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Dr Cassandra Steer is an internationally recognised expert in space law and the chair and founder of the Australasian Centre for Space Governance. She is now director of policy research with Space Strategies Consulting Ltd. She spoke to me from her Montreal home on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Fitz: Dr Steer, thank you for your time. In this week of Artemis II<\/a> boomeranging around the far side of the moon, I seek an overview of the whole space thang. Where it\u2019s up to, and where it\u2019s going? They tell me you are one of the world\u2019s leading legal experts in the field. How did you, as an Australian, get into \u201cspace law\u201d, something I think a lot of us didn\u2019t quite know exists.<\/p>\n CS: [Laughing] I was always interested in the humanities, philosophy, languages, international relations. My background is international law and international conflict, and it was in the course of working in that field that I started to become interested in what technology is doing to warfare. \u201cHow do we look at who\u2019s responsible?\u201d \u201cHow do we restrain states?\u201d \u201cHow do we limit the impacts on civilians of warfare?\u201d And it was actually military lawyers who I worked with who said, \u201cWell, you\u2019ve got to look at space.\u201c<\/p>\n Fitz: A difficult place to put up a shingle, but, OK?<\/p>\n CS: I hadn\u2019t even thought about space, but the more I started to look at it, the more I realised space is just another domain where all of these issues are playing out, where nations and corporations need legal help in navigating all the agreements, protocols and treaties that are supposed to control what happens there.<\/p>\n Fitz: What\u2019s happening there right now, and making headlines, is the whole Artemis program<\/a> \u2013 named because in Greek mythology Artemis is the sister of Apollo. But as opposed to the Apollo program, it is not, according to The New York Times, a \u201cflag and footprint\u201d exercise.<\/p>\n CS: Yeah, it\u2019s a race for dominating prime lunar real estate in the long term, not just landing and leaving.<\/p>\n Fitz: The NYT said this week that this race now is no longer between America and Russia; it\u2019s between America and China, and it looks like the Chinese are winning, with the big deal being who is first to get to the south pole of the moon.<\/p>\n CS: Yes, but while the US likes to paint it as a Cold War 2.0, it\u2019s not just China in the race<\/a> with them, because we\u2019re not in a bipolar era politically. We\u2019re in a multipolar era where you\u2019ve got countries like India, Japan, and even Israel, trying to get to the moon. And importantly, you\u2019ve got commercial players who are very much part of it.<\/p>\n Fitz: But why go to the moon at all, beyond the wonder of it? Does the moon have minerals that we don\u2019t have on Earth, and could we get them back here in commercial quantities? And what is the big deal about the south pole?<\/p>\n CS: The reason the south pole is so interesting is because it has ice, which means a space station established there can use it for water. And it probably has helium-3, which is a highly rare gas, and it can be used for fuel. But there really is an interesting question mark around what is the justification here, really? Because we keep being told we\u2019re going back to the moon to have a long-term human presence on the moon. Well, why are we doing that? Yes, well, to get the resources. Well, why do we want the resources? Well, to support a long-term human presence on the moon? But why do we want that to get the resources? So it\u2019s this circular argument.<\/p>\n Fitz: It certainly is.<\/p>\n CS: All these companies are involved because they\u2019re trying to make a case that there\u2019s trillions of dollars worth of profit to be made, but we\u2019re still not quite sure how. So this is not about bringing those resources back to Earth. There\u2019s no business case for that.<\/p>\n Fitz: So, why?<\/p>\n CS: In the shorter term, it\u2019s just about dominating the next politically important piece of space, at a time when everyone also recognises the growing military and economic benefits of near-Earth space. For one thing, satellites now are integral to just about everything we do on Earth, so it really is important. But who gets to the south pole first to establish a base is hugely strategically and symbolically important.<\/p>\n Fitz: And so, good Lord willing, and the creeks don\u2019t rise, in early 2028, the Americans will land on the moon, unload the sleds, get out the huskies, put on their space-helmets and head to the south pole. Mush you dawgies! I said mush!<\/p>\n Related Article CS: [Laughing] Yes, but my bet is on China getting there first. The US, as we know, is in total and utter internal turmoil. Trump keeps chopping and changing, and recently cut the NASA budget<\/a> to levels it hasn\u2019t seen since before the Apollo program of the \u201960s, and then Congress tried to put the budget back in place, but the new administrator just said he\u2019s in favour of the cuts. And their timelines have changed, and I\u2019ve lost count of how many times they\u2019ve changed their goals, of whether this is about the moon or Mars. They just cancelled, two weeks ago, a thing called \u201cthe Gateway\u201d<\/a>, which was supposed to be a critical piece of infrastructure for Artemis. The Canadians and the Europeans are saying, \u201cHang on, we\u2019ve spent billions of dollars on this already. The research and development timelines go for years. You can\u2019t just cancel it last minute.\u201d<\/p>\n Fitz: So, it\u2019s a typical Donald Trump shambles?<\/p>\n CS: Yes, exactly. You can\u2019t run space programs and planning with that kind of shambles, while the Chinese have extremely consistent internal governance. It has a dictatorship, but that means it has very consistent programs and funding and timelines that do not diverge from what was put in place already more than 10 years ago. Everyone works towards a single goal, and it\u2019s a very clear timeline, and they\u2019ve always said they\u2019ll be on the moon by 2030 and there\u2019s no question in my mind that they will.<\/p>\n Fitz: Whoever gets there first, you told me previously, will establish an exclusion zone?<\/p>\n CS: Yes, as this is prime lunar real estate, and we\u2019re pretty sure there are resources there. Whoever is first will set up shop pretty quickly, and then they\u2019re going to say we need to put a safety zone around these operations because lunar dust is really highly abrasive, and any small movement will kick it up, and it could become very destructive to equipment and possibly threaten human lives if there are humans around.<\/p>\n Fitz: OK, let\u2019s just say that the USA gets there first and sets up a lunar space station with a, let\u2019s say, 20-kilometre radius around their exclusion zone on the south pole of the moon. And let\u2019s say the Chinese then land 18 kilometres away. Would you expect a phone call from the Americans? You know, \u201cBetter call Saul … nah, let\u2019s call Dr Cassandra Steer. She\u2019s space lawyer to the stars, and the moon!\u201d<\/p>\n CS: (Laughs)<\/p>\n Fitz: I mean, how is the law up there enforced? Who runs the show?<\/p>\n CS: Yeah, I want to be clear. There\u2019s no law around this. This is actually something that\u2019s being asserted in the non-binding Artemis Accords and also in China\u2019s own principles around its own program for its International Lunar Research Station. In this, America and China\u2019s principles are very much the same. They are not going to try and infringe on that safety zone because it means they won\u2019t be able to set up their own safety zone. But it\u2019s not actually an enforceable law at all.<\/p>\n Fitz: But it is a whole lot of treaties, to start with?<\/p>\n Related Article CS: Yes, and the foundation stone is the UN\u2019s Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which is like a constitution, and it puts down organising principles and values, and it says \u201call space activities should be for the benefit of all nations, regardless of their scientific or economic status\u201d. It is prohibited to claim territory in space, and the treaty says by claims of sovereignty or by any other means, it prohibits nuclear weapons in space, and it prohibits military bases in space. So what it did was put in place key principles that the world agreed upon.<\/p>\n Fitz: But in the age of Trump, when $300 will just about let you fill up your tank with diesel<\/a>, what\u2019s the value of that American commitment to any treaty? American commitments are surely worthless?<\/p>\n CS: The Americans still basically support the Outer Space Treaty. But they also say, \u201cWe interpret non-appropriation as still allowing for resource extraction because that\u2019s not a territorial claim.\u201c So this was hotly debated in 2015 under president Obama when the US introduced national legislation to this effect, but then they put in place something called the Artemis Accords<\/a>, and they said anyone who wants to be part of this new, exciting Artemis program to return to the moon has to agree with that interpretation and has to sign this accord. It includes saying that mining of space resources is not appropriation and is allowed under the Outer Space Treaty. Australia was one<\/a> of the first seven countries to sign on to that because we were very keen to be part of the Artemis program.<\/p>\n Fitz: Let\u2019s go back to you, as a space lawyer. When it\u2019s 9am on a Monday, and your phone rings, who is it? What do they want from you?<\/p>\n CS: A lot of my contracts are with defence departments, particularly Canada\u2019s and Australia\u2019s where I\u2019m explaining to them a bit about what we\u2019ve just discussed, but also things like how the laws around conflicts apply to satellite operations, what the impacts are on civilians. I am currently on a team writing doctrine for Canadian defence about how they can operate in space. And I do a lot of education about policy and strategy, and some of it is the civil side, like the Australian Space Agency, thinking about sustainability in space and how we can make a good regulatory environment for Australian companies.<\/p>\n Fitz: Sustainability in space? Put your potato peels in worm farms? I get that on Earth, but what is the concept of sustainability in space?<\/p>\n Related Article CS: Because of our global dependencies on satellites, we have a huge problem of space traffic. In the first 50 years of space activities, we went from zero satellites to about 300. But in the last 20 years, we\u2019ve gotten up to 16,000 satellites<\/a>, most of them in low Earth orbit moving at 10 times the speed of a bullet. There\u2019s an ever-growing risk of collision between satellites, or between bits of debris and satellites. There\u2019s been a few events in space like collisions or actual deliberate military testing to destroy satellites which have created enormous amounts of debris. So although there\u2019s this huge commercial competition to launch more and more satellites, that is simply unsustainable. So these things have to be worked out.<\/p>\n Fitz: And Australia in all this?<\/p>\n CS: The Australian government doesn\u2019t really get it. Our space agency is sorely underfunded<\/a> and constantly being shrunk down in size, and it\u2019s crippled. It can\u2019t do anything that it should be able to do. Europe thoroughly understands how important space is, both for the civil side and economy, global trade, and also for the military and strategic side. But right now, Australia is not a good environment for space companies.<\/p>\n Fitz: What a strange turn your career has taken that you start out studying arts, and find yourself as a sheriff in the badlands of the space frontier. When you\u2019re with your Canadian partner on a starry, starry night, and you gaze up at the moon, does it change the way you look at it?<\/p>\n CS: It does! I mean, when I look up at the moon now, I apologise to it, and I say, \u201cI\u2019m really sorry. We\u2019re about to come and f— things up.\u201d<\/p>\n Fitz: How? How are we going to ruck things up? Why? What is the ruck-up that\u2019s coming?<\/p>\n CS: There are historical heritage sites, like the first human footprints on the moon that could be destroyed by this competitive activity. We have a custodian responsibility for space as much as for Earth. There are all sorts of cultures around the world who have sacred relationships to the moon. And what\u2019s going to happen is, entities like Elon Musk\u2019s company<\/a> are going to speed things up. We\u2019re going to have commercial and militarised competition on the surface of the moon to extract as much as possible, as quickly as possible, with very little concern for the natural environment. And I just think that\u2019s really sad.<\/p>\n Fitz: Thank you for your time.<\/p>\n Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Cassandra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/00cfc8be9847409729f534920bedc3b89792c6ad.jpeg\")
Cassandra Steer says we have a custodian responsibility for space as much as for Earth.Photo: Supplied<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9cf70a91fd0c1a906246ac7fb3e47236e2c2a440.jpeg\")
The new Earthrise, taken by the Artemis II crew.AP![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775945050_121_8660d14d1b89bdd9165a3ff7adf4e79217493ff4.jpeg\")
Australian scientists are helping develop laser communications technology on board the Orion spacecraft.AP![\"Artemis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/789cebdfbd0b447f2ac39d6b05f302598c827cd3.jpeg\")
Artemis II launches at Cape Canaveral on April 2.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/12a8b9a1f8d2dd307c4081a325ab634c39ae6954e83930cf235b24b24b0e74b3.jpeg\")
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Peter FitzSimons<\/a> is a journalist and columnist with The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 12, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,128,285],"class_list":["post-600847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}