TTF 2020 – Kosmos Law

KOSMOS LAW / КОСМИЧЕСКОЕ ПРАВО
Vlad Afanasiev (UA) | Luiza Crosman (BR) | Elena Darjania (GE / RU)

When we think of outer space, paradoxical images of emptiness and complex astronomic activities take over our mind; areas, celestial bodies and constellations so large and so far away that they become alien for our cognition and imagination. We tend to forget that we inhabit one of those very celestial bodies.

Although the Earth is currently the only celestial body permanently occupied by humans, there are already plans regarding outer space occupation. These recent developments uphold and operate within a legal framework tied to the concepts of territorial expansion, exploitation and short-term thinking. As a result, space is seen as a separate entity – an empty outside – further reinforcing the fragmentation of the planet into separate spatial hegemonies that are unable to act upon the pressing planetary climate crisis.

By exploring the history of space law, the project exposes the contradictions that allow for a radically different epistemological framework to understand planetarity and govern space together with planets and their planetary conditions. Kosmos Law proposes a holistic governance model that can replace an outdated space law and update terrestrial governance. By arguing that Earth is a subset of space, it not only regulates future space activities but also envisions them as an indispensable part of the Earth's ecosystem governance.

Credits:

The project was developed during The Terraforming 2020 at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow, Russia

Project Team:
Vlad Afanasiev, Luiza Crosman, Elena Darjania
Music: Valesuchi
Voice over: Luiza Crosman

Program director: Benjamin H. Bratton
Program tutors: Nicolay Boyadjiev, Liza Dorrer

For the immense support during the programme, the team would like to thank:

Executive Director for Education: Olga Tenisheva
Programme Producer: Elena Mozgovaya
Student Coordinator: Vlad Ilkevich

All the speakers and faculty, as well as researchers of TTF 2020.
We extend our special thanks to: Rachel Hill, Maria Gavrish