Mission to Mars

1 Credit · Level: Undergraduate

Landing humans on Mars and exploring the Red Planet (or other celestial bodies), whether by a nation or a commercial company, involves navigating a complex web of political, legal, and regulatory frameworks. This course works backwards from successful initial Mars landings by commercial companies, surveying the key considerations and outcomes that must have occurred to enable such missions, beyond the core technologies required for regular human missions to Mars. These considerations include: (1) the philosophical, national, and business imperatives for these missions; (2) contractual agreements, liability issues, and export control considerations; (3) domestic and international regulatory domains (launch and reentry authorizations; “on-orbit” authorities; frequency allocations; environmental and safety standards); and (4) international laws and policies, including the Outer Space Treaty, Liability Convention, and Planetary Protection and resource extraction policies.