Space Stock
Mark Weller
The MIR space station is surely the world’s most glaring example of the failure of command economies to produce technological innovation. Old, unsafe, and cramped, MIR is a reminder of the glory days of the old Soviet Empire, and a further reminder that they were, in fact, not that glorious.
Even so, the Soviet space program is essentially the model that was adopted by other nations. After all, the reasoning went, the USSR was the first nation in space; they must have done something right. Viewed from this perspective, one can observe more similarities than differences between the European Space Agency, NASA, and the Japanese space programs, highlighted by the fact that all of them are completely owned and operated by the state.
But given the limited resources of today’s governments, is there a role for the private sector in the exploration of space? Absolutely. And perhaps the best model to consider is the last great era of exploration.
Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue thanks to the sponsorship of Queen Isabella of Spain, which is to say, the state. But after this first wave of government-financed exploration, the second wave of explorers were financed largely by merchants.
There were many ways that companies were encouraged to sponsor these voyages. One was to give the merchant a proportion of the trade rights arising out of exploration, a kind of transferable quota. Another was to provide the company with landing rights—the land that was discovered would be given to the merchant to develop. These methods provided significant incentives, which were necessary to offset the risk and cost of the venture, and just the sort that could be employed to fund the second wave of space explorers.
If the solar system was opened up to competition, the potential for mining and manufacturing in space would hold significant commercial interest. At the moment, under international treaty, all of the land in the solar system is considered the property of the United Nations. However, if the surface of Mars was auctioned, it would create an incentive for private development of the planet, an incentive sufficient to offset the risk and cost of undertaking such a task.
Granted, in considering the exploration of the Americas as a model, many remember the unseemly events that transpired in the course of developing the New World. As well, the way in which the land was distributed is considered by many to have been inequitable. However, many of these arguments are not relevant in an interplanetary context. Barring the discovery of people living under the Martian surface, there should be few questions of title that could not be resolved through existing law.
Another alternative would be to allow the first “space squatters” to have the right to claim a portion of the area as their own. The Canadian West was largely settled through the use of a homesteading system. The Yukon Territory still recognizes the rights of squatters to the property they inhabit. Development of frontiers has always recognized the right of the first settlers to stake claims, and the settling of the “final frontier” could be handled in much the same way.
Some have suggested that Mars and the other planets should be preserved and kept free of development. The argument generally boils down to the following assertion: industry has “destroyed” the environment on Earth, and should not be allowed to do the same in space. This objection is invalid. First, development has been the key to improving the standard of living of people throughout the world. Furthermore, Mars has no environment to protect: it is a sterile, lifeless rock incapable of supporting life. Mars requires not only development, but the radical surgery of terraforming if it is to become a useful place for habitation and commerce.
Since the end of the Cold War many institutions around the world have been challenged to justify their existence, but few have found the task more difficult than the various national space programs. For one thing, the primary mission has been achieved. The space race, a nationalistic competition to see who could reach the moon first, has been over for over 25 years. What we have today are essentially the remnants of that race: a fleet of aging NASA shuttles first designed during the Nixon Administration, a ragtag collection of Soyuz space vehicles, and the dilapidated MIR space station.
In short, government-sponsored space programs are megaprojects whose time has past. The future of space exploration should instead belong to the entrepreneur—but even then it won’t be easy. The Pathfinder Mars mission was required to comply with dozens of United Nations regulations before it was approved for launch. Obtaining a landing permit for a private mission would likely face even greater earthly hurdles.
This article originally appeared in the September 1997 issue of Fraser Forum.
Click here to return to the Articles Index.
Click here to get to TheWellers.com home page.
end