SEATTLE, Sept. 12, 2024—Is the new space age the beginning of a far-out Wild West? On Sept. 14 a diverse panel of spaceflight experts and professionals will take on the sticky realities of space law and lawlessness, and what it means for future space exploration and development. Today’s new space age promises orbiting hotels, Moon and Mars settlements and untold riches in off-Earth mining. But are they legal and who owns what beyond Earth? This Space Law Symposium begins at 2 p.m. and is free with general admission. A book signing will follow the event. The program is in conjunction with the Museum's Home Beyond Earth exhibition.

 

Panelists:

Michelle Hanlon, Ex. Dir. of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, and co-founder of For All Moonkind, a non-profit organization that seeks to protect each of the six human lunar landing and similar sites in outer space as part of our common human heritage. 

 

Kelly Weinersmith, is a best-selling author, scientist and recently co-author of the entertaining and troubling A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? Reviews of the book include : “Scientific, educational, and fun as hell.”

— Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary

 

Capt. Liberty Shockley is in the Air Force Reserve supporting U.S. Space Force Assured Access to Space on a variety of projects concerning military doctrine, US policy, and advanced technologies for our space programs. Her military and civilian career has led her to primarily work at the intersection of space technology and space law.

 

Moderator

Chris Lewicki, was a key member of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix Mars Lander, serving as Flight Director for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He co-founded and was CEO of Planetary Resources Inc. focused on the prospecting, development and use of resources found on near-Earth asteroids. Today he is a “near-futurist” contributing to numerous space organizations.


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Media Contact:

Ted Huetter/Senior Public Relations Manager
T: 206.768.7105 C: 206.455.5360 Email: thuetter@museumofflight.org

 

Image: Illustration of NASA astronauts on the lunar South Pole. Credit: NASA.