💡Definitions

Important to understand topics 🙏

Space and the Tragedy of the Commons

SPACE is generally accepted as a public good (non-excludable and non-rivalrous i.e air) and the resources floating throughout can be interpreted as a common good (non-excludable and rivalrous i.e wild game used for food).

Our current economic system frequently exploits and undervalues public and common goods. Examples include exploiting the environment, and undervaluing open-source software, open research, and other altruistic efforts addressing the collective needs of our society (i.e nonprofits requiring sacrifice).

These issues are either left to fester under capitalist free market conditions, or reigned in through force by a governing body, which has its own set of issues around bureaucracy and corruption. Non-profits represent self organized altruistic efforts to protect and properly value these goods, but require sacrifice both in time and money.

The TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS is thus an economic problem of overconsumption, under investment, and ultimately depletion of a common pool resource.

Ostrom's Principles for Managing the Commons

Winning the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her work on sustainable management of the commons, Elinor Ostrom identified 8 principles for standard community management of shared resources. These principles, collected over a lifetime of research into effective commons worldwide, are a fantastic look at large scale human collaboration outside of the corporation and the nation state.

Although applying these rules at scale can be challenging, recent research suggests that blockchain technology may have a role to play in overcoming key obstacles, further enabling communities to manage themselves at scale. Elevating trust from the interpersonal to the protocol level opens up space for experimentation with new forms of collective action to achieve common goals.

Trustless Safety, Security and Sustainability of Outer Space

In 2019 the EU began a public diplomacy initiative designed to promote 'ethical conduct' in space amid concerns about orbital debris called: The Safety, Security and Sustainability of Outer Space (3SOS). The effort was triggered due to low Earth orbits becoming increasingly crowded with satellites and debris, a situation that's been aggravated by the deployment of mega constellations such as Elon Musk’s StarLink.

Designed to build on existing efforts like the 21 space sustainability guidelines approved by the United Nations’ Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), 3SOS did not include any new regulations on satellite operators, out of concerns that such rules “could put those companies at a competitive disadvantage.” (Sound familiar?)

By introducing trustless web3 technology, "Web3SOS" is now being formally developed by the Spacerox DAO to codify all the principles and guidelines listed above into smart contracts, with additional business operations compliance rules where applicable. Web3SOS Compliance Standards will ensure proper behavior for operations and activity in space.