Space Sustainability Plan | Astronaut Chris Hadfield works with King Charles III on Astra Carta

The Canadian astronaut explained Tuesday that Astra Carta will explore how humans can use space and settle on the Moon in a different way than they established it on Earth.

“We have a clean record with the moon,” he told the Canadian newspaper on the sidelines of Super Session, a conference in Toronto hosted by the Creative Destruction Lab, a nonprofit organization that helps science and technology enterprise technologies.

“There is no life on the moon, so we don’t disturb the environment,” he said.

Hadfield has been working on this initiative since last summer when the British monarch, who has long been outspoken on environmental issues, asked him for help. They are planning to release an early version of Astra Carta on June 28th in London.

Mr. Hadfield hopes Astra Carta will develop into a document that will engage many decision-makers around the world and guide some basic patterns regarding human and legal behavior in new areas such as space.

He explained that Canadians should consider some of the problems this would raise, as if we had just discovered an untapped continent.

“What are we going to do with it? Who is going to own it? What are the laws that are going to apply? Who is going to be able to dig and who is going to be able to benefit from the short and long term resources that are out there?” he wondered.

“And how are we going to judge ourselves? If I kill someone on the moon, in what court will they appear? He continued.

These issues all make space a “new opportunity,” Hadfield said.

“How we settle on the moon will determine how we settle everywhere else after that,” he said.

The name Astra Carta is a reference to the Magna Carta, a document dating back to 1215 that guaranteed English political liberties and laid the foundations for modern democracy and liberties.

Mr. Hadfield pointed out that the first version of the Magna Carta was rejected by the public and eventually rewritten. Astra Carta is also expected to evolve over time and attract policy makers’ interest.

The former astronaut was reviewing the final version on Monday night. He helped the king and his staff write it.

This partnership is not Mr Hadfield’s first contact with the royal family.

“I live a strange life,” he admitted. Years ago, when Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were still alive, he invited us to stay overnight at Windsor Castle. At first I thought it was a scam. However, that cannot be true. »

Eventually Mr. Hadfield and his wife made their way to the English castle, where they became acquainted with the late royal couple “a little”.

Since then, the astronaut has met the royal family on several occasions. According to him, it’s always nice to spend time with them and see how they try to be a good influence in the world.

“But I don’t hide it. It’s a huge privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”