity between SSP’s Space Policy, Economics, and Law (PEL) department and its Humanities (HUM) department. 

The workshop demands that participants adopt the difficulties of international cooperation in space as their own. Is there a simple solution for an international off-Earth community, or will they find the exigencies of existing treaties and expectations too much to surmount? This paper will present the findings of the ISU SSP participants, including their impressions of and lessons learned from the workshop.

Abstract document

IAC-18,E1,4,2,x45037.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-18,E1,4,2,x45037.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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