The outer space treaty of 1967 was drafted to spell out the principles to guide the activities of countries in the international space and is the foundation on which the international space law was created. The treaty became enforceable and was opened for signature by the Russian Federation, the United States and the United Kingdom in 1967 and has a hundred and seven signatories as of 2017 with other more than twenty countries awaiting ratification. The treaty originated from a reconciliation of draft treaties presented to the United Nations by the Soviet Union and the United States on how countries should conduct their affairs in the international space (Jakhu, Chen & Nyampong, 2015) . The final document was endorsed by the United Nations general assembly in 1966 and spells out the principles that the signatories must abide by in their space dealings.
The treaty states that the international space is a province of all humankind and its exploration and any other activities undertaken in it should be beneficial to all humanity and serve the interests of everyone (Black-Branch, 2016) . Therefore no one nation can claim sovereignty over the moon, planets and other celestial resources found in the international space by use or occupation or any other form according to the outer space treaty and its provisions (Jakhu & Dempsey, 2017) . However, when a country launches an object into the international space, they have control over it and its activities and bears responsibility for everything that happens when the object is operational in space (Israel, 2014) . The treaty further reiterates that there should be no discrimination whatsoever to access to space and all countries are entitled to equal chance to conduct scientific investigations. The outer space is also exempt from national appropriation by any state (Jakhu & Dempsey, 2017) . The signatories are also encouraged to work collaboratively towards advancing scientific investigations and other space explorations for the good of all.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Another principle of the treaty directs that the states should carry out all their space activities in compliance with the international law and the United Nations charter to promote international cohesion and maintain peace and security (Dawson, 2017) . The treaty also prohibits its signatories from placing nuclear arms or weapons of mass destruction in orbit, on the Moon, or on other bodies in space (Jakhu, Pelton & Nyampong, 2017) . The international space should only be used to advance peace and military activities, installation or testing of weapons or any other military warfare-related activities are prohibited (Israel, 2014) . However, the treaty allows the use of space for the use of military personnel to perform research or any other pro-peace activities. The treaty also acknowledges astronauts as the envoys to mankind and directs that the signatories offer them any required assistance in case of an emergency (Jakhu et.al., 2015) . Similarly, the astronauts from the different countries are expected to support each other and render any assistance necessary to their colleagues when in space (Black-Branch, 2016) . In case they make a discovery that could endanger the wellbeing of other astronauts from other states the signatory states are required to inform them immediately or report the danger to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The treaty also states that the members should be guided by the principle of cooperation and mutual assistance and should work together towards the attainment of the common good (Dawson, 2017) . The signatories should work closely to study space to identify any phenomena that pose a threat to the earth or the environment. Additionally, if a state's exploration or space experiment is likely to cause a conflict with other countries, they should consult with the appropriate authorities before proceeding (Jakhu et.al., 2015) . When going to space, the parties to the treaty should be given an equal chance to ensure every state is afforded equal opportunity and the signatories should discuss the arrangements and come to an agreement (Israel, 2014) . The treaty also directs that the state parties should inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the public and the international scientific community of their research activities, where they conduct them and what they find out (Larsen, 2017) . The Secretary-General of the United Nations is after that expected to disseminate the information to advance space exploration and future experiments by the state signatories. The state parties are expected to avail their stations, installations freely, and equipment and space vehicles on space to other members and they should all reciprocate (Jakhu et.al., 2017) . The state's representatives to space are expected to provide prior notice when scheduling a visit to ensure the states take all the necessary preparations.
The treaty also addresses the rescue and return of astronauts as well as the objects launched into space (Jakhu & Dempsey, 2017) . The signatory states are expected to report to the launching authority immediately and the secretary general of the United Nations if the astronauts are in distress, get into an accident or make an emergency landing in their territory (Magalhães, Steffen, Aragão & Marques, 2016) . In the eventuality that these things happen the state in which the spacecraft lands is expected to take all the necessary steps to salvage the situation and save lives just like it would act if it were their state spaceship that was under distress (Larsen, 2017) . The signatories are also expected to be ready to offer rescue services for astronauts who experience incidents in or other signatory states' territories. If the state comes across a crashed aircraft in their high seas or their other territory they should deliver them to representatives of the launching authority as soon as possible (Jakhu et.al., 2017) . Any signatory whose spacecraft lands in the foreign territory should notify the launching authority with the term referring to the state which launched the spacecraft.
The treaty also discusses the convention on international liability for damage caused by space objects (Dawson, 2017). The agreement states that the launching authority holds responsibility for any damage caused by their space object on earth or to aircraft in flight (Larsen, 2017). The launching state is however not liable for any damages that occur in space as a result of other factors other than their crew's mistakes, and if two states jointly launch a space object, they are equally liable for the space object (Jakhu & Dempsey, 2017). The treaty protects the nationals of the launching state from any liability as well as any foreigners commissioned by the launching state (Black-Branch, 2016). The treaty also provides for the convention on registration of objects launched into outer space and states that all spacecraft should be registered with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
In sum, the outer space treaty of 1967 was coined to offer guidelines on how launching states conduct their activities while in space. It states that all space explorations and experiments should be done for the greater good, bans any military or warfare related weapons in space and states that no state can claim sovereignty over space. Astronauts are recognized as envoys to humankind, and all space activities should be used to advance peace and international cooperation.
References
Black-Branch, J. L. (2016). Nuclear Non-Proliferation in International Law . T.M.C. Asser Press.
Dawson, L. (2017). The Politics and Perils of Space Exploration: Who Will Compete, Who Will Dominate? Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Israel, B. R. (2014). Help from Above: The Role of International Law in Facilitating the Use of Outer Space for Disaster Management. The International Law of Disaster Relief, 217- 244. doi:10.1017/cbo9781107447844.019
Jakhu, R. S., Chen, K., & Nyampong, Y. (2015). Global space governance. Montreal, PQ: McGill Centre for Research in Air and Space Law.
Jakhu, R. S., Pelton, J. N., & Nyampong, Y. O. (2017). Space mining and its regulation . Cham: Springer.
Jakhu, R. S., & Dempsey, P. S. (2017). Routledge handbook of space law . Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Larsen, P. B. (2017). Outer Space Arms Control: Can the USA, Russia, and China Make this Happen. Journal of Conflict and Security Law . doi:10.1093/jcsl/krw026
Magalhães, P., Steffen, W. L., Aragão, A., & Marques, V. S. (2016). The safe operating space treaty: a new approach to managing our use of the Earth system . Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
