OXFORD, Miss. – As the space tourism market continues to grow, two universities have developed programs to prepare law students to expand their jurisdictions beyond the ozone.
The law schools at University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and the University of Mississippi will begin new programs in space law this fall, which will train students to deal with issues ranging from commercial space flight to asteroid mining.
The commercial space industry and outer space research are both growing. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 civilians registered to take sub-orbital space flights scheduled to begin in December. NASA recently announced plans to partner with 11 other international space agencies to conduct deep space exploration that could send astronauts as far as Mars.
“There are opportunities out there and there are many emerging space law issues that need to get answers,” says Jacqueline Serrao, the director of the master of laws program in Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law “The money is there. The infrastructure is there. Where are the laws?” Read the entire story.