What could COSPAR do to protect the planetary and space environment? Original Research Article

Since there is clearly a conflict between the interest of 21st century exploiters of planetary resources on the one hand and astronomers as planetary environmentalists on the other, a new strategy should be established to settle this conflict as soon as possible. The task of planetary scientists within COSPAR would be to survey and evaluate all known planetary environments with regards to their scientific value (or even uniqueness), sensitivity to intervention, difficulty or ease of access by space probes etc. Based on such a survey a list of the scientifically important planetary environments can be drawn up by a COSPAR panel. The result would be a limited list of sites and objects open to scientific investigation but closed to exploitation of natural resources. These international scientific preserves or “wilderness areas” should be legally protected within the frame of an international environment-protection treaty. In the future such a COSPAR classification system of planetary territories - with a gradually decreasing value for science - should determine the strategy of exploration and exploitation of planetary resources.