The Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty

Charles S. Cockell, Professor of Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, UK

Charles S. Cockell is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His scientific research includes the study of life in extreme environments, the habitability of extraterrestrial environments, and human space exploration. He has worked for NASA and the British Antarctic Survey and spent many seasons in Antarctica and the High Arctic. He received his doctorate in molecular biophysics from the University of Oxford and his BSc from the University of Bristol. As well as over 300 scientific papers and numerous popular science books, including Space on Earth, which made the case for the indivisible links between space exploration and environmentalism, he has written a number of papers and edited books on the subject of extraterrestrial liberty.

Introduction, Charles S. Cockell

1. Are we ready for new liberties? Stewarding mutually assured autonomy through place-based experiments, Zarinah Agnew

2. The voyage of 600 years: The ethical governance of a worldship, Stephen Baxter

3. Art, institutions, and liberty in extraterrestrial communities, Annalea Beattie

4. Space for opportunity: Transcultural and transnational sources of extraterrestrial liberty, Mukesh Chiman Bhatt

5. Expansion of humanity in space: Utopia or dystopia?, Octavio Alfonso Chon Torres

6. The cosmolegal approach to human activities in outer space, Elena Cirkovic

7. Essay on the Scottish Islands, their lessons for extraterrestrial governance, and a sketch of the applications of this knowledge to settlements beyond Earth, Charles S. Cockell

8. The law of Mars’ colonization, Raphaël Costa

9. Brightening the skies: Institutional solutions to the societal and geopolitical risks of space expansionism, Ian A. Crawford

10. Human conflict resolution in a non-Terran context, Janet de Vigne

11. Scarcity in space: Challenges for liberty, Martin Elvis

12. ‘We have come to Mars for good’: Science fiction, sovereignty, and the challenges of liberty, Simon Malpas

13. Securing the long-term peaceful use of space 187, Allan McKenna

14. Indigenous inclusion within the democratization of space, Tony Milligan

15. Decoupling physical and spiritual ascent narratives in astronomy and biology, Lucas John Mix

16. The law of Mars: The problem of violence mitigation in the development of extraterrestrial political institutions, Ethan Morales

17. Anarchy and authority: Summary justice on long-term space missions, Simon J. Morden

18. Making history cosmic, making cosmic history: Waking up to the richness of life’s potentials beyond Earth, or, how consequence and contingency became astronomical in scope, Thomas Moynihan

19. Only a paper moon: The Artemis Accords and future human settlements, Christopher J. Newman and William Ralston

20. Enlightenment beyond Earth, Anthony Pagden

21. Sovereign states, private actors, and (national) space laws. A rapidly evolving landscape, Stefania Paladini and Ignazio Castellucci

22. In space, nobody can copyright your scream, Burkhard Schafer

23. Justice in space: Demanding political philosophy for demanding environments, James S.J. Schwartz

24. Extraterrestrial governance: Why the constitutions of planets should be grounded in the constitution of their inhabitants, Michael Shermer

25. Global legal pluralism and outer space law: The Association of Autonomous Astronauts as a socio-legal community, Saskia Vermeylen

26. On libertarian communities in/around outer space: Is ecology an antithesis to liberty?, Matjaz Vidmar

27. Law and liberty on the Moon, Frans G. von der Dunk

28. Welcoming disability as necessary in space travel, Sheri Wells-Jensen

29. Regulation - a restraint of liberty or an enabler? Implementing sustainability guidelines for commercial space activities— normalizing the regulatory ‘race to the top’ in an ESG world, Joanne Wheeler

30. The case for space is liberty, Robert Zubrin