Scientists are preparing to launch into space by 2018 the first satellite for Asgardia, a peaceful, independent nation-state where no one will actually live.
Even though international law bans national sovereignty in space, scientists hope the project will prove to other scientists everywhere that “independent, private and unre-stricted research is possible,” according to the Asgardia website.
Eventually, scientists hope the U.N. will recognize Asgardia, named after Norse mythology, as legitimate.
Much like people can be a U.S. citizen but live in another country, Asgardia “citizens” will still live on Earth. However, obtaining a passport will make them eligible for citizenship, according to Lena de Winne, a senior member of the project team who spent 15 years of her career working for the European Space Agency.
“Clearly it’s difficult to wrap your head around the concept [of] how can you be a citizen of something you cannot put your foot on,” she told BBC News. “But I’m a citizen of the Netherlands and I’m now in Paris. ... There is nothing unusual about it if you are a citizen of a land where you don’t live and where you don’t go.”
According to the Asgardia website, more than 100,000 people have already applied to become citizens.
“The Outer Space Treaty ... accepted by everybody says very clearly that no part of outer space can be appropriated by any state,” Professor Sa’id Mosteshar, director of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law, said, according to the BBC.
Despite those doubts, Asgardia has already received funding as Dr. Igor Ashurbeiyli, founder of Aerospace International Research Center, which is also directing the project, has agreed to support the launch and will seek the help of other companies for additional funding.
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