Asgardia, the utopian nation of pacifist scientists want to have in space – BBC World

Image copyright Asgardia

Image caption Asgardia would be a new nation in space

Can there be a nation that promotes peace and diversity and which does not have the typical limitations imposed by the laws of the countries?

For a group of scientists, this place can exist, but not in the Land.

‘t be very far away, rather half way between the Moon and us.

This new nation-state, a pacifist would be called Asgardia and “will become a place in orbit that will truly be the land of nobody,” reads the project’s website.

The goal is to one day come to be recognized by the United Nations.

But some experts have doubts about the viability of the plan, taking into account that international laws prohibit claim national sovereignty in outer space.

are All migrants?

Initially, this new “nation” will consist of the launch of a satellite by the end of next year, with its citizens living on Earth.

Lena de Winne, who worked at the European Space Agency for 15 years and is part of the project, explains that the “citizens” of Asgardia should be subjected to an exhaustive scrutiny before being admitted.

“it Is difficult to get an idea of this concept, how you can be a citizen of something that you can’t put a foot”, he told the BBC.

“But I am a Dutch citizen and now living in Paris; there is nothing unusual about being a citizen of a place where you don’t live and you’re not going”.

Image copyright Asgardia

Image caption Thousands of people have already signed up to be part of this state

The project is led by the Centre of Aerospace Research with headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

this Is a private company founded by the scientist and a Russian businessman, Igor Ashurbeiyli, who during the press conference in Paris, joked that he will not be surprised if we start to qualify the “mad scientist who speaks nonsense”.

On its website explains that the new nation, whose name comes from the city in the sky of the scandinavian mythology, “it will offer a platform-independent free of the constraints of the laws of the countries that are in the Earth“.

The group ensures that will offer opportunities in the space for commerce, science, and “people from all countries of the Earth.”

space collective

For the moment, the project is being funded personally by Ashurbeiyli, but the group announced that it will seek funding through the crowdfunding.

Up to now more than 50,000 people have submitted your online application to “join” this state.

The choice of the flag and the national anthem will be by competition.

however, the professor Sa’id Mosteshar, director of the Institute of London Law and Space Policy, doubt that Asgardia is recognized under international law.

“The Treaty of Outer Space, accepted by all the world, clearly states that no part of outer space should be appropriate for any state“.

And he added that given that Asgardia will not be associated with a territory self-governing, with its citizens on the Earth, the chances of that ever to be recognized as a nation are very small.

But Ashurbeiyli ensures that you want to create a “new reality of judicial power in the space.”

“We are creating a new legal framework of ownership and nationality in the spice, which is adapted to the current laws of space on governance, private property and enterprise, in order to conform to the new era of space exploration,” he said in a statement.