There is Water on Mars, Now What?

On September 28, 2015, a huge announcement was made by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): there is evidence of water on Mars. And not just standing water, but flowing, salty water; water that could possibly support life. This announcement could launch a completely new set of theories in the search for extraterrestrial life. … Read more

Critical Analysis: International Space Law and the International Space Station

After weeks of delay, on Thursday, January 9, Orbital Sciences Corp. launched the Cygnus space capsule on its first cargo-carrying mission to the International Space Station.  Machinery breakdown, cold weather, and solar storms may have delayed the launch for a few weeks, but Cygnus safely arrived at the International Space Station three days after launch.  … Read more

What happens when something falls from space?

Things falling from space have certainly caught our collective interest in the last few days.  And while it’s been the extraordinary meteors in recent days, manmade items tumble from the sky more often than you might imagine.  These are expensive contraptions that sometimes have “sensitive” applications.  So, as you might imagine, there is a legal … Read more

The Bogotá Declaration and the Curious Case of Geostationary Orbit

In late 1976, eight “States traversed by the Equator” convened in Bogotá, Colombia to discuss their rights over a natural resource which—to them—had been unfairly removed from their sovereignty.  Specifically, these states felt that their rights to control natural resources had been unfairly abridged by Article II of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which cements … Read more