Star Trek jokes abound as an international organization of lawyers begin drafting the first legal manual of space warfare to ever exist in real life.

This space warfare manual is intended to give guidance on issues regarding the legality of targeting satellites for attack and even discharging lasers from space during times of war.The manual will establish the legal parameters for militarizing the uses of such technology in outer space.

Academics, government representatives and international lawyers from the University of Exeter's Law School will join scientists to bolster law in outer space even to the extent of making it possible to litigate issues concerning the moon and celestial bodies.

The manual will create a legal framework for what constitutes war crimes in space, such as deliberately altering satellite imagery to create the illusion that civilian objects are military targets.

This legal framework also extends to the development of space-based weapons like missile defense systems and even lasers.It is intended to future-proof the ongoing developments of space travel, space exploration, and related technology.

The manual also concerns pre existing, terrestrial, international law regarding facets of war like the Geneva Convention, extending its rules on the treatment of prisoners of war so that they are applicable in space.It also looks at determining whose responsibility it is to clean up the debris created by military action.

Photo: Marcin Wichary (Flickr)

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