Abstract

The increasing involvement of States in the process of research and use of outer space, as well as the steady development of technical capabilities of space-faring commercial entities, entails a serious growth in the number of space flights. This may adversely affect the physical integrity and safety of the objects, which can be considered as space heritage for their undoubtful significance in the history of humanity. An international legal regime for a protection of such objects does not exist today. That is why necessity to analyse and summarize possible international legal aspects of the protection of historical and cultural heritage in outer space and on celestial bodies has grown and becomes the purpose of this paper. The proposed thesis will consist of 3 chapters except introduction and conclusion. The first chapter will examine the features of the legal status of ‘space heritage’. The second chapter will refer to existing practice of national initiatives into the preservation of space heritage. Thereby, the most vivid example in the field of State’s practice will be non-binding document, ‘NASA’s Recommendations to Space-Faring Entities: How to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts’, which aims to preserve the U.S. artifacts on lunar surface. Another example is the bill ‘One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act’, which aims to protect the historic Apollo 11 landing sites. The last chapter will examine the different paths to establish appropriate protection of space heritage at the international level.