As humanity steadily expands its presence beyond Earth, the question of who holds legal authority in outer space has become an urgent, practical concern. The cosmos was once the domain of national space agencies, but it is now being traversed by private companies, tourists, and multinational crews aboard commercial spacecraft.
Although we are probably far off from any potential illegality, it does beg the question as to what would happen to astronauts should they commit crimes in space. Indeed, how would they be prosecuted? And who has jurisdiction over justice? Click on to find out.