I often wonder about what would happen if space became part of the war field. What if suddenly shattering other nations' satellites in order to kill communications and instigate chaos was an expected part of the deal? 

 

Well, you would think Space Law would have that covered. It means to, at least. The five treaties that regulate space activities under the United Nations, explicitly state that space is and should remain a place of peace. But what is one thing that could potentially disturb peace and is not addressed in the treaties? Resources. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I can’t think of a better excuse to start a space war than for the right to exploit a certain space body for its resources. Say a Chinese astronomer discovers a nearby gold-filled asteroid, but the US sends out a mission to exploit it. Bring into the mix the political tensions on Earth, and you have got yourself a nice trigger for conflict. What if China’s response is to send a missile to shatter the US’s probe? And what would be next?

 

No direct mention of exploration is done in the treaties. They only talk about the right to claim property of a celestial body - which is a big no, no. But that leaves a beautiful gap: what about the right to exploit the body for its resources? This gap has of course, already been taken advantage of, as the US implemented the Space Resource Discovery and Use Act in 2015, that allows private entities to exploit and commercialise celestial bodies’ resources.

 

Historically, exploitation has been the source of great conflict on Earth. We can’t risk extending this to space. Space Law needs to be updated with a detailed consideration on the issue of exploitation. If sky has been the limit (of war) so far, let's keep it that way.