Asgardia (nation)
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Asgardia, also known as the Space Kingdom of Asgardia and Asgardia the Space Nation, is a
micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...
formed by a group of people who have launched a
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
into
Earth orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 149.60 million km (92.96 million mi) in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes  days (1 sidereal year), during which time Eart ...
. They refer to themselves as "Asgardians" and they have given their satellite the name . They have declared sovereignty over the space occupied by and contained within Asgardia -1. The Asgardians have adopted a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
and they intend to access
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
free of the control of existing nations and establish a permanent settlement on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
by 2043.
Igor Ashurbeyli Igor Raufovich Ashurbeyli ( az, İqor Rauf oğlu Aşurbəyli;, russian: Игорь Рауфович Ашурбейли; born 9 September 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani-Russian scientist, businessman and a Head of the micronation As ...
, the founder of the Asgardia Independent Research Center, proposed the establishment of Asgardia on 12 October 2016. The Constitution of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia was adopted on 18 June 2017 and it became effective on 9 September 2017.Ashurbeyli, Igor
''Decree No. 9''
9 September 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017. Asgardia's administrative center is located in
Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. The
Cygnus spacecraft Cygnus is an expendable American cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and now manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It is launched by Nor ...
that carried
Asgardia-1 Asgardia, also known as the Space Kingdom of Asgardia and Asgardia the Space Nation, is a micronation formed by a group of people who have launched a satellite into Earth orbit. They refer to themselves as "Asgardians" and they have given thei ...
into space released Asgardia-1 and two other satellites on 12 November 2017. The Space Kingdom of Asgardia has claimed that it is now "the first nation to have all of its territory in space." Legal scholars doubt that Asgardia-1 can be regarded as a
sovereign territory Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...
and Asgardia has not yet attained the goal of being recognised as a nation state.Leah Crane
The 'space nation' Asgardia just launched its first satellite
— ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'', 13 November 2017.Dave Mosher
The 'space kingdom' Asgardia says it's the first nation with all of its territory in orbit—but legal experts are dubious
— ''
Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...
'', 8 December 2017.


Etymology

Asgardia is taken from the name of one of the
Nine Worlds Norse cosmology is the study of the cosmos (cosmology) as perceived by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and escha ...
in the
Norse religion Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic people ...
: Asgard (). Home to the
Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...
tribe of
gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...
, ''Asgard'' is derived from
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
''áss'', god and ''garðr'', enclosure; from
Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
roots ''ansu-'' spirit, demon (see cognate
ahura Ahura (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀) is an Avestan language designation for a particular class of Zoroastrian divinities. The term is assumed to be linguistically related to the Asuras of Indian Vedic era. Etymology Avestan ''ahura'' "lord" der ...
; also
asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...
) and ''gher-'' grasp, enclose (see cognates
garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
and
yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3  feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...
), essentially meaning "garden of gods."


History


Asgardia Independent Research Center

The Asgardia Independent Research Center (AIRC), formerly the Aerospace International Research Center, was founded by
Igor Ashurbeyli Igor Raufovich Ashurbeyli ( az, İqor Rauf oğlu Aşurbəyli;, russian: Игорь Рауфович Ашурбейли; born 9 September 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani-Russian scientist, businessman and a Head of the micronation As ...
in 2013. In 2014, the AIRC began the publication of an international space journal, ''ROOM'', of which Ashurbeyli is the editor-in-chief. On February 5, 2016, Ashurbeyli was awarded the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Medal for contributions to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies during a ceremony held at UNESCO headquarters, Paris. AIRC AAS is the only institute in Austria whose activity is fully dedicated to the research of the Solar System, extraterrestrial life and the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
using
space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...
technology and satellite techniques. Since 2013, the AIRC staff constructed, developed and prepared for launch over 30 instruments and participated in the experiments in 15 space missions, for example: ESA's mission ''
Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...
'', ''Rosetta'' (mission to a comet), ''
Venus Express ''Venus Express'' (VEX) was the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and began continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. ...
'', ''
BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...
'' (mission to Mercury) and CNES' DEMETER and TARANIS missions. AIRC has also collaborated with
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
for the ''IBEX'' mission. In 2015, the AIRC established a close collaboration with Asgardia.


Founding

On 12 October 2016, Ashurbeyli announced in a press conference in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, "the birth of the new space nation Asgardia."Daniel Clery
Space oddity: Group claims to have created nation in space
— ''
Science Magazine ''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, ...
'', 12 October 2016Scientists plan to create 'Asgardia' nation state in space
— ''
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', 13 October 2016Dave Mosher
A multinational group wants you to join 'Asgardia' — the first outer space nation with a mission to defend Earth
— '' Business Insider Australia'', 13 October 2016 The ultimate aim of the project is to create a new nation that allows access to
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
free of the control of existing nations. The current space law framework, the
Outer Space Treaty russian: link=yes, Договор о космосе es, link=yes, Tratado sobre el espacio ultraterrestre , long_name = Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moo ...
requires governments to authorise and supervise all space activities, including the activities of non-governmental entities such as commercial and non-profit organisations; by attempting to create a nation, those behind Asgardia hope to avoid the tight restrictions that the current system imposes.Sarah Knapton
Scientists propose space nation named ‘Asgardia’ and cosmic shield to protect Earth from asteroids
— ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'', 12 October 2016 It officially calls itself the "Space Kingdom of Asgardia." "Asgardia" was chosen as a reference to
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...
, one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology; the world that was inhabited by the
gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...
. People were invited to register for
citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
in 2016, with the aim of Asgardia then applying to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
for recognition as a nation state. In less than two days, there were over 100,000 applications; within three weeks, there were 500,000. After tougher verification requirements were introduced, this declined, and stood at around 210,000 in June, 2017. There is no intention to actually move these members into space. Asgardia intends to apply for membership of
the UN The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
.How Does a New State or Government Obtain Recognition?
— ''Asgardia'', 21 March 2018 The Constitution of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia was adopted on 18 June 2017 and it became effective on 9 September 2017.The Constitution of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia
/ref> The
Cygnus spacecraft Cygnus is an expendable American cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and now manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It is launched by Nor ...
that carried
Asgardia-1 Asgardia, also known as the Space Kingdom of Asgardia and Asgardia the Space Nation, is a micronation formed by a group of people who have launched a satellite into Earth orbit. They refer to themselves as "Asgardians" and they have given thei ...
into space released Asgardia-1 and two other satellites on 12 November 2017. The Space Kingdom of Asgardia has claimed that it is now "the first nation to have all of its territory in space." Legal scholars doubt that Asgardia-1 can be regarded as a
sovereign territory Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...
and Asgardia has not yet attained the goal of being recognised as a nation-state. As of March 2019, Asgardia says that it has more than 290,000 citizens and more than 1,040,000 followers around the world.Space Kingdom of Asgardia. Asgardians around the world
— ''Asgardia.Space'', as at 29 March 2019


Governance

The Constitution of Asgardia divides Governance of Asgardia into three branches: (1) a legislative branch named the "Parliament," (2) an executive branch named the "Government," and (3) a judicial branch named the "Court."


Parliament

The Parliament is composed of 150 nonpartisan members and each member is referred to as a "Member of Parliament" (MP). The Members of Parliament elect one Member to the office of "Chairman of the Parliament." The Members of Parliament also appoint the "Chairman of the Government." The Parliament has 12 permanent committees; the Chairman of Parliament of Asgardia is Mr. Lembit Öpik.


Executive branch

The Head of Nation is the most senior official of the executive branch (i.e., the Government). The Head of Nation is elected to a 5-year term of office. The Head of Nation may dissolve the Parliament and may then order the holding of parliamentary elections. The Head of Nation may initiate legislative proposals and may veto acts adopted by the Parliament. The Head of Nation may issue decrees that must be obeyed by governmental bodies and by the citizens of Asgardia. The Head of Nation is
Igor Ashurbeyli Igor Raufovich Ashurbeyli ( az, İqor Rauf oğlu Aşurbəyli;, russian: Игорь Рауфович Ашурбейли; born 9 September 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani-Russian scientist, businessman and a Head of the micronation As ...
. The Chairman of the Government supervises 12 Ministers. Each Minister supervises the operation of one Government Ministry. Each of the permanent committees of Parliament monitors the operation of one Government Ministry. The Parliament may invite Ministers to attend meetings of the Parliament.Government of Asgardia
/ref>Prosperity in the stars
— ''Room, The Space Journal'', Issue No. 4 (18), 2018


Judicial branch

The judicial branch includes a "Supreme Justice," who supervises the operation of four judicial panels: (1) a "constitutional" panel, (2) a "civil" panel, (3) an "administrative" panel, and (4) a "criminal" panel. The Supreme Justice is appointed by the "Head of Nation." The "Justices" who serve on the judicial panels are appointed by the Parliament. Asgardia's Supreme Justice is
Zhao Yun Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came ...
. Zhao, head of the Department of Law at
The University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...
, was appointed as Asgardia's Supreme Justice on 24 June 2018 during the first parliamentary session in Vienna, where he was introduced to the elected Members of Parliament.


Mayoral elections

The mayoral elections took place in the period between 1 August – 9 September 2018. Based on the results of the first stage of mayoral elections of Asgardia, offices were taken by mayors of 44 cities from 12 October 2018. The Head of Nation delegated to continue elections of the mayors of Asgardia until the Parliament passes the Bill "On Mayors of Asgardia" from 12 October 2018. Until the Parliament has passed the Bill "On Mayors of Asgardia," elected mayors will report to the Head of the Nation of Asgardia.


Key people

* Head of Nation —
Igor Ashurbeyli Igor Raufovich Ashurbeyli ( az, İqor Rauf oğlu Aşurbəyli;, russian: Игорь Рауфович Ашурбейли; born 9 September 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani-Russian scientist, businessman and a Head of the micronation As ...
* The Chairman of Parliament —
Lembit Öpik Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...
* Head of the Government — Byaruhanga Kimberly Junior * Supreme Justice —
Zhao Yun Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came ...


Space activity

Asgardia intends to launch a series of
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
s into Earth orbit. Its first satellite was successfully launched by
Orbital ATK Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...
on 12 November 2017 as part of an
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
resupply mission. It was a two-unit
CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...
measuring at a weight of , manufactured and deployed into orbit by
NanoRacks Nanoracks LLC is a private in-space services companywhich builds space hardware and in-space repurposing tools.The company also facilitates experiments and launches of CubeSats to Low Earth Orbit. Nanoracks's main office is in Houston, Texa ...
, and has been named . The overall goal of the mission was to demonstrate the long-term storage of data on a
solid-state storage Solid-state storage (SSS) is a type of non-volatile computer storage that stores and retrieves digital information using only electronic circuits, without any involvement of moving mechanical parts. This differs fundamentally from the traditional ...
device operating in
low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
. The spacecraft had a 512 gigabyte solid-state storage device. The data stored in this device was to be periodically checked for data integrity and function. Before the launch, the data storage device was loaded with things like family photos supplied by the first 1,500,000 members of Asgardia. After the spacecraft reached orbit, data could be uploaded or downloaded using the
Globalstar Globalstar, Inc. is an American satellite communications company that operates a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for satellite phone and low-speed data communications. The Globalstar second-generation constellation consists of 24 lo ...
satellite network. was boosted to space and then deployed by US companies on a
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
-funded mission so the satellite falls under US jurisdiction. Asgardia intends to partner with a non-signatory to the Outer Space Treaty (OST), perhaps an African state such as Ethiopia or Kenya, in the hopes of circumventing the OST's restriction on nation-states claiming territory in outer space. The satellite was expected to have a lifetime of 5 years before its orbit decays and it burns up on
reentry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the ...
. On 12 September 2022, Asgardia-1 reentered the atmosphere. A continuously updated map that shows the location of in its orbit was hosted by NearSpace Launch, Inc. ( NORAD satellite identification number 43049) is also being tracked by Satflare. Often described as a billionaire, Ashurbeyli has said that he is currently solely responsible for funding Asgardia, and that members will not be funding the planned first satellite launch. Although the cost has not been made publicly available, NanoRacks have said that similar projects cost $700,000. The project intends to move to crowdfunding to finance itself. Sa'id Mosteshar, of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law, says this suggests that Asgardia lacks a credible business plan. A company, Asgardia AG, has been incorporated, and members can buy shares in it. Asgardia wants to enable its founders' companies to use Asgardia's satellite network for their own services and business activities. These are to be settled via the crypto currency Solar and the reserve currency Lunar. Eventually, Asgardia hopes to have a colony in orbit. This will be expensive: the International Space Station cost $100bn to build, and flights to it cost over $40m per launch. Asgardia has been compared to the troubled
Mars One Mars One was a small private Dutch organization that received money from investors by claiming it would use it to land the first humans on Mars and leave them there to establish a permanent human colony. From its announcement in 2012 to its ...
project, which aims to establish a permanent colony on Mars, although Asgardia's organisers point out that setting up a small nation in orbit will be a lot easier than colonising distant Mars. Other proposed goals for the future include shielding the Earth from
asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
and coronal mass ejections, and a Moon base.


Legal status


Historical

There has been at least one previous attempt to set up an independent nation in space. The
Nation of Celestial Space The Nation of Celestial Space (also known as Celestia) is a micronation created by Evergreen Park, Illinois resident James Thomas Mangan. Celestia comprised the entirety of "outer space", which Mangan laid claim to on behalf of humanity to ensu ...
, also known as Celestia, was formed in 1949 by James Mangan and claimed all of space. He banned atmospheric nuclear testing and issued protests to the major powers at their encroachment on his territory, but was ignored by both the powers and the UN. However, modern communications mean that Asgardia has a better ability to organise its claim and perhaps raise funds for the satellite that would give it a physical presence in outer space.


Recognition and territorial claims

Both UN
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
Resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
1962 (XVIII) and the
Outer Space Treaty russian: link=yes, Договор о космосе es, link=yes, Tratado sobre el espacio ultraterrestre , long_name = Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moo ...
(OST) of 1967 have established all of outer space as an international commons by describing it as the "province of all mankind" and, as a fundamental principle of
space law Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue effort ...
, declaring that space, including
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and other
astronomical objects An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...
, is not subject to any national sovereignty claim.Diederiks-Verschoor, I.H.Ph.; Kopal, V., ''An Introduction to Space Law'', p26, "The formula epitomizes the great difference between air law and space law, with the former still embracing national sovereignty; while in the latter ''claims of sovereignty are banned.''" Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty vests the responsibility for activities in space to States Parties, regardless of whether they are carried out by governments or non-governmental entities. Article VIII stipulates that the State Party to the Treaty that launches a space object shall retain jurisdiction and control over that object.Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
Article VIII, "A State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over any personnel thereof, while in outer space or on a celestial body." According to Sa'id Mosteshar of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law: "The Outer Space Treaty... accepted by everybody says very clearly that no part of outer space can be appropriated by any state." Without self-governing territory in space where citizens are present, Mosteshar suggested that the prospect any country would recognise Asgardia was slim. Ram Jakhu, the director of McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law, and Asgardia's legal expert, believes that Asgardia will be able to fulfil three of the four elements that the UN requires when considering if an entity is a state: citizens; a government; and territory, being an inhabited spacecraft. In that situation, Jakhu considers that fulfilling the fourth element, gaining recognition by the UN member states, will be achievable, and Asgardia will then be able to apply for UN membership. The
Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
would then have to assess the application, as well as obtain approval from two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly. Joanne Gabrynowicz, an expert in space law and a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Law, believes that Asgardia will have trouble attaining recognition as a nation. She says there are a "number of entities on Earth whose status as an independent nation have been a matter of dispute for a long time. It is reasonable to expect that the status an unpopulated object that is not on Earth will be disputed." Christopher Newman, an expert in space law at the UK's
University of Sunderland , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emel ...
, highlights that Asgardia is trying to achieve a "complete re-visitation of the current space-law framework," anticipating that the project will face significant obstacles with getting UN recognition and dealing with liability issues. The Outer Space Treaty requires the country that sends a mission into space to be responsible for the mission, including any damage it might cause.


Data security

As Asgardia is involved in the storing of private data, there could be legal and ethical issues. For the moment, as the Asgardian satellite is being deployed to orbit by US companies, it will fall under US jurisdiction and data stored on the satellite will be subject to US privacy laws.


Economy

The ideological component of Asgardia's economy is based on two pillars. The first: In Asgardia, citizens must become owners of the monetary system. The government is simply a middleman, broker and guarantor of monetary transactions. The second: In Asgardia, every citizen must be a participant in the distribution of the Nation's profit.


Legal currency

The Head of Nation charged his Administration to hold a contest on the main national Earth currencies in order to determine the initial rate of Solar, the cryptocurrency that will be used for Asgardians. He also charged the Government to introduce a Bill on the National Currency of Asgardia to Parliament.Decree №27 On the National Currency of Asgardia
— The Head of Nation, 12 November 2018 The second Digital Parliamentary Session (the third Parliamentary session) of Asgardia, which took place on 10–12 January 2019, approved the Act of National Currency and Basic Principles of Economic and Financial System of Asgardia. Parliament voted in favour of tasking the Government with drafting legislation regarding the economic system and the national currency of Asgardia by the next Parliamentary session.Counting Commission Releases Parliamentary Voting Results
— ''Asgardia.Space'', 17 January 2019 The financial component of Asgardia's economy is based upon its two national currencies. First, the Solar currency. Because the sun shines for all on Earth, the Solar is to become a universal payment currency converted on the exchanges into not just hard currencies that exist in earthly nations, but also into legitimate cryptocurrencies.Mark White
If you don't like the way your country is run, build your own Utopia
— '' Australian Financial Review'', 7 December 2018Aristos Georgiou
Asgardia: 'World's first space nation' inaugurates Head of State
— ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'', 25 June 2018 Second, the Lunar, which will be an exclusive currency just for the citizens of Asgardia. The Lunar will be an internal financial and monetary asset that confirms the citizenship of Asgardia. As any asset, it is subject to exchanges, sales, loans, gifting, inheritance and more. It is also listed on the exchanges. In January 2019 Asgardia by voting chose the basket of currencies. Using the results of this voting, the Ministry of Finance and its counterpart, the parliamentary Finance Committee, will analyse and examine how the Solar may be freely exchanged against those currencies in open markets and at what future exchange rates.Asgardians Chose the Basket of Currencies
— ''Asgardia'', 12 January 2019 The following 12 currencies have been selected:
US Dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
;
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
;
British Pound Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, an ...
; Japanese Yen; Canadian Dollar; Swiss Franc;
Hong Kong Dollar The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong ...
; Mexican Peso;
Australian Dollar The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isl ...
;
Singapore Dollar The Singapore dollar (sign: S$; code: SGD) is the official currency of the Republic of Singapore. It is divided into 100 cents. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencie ...
; Norwegian Krone; Swedish Krona.


Economic forum

On 26–28 October 2018, the First Economic Forum of Asgardia was held in
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The Forum was attended by representatives from the professional community, including economists, finance professionals, specialists in the areas of development of currency systems, cryptocurrencies and investment tools from
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, UK and other countries.October 26–28, 2018. Asgardia’s First Economic Forum. Nice, France
— ''Asgardia'', 22 September 2018Asgardia's First Economic Forum Underway in Nice
— ''Asgardia'', 26 October 2018Asgardia’s First Economic Forum Begins
— ''Asgardia'', 27 October 2018Head of the Nation Opens Economic Forum in France
— ''Asgardia'', 27 October 2018Asgardia’s Economic Forum Coverage
— ''Asgardia'', 28 October 2018Memorandum from the First Economic Forum
— ''Asgardia'', 12 November 2018The Key Points of Asgardia’s Economic Program Revealed
— ''Asgardia'', 22 January 2019 The speakers presented projects of the models of Asgardia's financial system and its economy, monetary system models, and as well issues of creating a balanced financial and economic system of Asgardia. The Memorandum with a general overview and outlines the next steps of developing Asgardia's economic system was adopted on the Forum. Among other things, it was decided to make Asgardia's presentation of model with two currencies at the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
in Davos in January 2019 and for development of draft legislation on the national currencies of Asgardia for introduction to the Parliament of Asgardia. On 22–25 January 2019, the Asgardian delegation attended the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
in Davos, Switzerland. The Asgardian representatives participated at two sessions—economic and cultural at the Caspian Week Conference 2019. The Caspian Week Conference is a meeting of global leaders, visionaries and experts within the Davos Forum. The Conference was held for the third time since the year 2017.Ruslan Ashurbeyli to Head Asgardia’s Delegation in Davos
— ''Asgardia'', 22 January 2019Ruslan Ashurbeyli’s official welcoming speech in Davos
— ''Asgardia'', 22 January 2019Asgardia's representatives receive warm welcome in Davos
— ''Asgardia'', 23 January 2019Leon Shpilsky: "We Have Received Attention from Some Prominent Investors"
— ''Asgardia'', 25 January 2019


References


External links

* {{Micronations Space advocacy organizations Space colonization Organizations established in 2016 2017 in space