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1 1 (December 2, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejot0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ R' fesearch Servi e If You Do the Space Crime, You May Do the Space Time December 2, 2022 In recent years, a number of high-profile commercial space flights-some of which included celebrity passengers-garnered widespread media attention. Moving forward, one company aims to provide hundreds of passenger space flights per year. Another venture promises a civilian lunar orbital mission in 2023. One CEO has suggested the possibility of a crewed mission to Mars in 2029. Regardless of the outcome of any of these specific plans, space tourism companies are pursuing travel that is more frequent, ambitious, and perhaps longer in duration. In short, more humans may be spending more time in space, increasing the potential for crime to occur during a mission or voyage. The issue is not entirely speculative-a range of violent behavior and sexual misconduct has reportedly occurred during simulated space missions. Should a criminal act occur during an actual trip to space, is there federal jurisdiction to prosecute it? In light of Congress's continuing work on various matters pertaining to space, including commercial space flight, this sidebar explores the situations in which federal jurisdiction over crimes committed in space might exist. The sidebar focuses on crimes committed by private individuals in space and concludes with a brief discussion of congressional considerations. This sidebar does not examine the various additional laws that may be uniquely relevant to military or official personnel in space and does not cover other regulatory frameworks that may be relevant to space commerce. Information on some of these topics may be found in CRS In Focus IF 11940, Commercial Human Spaceflight, by Daniel Morgan; and CRS Report R45416, Commercial Space: Federal Regulation, Oversight, and Utilization, by Daniel Morgan. Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction One way the federal government may have jurisdiction over crimes committed in space is if the conduct occurs in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States (SMTJ) and violates the substantive elements of a federal statute applicable in SMTJ. As one federal appellate court has explained, SMTJ generally includes areas where American citizens and property need protection, yet no other government effectively safeguards those interests. One quintessential example is the high seas, which are included in the definition of SMTJ in 18 U.S.C. @ 7, along with certain international waterways, federal lands, islands containing bird guano, and domestic aircrafts in flight. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10869

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