Space Activities for Sustainability and the Role of the National Space Agencies

Abstract

The sustainability of outer space activities incorporates the Legislation, Regulatory, Policy, Safety, and Capacity building as provided in the “Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities” (LTS Guidelines), scientific, international cooperation, and technical. With regard to the regulatory aspect, the national space agencies play a vital role in ensuring the sustainability of outer space. They are bestowed with the power to regulate, supervise, and implement space issues in their respective jurisdictions. This paper examined the intersection between outer space activities and sustainability and the role that national space agencies play in ensuring that outer space is a better place. The paper examines the impacts of these activities on outer space environmental conservation, resource management, and disaster response on Earth. Furthermore, it discusses how sustainable development goals can be achieved through responsible space exploration and utilization. The analysis of the role of space agencies with regard to space activities and sustainability and the role of development countries without space agencies fulfilling their international obligations with regard to space exploration and sustainability were also carefully examined. The study employed the documentary review method. The International Treaties, Conventions, United Nations Declaration, and Resolutions were critically examined to explore how they address the issue of space activities and sustainability. In doing this, the legal challenges towards space activities and sustainability were carefully examined, and better ways were proposed to enhance sustainability in outer space. The study established that, though the outer space Treaties and Conventions address the issue of space activities and sustainability, there are still some challenges to their effect. It is so because the Outer Space Treaties and Conventions provisions are not clear; as a result, a number of legal gaps emerged in addressing outer space sustainability, hence ineffective in protecting the outer space environment from the negative effects resulting from space activities.