International environmental law and environmentally harmful space activities: learning from the past for a more sustainable future

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present and analyse part of the relevant legal instruments currently available for regulating environmentally harmful space activities. Design/methodology/approach This paper opted for a functional research method combined with a comparative methodology. To make the argument, this paper relies on the contextual analysis of primary and secondary sources of law, instrument of soft law and the relevant background material (e.g. journal articles, textbooks, law reform and policy papers). Findings The central section will focus on the principles of international environmental law to outline their utility in the contemporary context. Finally, the conclusive part will point out the several ways in which the use of analogies can shape the outer space regime, especially concerning how those principles that are developed to safeguard the Earth, can also be extended for the protection of the space ecosystem. Originality/value Environmental hazards are rapidly increasing and the current international law and policy on planetary protection are inadequate to meet the challenges of the near future. There is no possibility of an environment-friendly and sustainable future if not strictly connecting it with a comprehensive and transparent acknowledgement of the human mistakes made on Earth. There are valuable lessons to be learned from our past, and it is under this perspective that the trend of polluting the outer space can be reverted. This paper fulfils an identified need to study the correlation between principles of international environmental law, space law and the current situation in the outer space.