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Elon Musk will run into trouble setting up a Martian government, lawyers say:
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is steadfast in realizing his dreams of establishing a permanent colony on Mars, but any new government there will face immense legal challenges.
We got an early glimpse of what such a future society could look like, buried deep inside the user agreement for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service.
“For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonization spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities,” the terms of service read. “Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”
[...] Lawyers, however, have their doubts about SpaceX’s abilities to set up a Martian state. In fact, several told The Independent in a new story, what SpaceX has laid out in its Starlink user agreement isn’t radically different from space treaties that have been signed over the years.
[...] For instance, the 2020 Artemis accords stipulate that “outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”
[...] “[Musk] could be trying to lay some groundwork for offering up an independent constitution… just like he did for electric cars and reusable launch vehicles,” [Randy Segal, of the law firm Hogan Lovells] told The Independent. “Does it have any precedent or enforceability? The answer I’d say is clearly no; but if you say something enough, people might come around.”
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 30 2020, @06:42PM (2 children)
Serious enough to commission a ~3 story high mural of a Mars-scape for one of the walls inside SpaceX Hawthorne plant...with a full size prototype carbon fiber landing leg sticking out of the wall. The foot of the landing leg is an inch or so above the floor, so you can step on it to experience the stiffness of the carbon fiber strut & brace (it doesn't deflect noticeably in the vertical direction...)
Searched for a pic, but it's a no-photos zone on the nickel tour (a couple of friends work there). It looks like the only way to see this impressive bit of high-tech-art is to get a tour.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 31 2020, @01:27AM
Elon is so serious he invented time travel and name himself the ruler of Mars.
Project MARS: A Technical Tale - Werrnher von Braun, Dr. Wernher circa 1952:
All the world is a stage, and we are merely players.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Thursday December 31 2020, @03:16PM
Remember, this is the guy that bought into the idea that the universe is a simulation, which is possible but I think unlikely. What is impossible is his call for scientists to find a way out of the simulation. Duke Nukem ain't gonna leave your computer. If we're simulations than that's all we are.
It shows that he's really smart (and lucky) about money, and loves tech (Tesla Falcons) but has no clue how any of it works. That's just not how his brain is designed.
Are the Republicans really in favor of genocide, or are they just cowards terrified of terrorist twit Trump?