colonizing mars

National Colonization of Mars

Since Article II of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits national appropriation of “celestial bodies” such as Mars, any nation looking to colonize Mars in compliance with international law would have to conduct colonizing activities on behalf of the entire international community. No nation could declare any region of Mars land to be its own sovereign territory or property.

For practice, political, and even possibly financial reasons, this sort of colonization would therefore likely occur by means of cooperation between several spacefaring nations. In terms of how the law would be applied in practice, the International Space Station Agreement would likely serve as a precedent. Under the Agreement, each nation retains jurisditction and control “over the elements it registers…and over personnel in or on the Space Station who are its nationals.” The international legal regime governing Antarctica is also likely to serve as a precedent.

As such, nations may have settlements and research stations that operate under their jurisdiction. Persons living and working in those settlements and stations may be subject to either the law of their originating nation, or the law of the nation having jurisdiction over the location. In cases where laws conflict, disputes may be settled by arbitration or a space Claims Commission (as proposed in the Liability Convention).

Corporate Colonization of Mars

Article II of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits “national appropriation” of space objects and celestial bodies, such as Mars. However, while treaties such as the Moon Agreement contemplate commercial appropriation of space resources, no international space treaty appears to contemplate an effort by a private corporation to establish sovereign civil colonies on celestial bodies, such as Mars.

That’s likely because until very recently, the concept of a private corporation engaging in space exploration, let alone colonization, was largely the domain of hard science fiction, rather than a concern of the international space law community. Titans of the new Space Race, however, have made this a very real concern.

So what happens if SpaceX decides to start a Martian colony free of Earthly laws to be governed by “self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement,” as per its stated intention?

Technically speaking, as an American corporation, SpaceX would likely be considered an American national corporate “person” subject to American law when acting on Mars or any other celestial body. It cannot, so-to-speak, contract its way out of this, any more than it can decide one of its Earthly contracts will be governed under Martian law.

Nonetheless, if SpaceX establishes a truly independent Martian colony that declares itself legally independent of any Earthly jurisdiction, will an Earth nation be practically capable of imposing and enforcing its national law on the colony? This will depend on a number of technical factors too far off in the future to realistic judge.

Such a colony may also ground its legal case for independence in the UN Charter’s guarantee of the right to self-determination for any independent community of peoples. The UN Charter, being an authoritative text of international law, applies in the context of space law pursuant to Article III of the Outer Space Treaty. This article holds that “[p]arties to the Treaty shall carry on activities in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations.”

What sort of government will colonists establish on Mars? ->