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43 J. Space L. 309 (2019)
The Legal Imperative to Mitigate the Plume Effect: An Aggravation and Frustration That Imperils Our History and Our Future

handle is hein.journals/jrlsl43 and id is 319 raw text is: THE LEGAL IMPERATIVE TO MITIGATE THE PLUME EFFECT: AN AGGRAVATION AND FRUSTRATION THAT IMPERILS OUR HISTORY AND OUR FUTURE Michelle L.D. Hanlon* and Bailey Cunningham** ABSTRACT Research indicates that upon approach and landing, lunar lander engine exhaust will blow, rocks, soil and dust at high veloc- ities. This lander ejecta can severely damage hardware even tens of kilometers away from the landing site. Building berms or using ter- rain obscuration to obstruct or curtail the ejecta each offer only par- tial solutions to this potentially mission-ending issue because large landers can send ejecta into high trajectories that cannot be suc- cessfully blocked. Indeed, it has been shown that it is even possible for ejecta to damage or destroy spacecraft orbiting the Moon. This article maintains that because of these effects, it is necessary to construct landing pads on the Moon to protect all ongoing opera- tions as well as sites of historic significance from destructive ejecta. This article commences by introducing the challenges posed by lu- nar landing ejecta and summarily describing the detrimental ef- fects on operational hardware and historic sites. The article sug- gests that obligations and responsibilities as set forth in the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention make the construction of common landing pads a legal, economic and moral imperative. The article further argues that the development and establishment of a common landing pad regime is a vital first step in obtaining the level of international agreement and cooperation that will be needed to assure the successful and sustainable exploration and use of space and its resources. Co-Director, Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law and Co-Founder, For All Moonkind, Inc. J.D. Candidate, Dec. 2020, Florida State University College of Law; B.A., 2018, University of South Florida. 309

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