This time last year, barely anyone had heard of my research area, even people in the space law industry. This is completely understandable, human space activity is still so young, having grown out of the political tensions of the Cold War, it is an area of determination, optimism and international unity, no-one really wants to think about it going wrong, especially not in terms of crime. Space exploration is about progress and optimism, figuring out the shape and interactions of the community.
That is, until the first space crime allegedly took place aboard the International Space Station in August 2019, when an astronaut apparently used the station computer to log into their spouse’s bank account. This accusation, at the time of writing, is not confirmed, nor is it a space crime. On-board the ISS as long as neither the mission nor the crew are endangered, no space crime has taken place according to Article 22 of the Intergovernmental Agreement 1988 which governs the ISS.
But they might, unfortunately conflict is as much a part of humanity as curiosity so my thesis combines the two in order by investigating the future of potential space crime, asking what might be a crime in space and whether space crimes should be scientifically researched.
And using a lot of sci-fi references while I do it
One Foot Off World 