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Astropolitics and extraterrestrial life -

The single most compelling topic addressed by astropolitics is the political impact of any contact that may someday occur with extraterrestrial intelligence. 

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Life on a distant planet -

In April 2025 scientists announced that they'd found the "strongest evidence yet" of life on a distant planet. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (pictured), astronomers identified huge quantities of chemicals only made by living organisms on Earth on a far away world orbiting another star. 

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New life forms? -

Molecules that are primarily produced by microbial life, such as marine phytoplankton, have been detected in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, which is located around 124 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Leo.

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How would we cope with the discovery of alien life? -

Scientists from Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy in the UK stress that more research is needed to confirm the results. In the event of confirmation of extraterrestrial life, a set of protocols are in place to cope with the media maelstrom such an announcement would generate.  

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Post-detection policy -

A post-detection policy (PDP), or post-detection protocol, is a set of structured guidelines that are to be followed for the "detection, analysis, verification, announcement, and response to" confirmed signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.

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Seeking evidence of extraterrestrial life -

The International Academy of Astronautics Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) post-detection protocols, initially drafted in 1989 and updated in 2010, were written to guide SETI scientists if they detect evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. However, no PDPs have been formally and openly adopted by any governmental entity... so far. 

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Outer Space Treaty -

As the name implies, astropolitics is the theory and study of the effects that space has on politics. The Outer Space Treaty was negotiated and drafted by the United Nations and signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on January 27, 1967. It entered into force in October 1967.

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Key provisions -

The treaty provides the basic framework on international space law. Key provisions include prohibiting nuclear weapons in space; limiting the use of the Moon and all other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes; establishing that space shall be freely explored and used by all nations; and precluding any country from claiming sovereignty over outer space or any celestial body. 

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The arms race -

The development of intercontinental missiles in the 1950s that could reach targets beyond the Earth's atmosphere prompted an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. 

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No WMD in space -

The Outer Space Treaty was drawn up following the adoption in 1963 of a UN resolution prohibiting the introduction of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space.  

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The Space Race -

The launch by the Soviet Union of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, had caught the United States unawares. Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite and its deployment triggered the Space Race. 

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The basis of international space law -

To date, 115 countries are parties to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty—including all major crewed and uncrewed spacefaring nations. But while the treaty is a useful framework, technology has overtaken it.  

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The Moon Treaty -

Signed in 1979 and effective since 1984, the Moon Treaty is an agreement governing the activities of states on the Moon and other celestial bodies. 

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Lunar agreement -

The agreement reaffirms and elaborates on many of the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty as applied to the Moon and other celestial bodies, principally that those bodies should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, that their environments should not be disrupted, and that the United Nations should be informed of the location and purpose of any station established on those bodies.

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Artemis Accords -

Established by NASA, the US Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations in 2020, the Artemis Accords provide a common set of principles to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space. On April 8, 2025, Bangladesh became the 54th nation to sign the accords.

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Artemis Program -

The Accords are related to the Artemis program, an American-led effort to return humans to the Moon by 2027, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond. The Chinese, with Russia as a junior partner, have similar plans. Pictured are the first US and Canadian candidates to graduate under the program. 

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Politics of the International Space Station -

The politics of the International Space Station (ISS) have been affected by superpower rivalries, international treaties, and funding arrangements since the first ISS module was launched in 1998. 

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Permanent human presence in space -

In fact, the ISS was shaped by the politics of the Cold War. The United States and Russia led the effort to create the technical marvel, and on November 2, 2000, astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev arrived at the International Space Station, signaling the advent of a permanent human presence in space.

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Partners in space -

Over the past 25 years, more than 280 individuals representing 23 countries and five International Partners have visited the world's premier orbital laboratory. Under the International Space Station Agreement, Space Station Partner States are allowed to extend their national jurisdiction in outer space. 

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Politics of asteroid mining -

Advances in technology and engineering have made mining asteroids more plausible, although the industry is many years away from successfully doing so. Critics of the idea believe asteroid mining resources would flood the market, causing a rapid devaluation of global raw materials.

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Metal extraction in the cosmos -

Furthermore, asteroid mining for metal extraction also has the potential to influence the global market for rare metals and create a new geopolitical order. Any expansion of resource extraction in outer space would require the development of a legal regulatory framework that adequately governs asteroid mining activities.

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A new Space Race -

The race to conquer space in the 21st century has changed significantly, allowing other major countries such as China, the European Union, India, and Japan to enter the space race.

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Going their own way -

Over and above United Nations General Assembly resolutions as well as rules and regulations of international organizations, many states now have in place their own national legislation governing space-related activities.

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Chang'e 4 mission -

China's successful Chang'e 4 mission to the Moon in 2019 saw data from the Yutu-2 lunar rover's ground penetrating radar being used by scientists to put together imagery of multiple layers deep beneath the surface. 

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Plans for a lunar base -

China is seeking to establish an international lunar base one day, possibly using 3D printing technology to build facilities. While the country acceded to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty in 1983, it's not a signatory to the Artemis Accords.

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Mining the Moon -

The 1967 treaty forbids any declaration of sovereignty over the Moon. Artemis, however, allows a signatory nation to mine the Moon and to declare a "safety zone" in which other countries can't operate. This anomaly allows China and any country intent on mining the Moon to circumvent the 1967 ruling. 

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Can Mars be appropriated? -

Similarly, Article II of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits national appropriation of "celestial bodies" such as Mars. No single nation can declare any region of Mars land to be its own sovereign territory or property. In terms of how the law would be applied in practice, the International Space Station Agreement would likely serve as a precedent. 

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Sovereign states and territorial claims -

Space station partners are allowed to extend their national jurisdiction in outer space. So wouldn't the same law be used to declare territory on Mars? Think of Antarctica: seven sovereign states have made territorial claims on that continent, citing scientific observations and study facilities to justify their actions. 

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Politics and power -

As the 21st century progresses, astropolitics is more about the military and commercial opportunities space provides to geopolitical rivals.

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Emergence of a "space force" -

Russia, China, and the USA all have versions of a "space force," with satellites playing a major part in surveillance, targeting, missile delivery, and nuclear early-warning systems.

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Militarization of space -

And all three nations, plus India, have successfully tested anti-satellite weapons by firing a ballistic missile from Earth and destroying one of their own satellites.

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New world order -

Space today is central to the world's economies. Indeed, the space economy encompasses all activities and resources that contribute to human progress through the exploration, research, understanding, management, and utilization of the cosmos. But astropolitics and the militarization of space is creating a new world order with no clear boundaries. 

Sources: (United Nations) (Geographical) (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (NASA) (European Space Agency) (BBC) (Smithsonian Magazine) (Laws on Mars) 

See also: The space war is closer than you might think. 

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