NASA's Artemis mission could finally return humanity to the moon in 2025, revitalizing lunar exploration with the zeal of the Apollo era. In preparation for that future, Canadian officials say they're ready to stop any lunar shenanigans.
It goes on to say that this includes crimes committed "on the Moon's surface."
The proposed amendment comes after Canada joined NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in signing up for the Lunar Gateway project, which calls for the construction of a small space station in lunar orbit that will cruise around the Moon.
More specifically, the country's newly proposed code, as outlined in Bill C-19, reads, "A Canadian crew member who, during a space flight, commits an act or omission outside Canada that if committed in Canada would constitute an indictable offense is deemed to have committed that act or omission in Canada."
Without getting into the complexities, all of this simply means that Canadian moon explorers need to be on their best behavior. There will be no loitering near a cool crater, no leaving freeze-dried ice cream wrappers on moon rocks, and certainly no stealing from a vulnerable alien, if one is found. On the moon, lawlessness is a thing of ancient times.
Crimes committed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station are already punishable under Canadian law, but it's worth noting that the country's newly proposed amendment specifically includes moon-related crimes. It could be related to the fact that Artemis II will have a Canadian astronaut on board, though no official statement has been issued to support such a claim.
The allegations were later proven to be false, but the whole ordeal raised the issue of possible space crimes. Professor Ram S. Jakhu of McGill University in Canada, one of the world's leading international space law experts, called the incident "an important and urgent wakeup call" to adopt new extraterritorial legal rules.
This new outer space legislation is a step up from the UN's much looser space law, which hasn't been updated since 1967. That one was largely drafted in response to the famous space race between Russia and the United States decades ago, and it essentially leaves lunar-related consequences to the country associated with the accused to decide on a case-by-case basis.
Perhaps other countries will soon follow in Canada's footsteps, preparing for the next generation of lunar exploration - and perhaps even deep space adventures - because, well, where there are humans, there is the possibility of error. Including on the moon.
