Aotearoa New Zealand has a developing space industry that employs people from around the motu. Our space industry encompasses:
- people who model atmospheric greenhouse gases and agricultural emissions
- hardware and software engineers for satellites and the systems that monitor them
- revitalisation of traditional Māori astronomical knowledge
- iwi and hapū applying concepts of kaitiakitanga, whakapapa and auahatanga to monitor and improve the whenua
- satellite propulsion engineers
- people who monitor and deal with space debris
- companies that launch payloads into low Earth orbit.
Compared with some countries, Aotearoa is a relative newcomer to the space industry, and our national legislation about the use of space is under consideration. Some industry experts have suggested that a space treaty might be a useful way to set an agreement on how space is used, by whom and when.
So what might a space treaty in Aotearoa look like? How would you make a space treaty?
In this activity, students work through a series of questions and provocative statements to create a space treaty.
By the end of this activity, younger students should be able to:
- discuss why we might need rules or agreements on how we use space
- consider some issues they think are important for regulating space
- describe and explain the expectations that might appear in a space treaty.
In addition, older students should be able to:
- devise their own space treaty features
- critically examine features of a space treaty.
Download the Word file (see link below).
Related content
Tāwhaki is a joint venture between mana whenua of Kaitōrete and the New Zealand Government. The goals are to develop aerospace activities and R&D facilities and to protect and rejuvenate the Kaitōrete environment.
This activity includes the opportunity to explore ethical issues associated with our use of space. The article Teaching ethics provides pedagogical hints and strategies.
Useful links
The Outer space and high-altitude activities regulatory system from MBIE describes the outer space and high-altitude activities regulatory system and lists the other government agencies involved in the system and main stakeholders.
You can view all of the space-related treaties that New Zealand is party to on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
Find out how to get a New Zealand licence or permit for conducting space activities from New Zealand.
Explore these international space agreements:
- Outer Space Treaty, which came into force in 1967 between the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
- International Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement.
- New Zealand Space Agency’s current regulations.
Where does space start? Explore ideas about the atmosphere with information from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and Te Ara.
Acknowledgement
This resource has been produced with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the support of the New Zealand Space Agency.
