ALBERT MEDINA: RETURN FROM MY BLOGGING HIATUS AND A PROPOSED ABSTRACT ON DEEP SPACE COLONIZATION: EXTRATERRESTRIAL LAW AND ORDER

Hello again fellow space enthusiasts and hobbyists! It's been quite some time since my last entry, but I felt like it was just about time to get back in the swing of things after somewhat of a lengthy break from blogging on space law and policy.

Since my last blog post, I have been incredibly busy, having not only become a licensed Florida Attorney working in the South Florida area, a member of the Florida Space Development Council and a Prospective Member of the International Institute of Space Law, but also having attended the historic December 2014 launch of the Orion Space Capsule at Kennedy Space Center, where I was able to witness humanity's very first step towards human deep-space exploration first hand (my personal video of this fantastic experience can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lobnI7vwPMI&feature=youtu.be).

In addition, I recently applied for a spot in the International Astronautical Federation's Emerging Space Leaders Grant Program, a unique program that provides great opportunities for students and young professionals alike with an interest in space to be able to partake in the International Astronautical Federation's and Israel Space Agency's upcoming 66th International Astronautical Congress set to take place in Jerusalem, Israel in October of 2015 (if you're interested, here's a link to the program for this exciting upcoming event: https://iafastro.directory/iac/browse/IAC-15/catalog-technical-programme).

The application process for the Emerging Space Leaders Grant Program required each applicant to submit an abstract for an essay on a space-related topic, which, if the applicant is chosen to participate, will actually be presented at the 66th International Astronautical Congress by the applicant himself or herself. Accordingly, for my first blog post in nearly a year, I have decided to share the text of the abstract that I submitted (which I've entitled "Extraterrestrial Law and Order") with the rest of you, the text of which I've copied and pasted below for your viewing pleasure:

58th IISL COLLOQUIUM ON THE LAW OF OUTER SPACE (E7)

7th Nandasiri Jasentuliyana Keynote Lecture on Space Law and Young Scholars Session (1)

Author: Mr. Albert Medina 

United States, albertvmedina@gmail.com

EXTRATERRESTRIAL LAW AND ORDER

ABSTRACT

"My paper explores the potential legal frameworks and potential legal implications as to future extraterrestrial human settlements and colonies. In observing the historic evolutions of various legal regimes with respect to different European polities and their corresponding colonies during the 'Age of Discovery' and the 'Colonial Era,' the ongoing socioeconomic and sociopolitical effects of globalization, and the rapidly progressing system of international space law in the context of modern-day space exploration and the dawn of the private space sector, the goal of my paper is to draw upon these three broad areas in order to offer a reasonable prediction as to what kinds of legal systems and structures may take root within the first human settlements and colonies in outer space, along with the legal ramifications that would come with their existence and continuing development. In doing so, my paper seeks to show that initially, such extraterrestrial systems of law and governance, irrespective of the locations, national makeups or attributes of their respective colonies, would each likely function through the lens of a uniform, Earth-based international legal regime necessarily entrenched within a single well-established 'globalized' union or federation of highly developed countries, being a prerequisite for the meaningful propagation of mass-scale deep space exploration and colonization; given the extreme isolation and highly limited capacity for long-term self-sustainability that any of these otherworldly outposts would unavoidably possess in relation to the Earth-based communities that they would need to depend on for their short-term growth and survival, the dynamism of their systems of law and governance would remain largely static at the outset out of necessity. That said, it is not until these outer space colonies and settlements reach a certain threshold of size, infrastructural integrity and self-sustainability that we can begin to see independent evolutions and divergences in their respective legal and governmental schemes based on their unique locations, functions and attributes; such a scenario could lead to the development of wholly separate and distinct systems of laws among and between extraterrestrial settlements and, potentially, even grounds for conflict. This paper sheds light on a significant subject of law that will inevitably have to be addressed by humanity as mankind reaches ever deeper into the cosmos with dreams of populating it." 

So there it is ladies and gents! Like the rest of the other applicants, I will not be hearing until April of 2015 as to whether or not I've been chosen for the Emerging Space Leaders Grant Program, so for now it's all a waiting game (and of course a good time to start preparing the essay that I ultimately intend to write on this intriguing topic). In the meantime, feel free to offer any feedback if you like, and remember...keep looking up!

*If you would like to learn more information about the International Astronautical Federation, here is a link to the organization's official website: http://www.iafastro.org/.