{"id":326,"date":"2023-10-04T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogg.lnu.se\/adecolonialview\/?p=326"},"modified":"2023-10-04T13:05:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T12:05:52","slug":"terra-firma-to-exteriores-spatium-the-higher-you-go-the-more-things-remain-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogg.lnu.se\/adecolonialview\/blog\/blogg\/terra-firma-to-exteriores-spatium-the-higher-you-go-the-more-things-remain-the-same\/","title":{"rendered":"Terra firma to exteriores spatium?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The higher you go, the more things remain the same? Brief highlights of Outer Space colonization by a postcolonial and decolonizing Earth.<\/p>\n

By Muriuki Sharon<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The

A picture of the full moon taken by the International Space Station above the Pacific northeast of Guam on June 17th 2019 (Photo: NASA Website). The Moon Agreement of 1984 governs states\u2019 actions on the Moon and other celestial bodies.<\/p><\/div>\n

Introduction<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Elon Musk\u2019s Space X and Star Link ventures, natural disasters, tech age and a general human curiosity have had much of the world focused upwards towards the sky, its planets and luminaries. Roles and benefits of space science include monitoring climate change, checking on the general health of earth, and identifying effective measures to address such issues[1]<\/sup><\/a>. However, space waste and space junk have put public safety and environmental disaster consequences on communities far removed from space tech in the news.\u00a0 On May 26th<\/sup> 2021, NASA published a report that the Space Surveillance Network is tracking more than 27,000 pieces of space junk[2]<\/sup><\/a>. NASA further explains that orbital debris includes natural meteoroid and human \/artificial debris such as nonfunctional space craft, abandoned launch vehicles, and mission related debris and fragmentation debris (NASA 2021). Such debris has been proven to crash back to earth, causing panic and questions as to damages, responsibility, and compensation in case of injuries.<\/p>\n

Similarities with \u2018land and sea\u2019 colonization: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0A circle of the financially fortunate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Space business is expensive. The European Space Agency puts the costs of running the International Space Station at 100 billion Euros over a period of 10 years[3]<\/sup><\/a>. The costs are shared amongst the USA, Russia, Canada, Japan and 10 European nations that are members of the European Space Agency.\u00a0 Just like the onset of colonial conquests, space colonization requires exploratory missions and money. This makes it a venture of a few privileged individuals, companies and nations but whose consequences affect people and countries unequally.<\/p>\n

Pollution and waste<\/strong><\/p>\n

A cargo ship \u2018MV Probo Koala\u2019<\/em> dumped toxic waste in the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan on 19th<\/sup> August, 2006 causing deaths and other related medical incidents. The source of the waste was the Netherlands[4]<\/sup><\/a>. The OHCHR called upon the Ivorian government to address the health and environmental effects of the waste while calling for the Dutch and British governments to provide support for the exercise. C\u00f4te d’Ivoire was also the location of space debris fall in May 2020[5]<\/sup><\/a> when debris from a Chinese satellite fell and crashed on earth, followed by another Chinese rocket crash a year later in May 2021[6]<\/sup><\/a> whose debris landed just west of the Maldives. There had been fears that the rocket would land on inhabited areas on its trajectory back to Earth.<\/p>\n

\"

The MV Probo Koala, the ship that ferried toxic waste to the C\u00f4te d’Ivoire in 2006. Photo by Raigo Pajula\/AFP<\/p><\/div>\n


\nMajor difference<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Spatial Divergence, commercialization of space and the entry of different actors including \u2018smaller countries\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Great Divergence is a concept used in economic history to explain when and why economic inequality between Western Europe and the rest of the world occurred[7]<\/sup><\/a>. Trading companies, their middle man role and the commercialization of colonial interests were a key cornerstone of successful colonial projects. Colonial trading companies such as the Dutch East India Company were instrumental in colonization of parts of South East Asia and the spread of globalization through transport, trade and employment. (Zwart 2016, 10-14). The new space race includes companies and government-corporate arrangements allowing small nations to establish space presence. The modern times difference is that these companies are cooperating with postcolonial governments in the race to space.\u00a0 The Rwandese government and the telecom company One Web entered into a partnership and launched the Icyerekezo Satellite in 2019[8]<\/sup><\/a>. The technology is aimed at assisting Rwanda connect Rwandese schools with internet. There has also been an increased interest in space programs by smaller nations such as New Zealand, Singapore and Luxembourg by partnering with private space-tech companies or by using their lands for development of such programs.[9]<\/sup><\/a> Space may provide a new area for spatial convergence where old powers will be joined by new economic and space tech powers such as India and China.<\/p>\n


\nSpace and its governance<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The

The International Space Station. Photo NASA. The International Space Station is a large spacecraft orbiting the Earth. It houses astronauts and cosmonauts and it orbits Earth every 90 minutes.<\/p><\/div>\n

Unlike the onset of \u2018land\u2019 and \u2018sea\u2019 between the 16th<\/sup> and 19th<\/sup> centuries\u2019 colonization where hitherto world empires relied on explorers, missionaries\u00a0 and the lack of binding international legal instruments, the 20th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup> centuries have seen the advancement of treaties, conventions and resolutions to govern space and its usage. The administrative and regulative functions of the law will provide nations with avenues for space contracts and payouts. According to the Space Foundation[10]<\/sup><\/a>, five legal mechanisms exist for the governance of space issues. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)[11]<\/sup><\/a> compiles and distributes the status (ratification and signing) of these international legal instruments among other space law and technology functions.<\/p>\n

(a)Outer Space usage and exploration is governed by the 1967 \u2018Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration of Outer Space,<\/em> including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies (UNOOSA, 2023)<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This 1967 Outer Space Treaty<\/em><\/strong> is the foundational space law. It calls for exploration and use of the outer space for the benefit and interest of all countries and mankind. It also declares that space is free for exploration and use by all states ,space cannot be nationally appropriated, states shall not place nuclear weapons or WMDs in space, the Moon shall be used for peaceful purposes, astronauts are regarded as envoys of mankind, states shall be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by government or non-governmental entities, states shall be liable for damages caused by their space objects and states shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies (UNOOSA, 2023)<\/p>\n