session 6-E3.5

Title

40th IAA/IISL Scientific Legal Roundtable: The Growing Roster of Space Countries

type

oral

Description

Invited papers only. Since 1957, the legal and scientific framework for outer space has evolved through three distinct stages. The first stage, dominated by government programs from the Soviet Union and the United States, expanded in the 1970s to include agencies from Europe, Japan, India, and China. The second stage began in the 1980s with the entry of commercial entities, supported by major space powers.We are now in the third stage, characterized by the emergence of new governmental and commercial space programs from over 120 countries, such as India and the UAE's Mars missions and the 2025 establishment of the African Space Agency, collaborating closely with commercial partners, much like their predecessors. This increasing diversity and congestion in space have forced governance to adapt. Early space activities were largely governmental and well-suited to the formal treaties of the 1960s and 70s. However, the current mix of nations, missions, and technologies has challenged these "hard" treaty laws. As a result, there's a shift toward more flexible, non-binding guidelines, like the UNCOPUOS Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines and the Artemis Accords. This evolution in the space community also raises new scientific and ethical questions about exploration methods and the search for extraterrestrial life. The 40th Scientific/Legal Roundtable will address these challenges.

IPC members

• Co-Chair: Dr. Rainer Sandau, International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), Germany;

• Co-Chair: Prof. Larry Martinez, International Institute of Space Law (IISL), United States;

• Rapporteur: Dr. Nicola Rohner-Willsch, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany;

• Rapporteur: Dr. Ivan Fino, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Italy;