Is it legal to dump a glorified piece of space trash on the Moon? No, it’s not an imaginary question. After discovering a derelict SpaceX rocket stage that will likely crash into the moon’s surface in March, a number of questions like that one pumped to the surface. Yet, we hope SpaceX rocket crashes won’t happen.
What if the SpaceX rocket crashes
So is SpaceX founder can be sued? Some legal experts said yes. “Theoretically, yes, Practically, probably not.” attorney Steven Kaufman said.
Technically, nobody owns the moon, so there will be no case against Musk. But in case the SpaceX rocket hits China’s lunar rover, then Musk might have a Moon-sized lawsuit on his hands
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Theoretically, countries can make legal claims if their spacecraft is damaged by other countries, that is according to the 1966 Outer Space Treaty and 1972 convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects.
But “There’s simply not a lot of precedents,” said attorney Scot Anderson.
Throughout history, there has been only one liability claim. When a Soviet satellite broke up in the skies, a radioactive material spilled over Canada’s atmosphere. The Canadian government settled the case with the Soviet Union for a meager $3 million.
Maybe in the future, we can see new rules about what we can and can’t do on the lunar surface. Especially after NASA’s Artemis program, which will allow countries to establish outposts on the Moon.
