Gretchen Oltman, J.D., Ph.D.
Executive Director
Space and Telecom Law LL.M. Program
University of Nebraska College of Law
goltman2@unl.edu
(402) 472-1662

OR

Bambi King
Administrative Assistant
College of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law
bking4@unl.edu
(402) 472-1269

Rusty Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 flight that was a key forerunner to the manned moon mission, will hold a public discussion about protecting the Earth from future asteroid impacts April 22 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Schweickart, who supports the development and testing of a spaceflight concept to protect the Earth from asteroid threats, will hold the talk at 3 p.m. at the Van Brunt Visitors Center, 313 N. 13th St. The event is free and open to the public.
The event kicks off a two-day gathering at the University of Nebraska College of Law to examine the dangers, prospects and legal issues of dealing with Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). “Near-Earth Objects: Risks, Responses and Opportunities,” will take place April 23 and 24 and will examine the legal and institutional challenges of international protocols if large asteroids or other interplanetary objects come too close to Earth for comfort. The conference also will feature a simulation of a response to NEO impact scenarios.
The University of Nebraska College of Law is a natural host for the conference. The college has the world’s only English-language master of laws program in space and telecommunications law. The college offers a credential that can launch people into careers dealing with legal issues associated with commercial space travel, satellite placement and the transmission of information.
The forum will attract experts from around the world, including members of a multinational committee who made recommendations last fall on establishing global frameworks to respond to NEO threats. The committee, commissioned by the Association of Space Explorers and chaired by Schweickart, will meet during the conference to discuss its future role in making its recommendations a reality.
Frans von der Dunk, the leading academic in space law and professor of law at UNL, serves on the international NEO committee. He said that existing space technology could deflect the vast majority of threatening asteroids, but even after a threatening object may be discovered, no mechanism exists for effective international decision-making on how to deal with a threat.
“It’s so important we establish an international framework to make decisions as early and as quickly as possible,” Von der Dunk said. “It’s essential so that we can take effective action (to deal with a future threat).”
Near-Earth Objects are an increasing area of concern among the world’s space scientists. Experts believe that over the next 15 years, advances in technology will lead to the detection of more than 500,000 NEOs – and of those, several dozen will likely pose an uncomfortably high risk of striking Earth and inflicting local or regional damage.
In October, an SUV-sized asteroid hit the atmosphere over northern Sudan and exploded 23 miles up with the force of a thousand tons of dynamite.
The law college is hosting the conference in conjunction with the Association of Space Explorers, with co-sponsorship of the Secure World Foundation and supported by the American Branch of the International Law Association. For more information on the conference’s times, locations and participants, visit http://conferences.unl.edu/nearearthobject/. For more information on Nebraska’s Space Law and Telecommunications program, visit http://law.unl.edu/spacelaw.

To view an article about this topic at the Lincoln Journal Star click here

For more information:

Frans von der Dunk, professor, law: (402) 472-1240, fvonderdunk2@unl.edu

Matthew Schaefer, professor of law and director of the Space and Telecommunications Law program: (402) 472-1238, mschaefer1@unl.edu

 

Register Now

Draft Program
Conference on
Near-Earth Objects: Risks, Responses and Opportunities – Legal Aspects
23-24 April 2009, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Thursday 23 April

08.00 - Registration opens

08.30 - Opening Session: Welcoming words on behalf of UNL and other sponsors

09.00 - Session 1: Setting the Scene
Moderator: Dr. Frans von der Dunk

09.05 - Rusty Schweickart, Chairman of the Board, B612 Foundation – Risks Posed by NEO’s and Current Capabilities to Respond

09.35 - Gary Rodriguez, CEO/Systems Architect, sysRand Corp. – Opportunities for Mining Mineral Resources on NEO’s

10.05 - Coffee break

10.25 - Dr. Thomas D. Jones, Astronaut, Author of Planetology: Unlocking the Secrets of the Solar System – The ASE NEO Report and Onwards

10.55 - Dr. Jean-Michel Contant, Secretary General of the International Academy of Astronautics, and President/CEO of the ASTS Group – The IAA Report on NEO’s

11.25 - Dr. Sergio Camacho, Secretary General of the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Latin America and the Caribbean - Report on Action Team 14 and COPUOS Activities further to the ASE NEO Report

11.45 - Q & D

12.15 - Lunch break

14.00 - Session 2: Legal, Policy and Institutional Aspects of NEO Threat Mitigation
Moderator: Lou Friedman

14.05 - Walther Lichem, former Austrian Ambassador – Legal and Institutional Implications of Asteroid Threat Mitigation Operations Policy: Responsibilities and Liabilities

14.30 - Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation – The Role of NGO’s in NEO Threat Mitigation

14.55 - Q & D

15.15 - Tea Break

15.35 - Agnieszka Lukaszczyk (on behalf of Space Generation), space policy consultant for Secure World Foundation – Legal and Policy Aspects Emanating From the Various Papers Proposing NEO Mitigation Approaches

15.55 - Session 3: Institutional Aspects of NEO Threat Mitigation
Moderator: Lou Friedman, Executive Director, The Planetary Society

16.00 - Ben Baseley-Walker, Legal and Policy Consultant at the Secure World Foundation – Different Institutional Models for NEO Response

16.25 - Q & D

17.00 - Adjourning

18:30 - Drinks & dinner (Wick Alumni Center)

Friday 24 April

08.30 - Session 4: International Legal Aspects of Exploring and Exploiting NEO’s
Moderator: Matt Schaefer, Professor of law and Director, Space and Telecom Law , UNL

08.35 - Dr. Maureen Williams, Professor of International Law, University of Buenos Aires – International Space Law Applicable to Exploring and Exploiting NEO’s

09.00 - Dr. Frans von der Dunk, Harvey and Susan Perlman Alumni/Othmer Professor of Space Law, UNL – National Licensing for Exploitation Activities in the Context of International Space Law

09.25 - Leslie Tennen, Attorney at Law, Sterns and Tennen – Towards a New Regime for Exploitation of Outer Space Mineral Resources?

09.50 - Q & D

10.10 - Coffee break

10.30 - Session 5: US Domestic Law Aspects of Exploiting NEO’s
Moderator: Matt Schaefer

10.35 - Joanne Gabrynowicz, Director, National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law and Research Professor of Law, University of Mississippi – US Domestic Law and Regulation Pertinent to Exploiting NEO’s – an Overview of the Current State of the Law

11.00 - Keith Steeves, President and CEO, A.P.S.E. Inc. – Private Sector Perspective on Exploitation of NEO’s

11.25 - Dr. Harold Reitsema, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. (retired), Aerospace Consultant – Another Private Sector Perspective on Exploitation of NEO’s

11.50 - Q & D

12.10 - Lunch break

Conference moves to Law College

13.40 - Session 6: Intergovernmental Panel on Legal and Policy Aspects of NEO Response Activities

13.45 - Chair: Rusty Schweickart
Panelists: Ciro Arevalo, Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; Masahiko Sato, Manager, Legal Affairs Division, General Affairs Department, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA); Dr. Adigun Ade Abiodun, Nigeria, United Nations Expert on Space Applications (ret.), and Dr. Suzanne Parete-Koon, Physical Science Officer, Office of Space and Advanced Technology, United States Department of State.

14.55 - Open floor discussion

15.25 - Tea break

15.45 -Session 7: Simulation of a Response to NEO Impact Scenarios
Moderators: Eligar Sadeh, President, Astroconsulting International LLC Panelists: Col. Rex Kizah, Permanent Professor, Chair of Department of Physics, United States Air Force Academy; Lt. Col. Mick Gleason, Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies, United States Air
Force Academy; Brian Weeden, Technical Consultant, Secure World Foundation

17.45 - Closing session wrap-up & thanks from UNL

18.00 - Drinks & dinner (Reading Room Law College)