🗣️ "The Future of Space Water"

Host: Matthew Klein
Guest: Kody George | Law Clerk
Category: 🗣️ Opinion | Space Water

Podcast’s Essential Bites:

[2:48] “When we're talking about space water, we're talking about these ice particles that are spread out throughout the ground. […] For the most part, you're not going to be able to really see them, but they're detectable. And we're trying to figure out a way of how we can gather all of them up and collect them into concentrations high enough to use.”

[3:26] “Space water really is the key to future space exploration. And that's why we're […] really trying to figure out first: Where is it? And then, how can we use it? There are two big things that space water is going to be used for. The first is life support systems for astronauts, drinking water, oxygen. And then the second big one is rocket fuel. So you can separate the hydrogen and oxygen molecules out and then burn them separately to make rocket fuel.”

[18:22] “The future of space water, as I see it, there is a really large gap between countries that are going to be able to land on the moon and start extracting these resources and everyone else. We really are talking about the United States and China, and maybe Russia if they decide to invest more heavily in their space program. […] So, when we look at the future of space water, what I'm seeing is this gap in the […] practical exploration of what the United States and China are actually going to be able to do and the laws we have set in place. Because right now if the United States or China were to start operations on the moon we're probably looking at some type of law of capture or prior appropriation.”

[26:35] “Something like the Safe Drinking Water Act might be […] similar [for space water], because we're really going to focus on recycling and reclamation. The entities that are going up here and seeking after this space water, they really do have an incentive to keep it as pure as possible when extracting it, and then having these closed loop systems.”

Rating: 💧💧

🎙️ Full Episode: Google | Spotify
🕰️ 46 min | 🗓️ 04/27/2022
✅ Time saved: 44 min

Additional Links:
Article: “Analysis of Current Law Governing Water in Space” (Kody George, 2021)

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