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Dumb question: What gives NASA the authority to build anything on the moon?
by Bhilai 6y ago
Dumb question: What gives NASA the authority to build anything on the moon?
- ampdepolymerase 6y agoBy being in a country that is a nuclear armed superpower with veto rights on the UN Security Council. Stuff like outer space treaty only matters when the bigger players are willing enforce it.
- sobellian 6y agoAs far as I know the outer space treaty only prevents the construction of military installations, but civilian construction would be perfectly lawful under the treaty.
- leetcrew 6y agoit's fairly limited. only WMDs are explicitly prohibited. other weapons (eg, anti-satellite) are a grey area AFAIK. recon satellites and facilities for military research are fair game.
- bluGill 6y agoMilitary installations will go out the window as soon as a military has something useful to do up there. Right now it is a interesting idea but not actually practicable. When a war starts military leaders get their way if it means winning, which means the treaty will be broke if there is something useful to do in space. This is why chemical weapons treaties are signed and obeyed, while land mind treaties are not: the military of powerful countries doesn't seem chemical weapons as something they want, while landmines are useful in some situations. (If your country has signed a land mind treaty it is probably because they can count on an allied country that hasn't to place land mines. If your country hasn't signed a chemical weapons treaty it is because your military isn't very good by modern standards and so you can accept the downsides)
- vorpalhex 6y agoOr just being on the moon and building civilian infrastructure and not military infrastructure... other countries are entirely free to do the same...
- Lambdanaut 6y agoA better question: are there any agreements forbidding anyone from constructing something on the moon?
- input_sh 6y agoMilitarization of anything in space is specifically forbidden by the international treaty. Building anything else is perfectly fine, as long as you don't claim ownership over a portion of a celestial object.
- thecureforzits 6y agoMight makes right.
- ehnto 6y agoMy Google Fu only turned up the Outer Space Treaty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty But I wouldn't be surprised if this is new territory for law and sovereignty on the moon, and will be a bit controversial.
- luhn 6y agoThere are rules: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty Basically anything goes as long as it's not for military purposes.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- humanistbot 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty Article IV says: "The use of any equipment or facility necessary for peaceful exploration of the moon and other celestial bodies shall also not be prohibited."
- rootsudo 6y agoAll I want to do is reply with a hashtag, but I do understand there's some concerns of militarization of the moon/space. Yet, people and country who get there first usually get to name it, but then that's a touch of concern in todays times of #colonization yet it has succeeded and failed when you look at USA, Spain, UK, France.... Meanwhile, would any viable competitors in terms of China and Russia honor and think about this as if "NASA" has authority vs "they were first too?" So, #America! In the grand scheme of things, USA has been much much fair in terms of diplomacy across the world, from shipping channels and helping peace (through war, unfortunately, sometimes) vs China or Russia. So it's a good question, really good.
- FlyMoreRockets 6y agoThe Outer Space Treaty grants these activities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty
- vagrantJin 6y agoUntil a global org based on science and not d@#$ length emerges to take the species forward with breakneck speed as far as space based research is concerned- everyone can do whatever they like. Treaties yada yada no one is going to check an American satellite if it has military applications or not. So we'll just have to wait till the next war to find out that honesty is, in fact, a four letter word.