Open research questions in Space exploration and regulation

What the literature leaves open

• Future research should focus on the development of technical standards, verification mechanisms, and institutional coordination in the space domain. The analysis highlights the need for further study on the implications of armed conflict in outer space for civilian life and infrastructure. The paper suggests that future research should explore pathways to translate humanitarian norms into actionable practice through transparency, shared data, and standardized operational protocols.

  The Laws of Heaven: LOAC and the Final Frontier · 2026 · DOI

• The legal frameworks governing armed conflict beyond Earth remain uncertain. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is silent on conventional or dual-use military activity. The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of how LOAC principles might be operationalized in the space domain.

  The Laws of Heaven: LOAC and the Final Frontier · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of participation of Latin American countries in the global space sector. The systemic legal and policy inequities that perpetuate inequality. The need for more inclusive and equitable governance structures.

  Bridging Legal Gaps: Space Sustainability and Governance Participation from Developing Countries · 2026 · DOI

• Emerging spacefaring countries lack mechanisms to authorize their private actors. There is a need for a standardized approach to managing launch activities. International compliance and national security are at risk without proper authorization.

  National Authorization of Private Launching Activities: Critical Components of a Commercial Launch License Framework · 2026 · DOI

• Further examination of CEO-related contingency factors intertwined with financial resource usage offers a rich avenue for further research. Investigating the relationship between CEO characteristics and business model adaptation in a nascent ecosystem could provide valuable insights.

  CEO characteristics and startup performance in the new space economy: leadership profiles, innovation dynamics, and business model implications · 2026 · DOI

• The relationship between CEO characteristics and their ability to leverage external resources within NSE environments remains only partially known. Empirical evidence explicitly confirming the possibility that younger and more agile leaders navigate uncertain funding landscapes and technological contexts differently remains notably scarce.

  CEO characteristics and startup performance in the new space economy: leadership profiles, innovation dynamics, and business model implications · 2026 · DOI

• The paper does not provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges posed by communications latency and time dilation, - The paper is limited to a theoretical examination of the issues

  “In Space, No One Can Hear You Plead”: Questions of Semiotics Arising from the Legal Impact of Communications Latency and Time Dilation in Deep Space Missions · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in the existing literature on the legal impact of communications latency and time dilation, - The paper highlights the need for further research on the potential of legal semiotics to address these issues

  “In Space, No One Can Hear You Plead”: Questions of Semiotics Arising from the Legal Impact of Communications Latency and Time Dilation in Deep Space Missions · 2026 · DOI

• Further research is needed to develop more effective policies and programs to promote inclusive and equitable participation in the global space sector. Further research is needed to examine the intersection between international regulatory frameworks and regional institutional weaknesses. Further research is needed to develop more effective governance structures.

  Bridging Legal Gaps: Space Sustainability and Governance Participation from Developing Countries · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of consistent guidance on price and licensing policy for satellite image use in Korea

  Addressing Concerns to Preparing Policies on Satellite Data Openness, Licensing, and Pricing in Korea · 2024 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in the historical and political context of the space race - The paper explores the debates and decisions surrounding the US space program

  Sputnik, the space race, and the Cold War · 1985 · DOI

• Future research can extend the paper's results to more general distributions of consumers and configurations of facilities. Future research can study the problem of determining the number and locations of public facilities in space using different social welfare functions.

  An economic theory of public facilities in space · 1985 · DOI

• The problem of determining the number and locations of public facilities in space is a basic problem in the analysis of public services. There is a need for a complete characterization of the optimal solution using a symmetric and strictly quasi-concave social welfare function.

  An economic theory of public facilities in space · 1985 · DOI

• The authors' analysis is limited to the period before 1945. The empirical overviews are too descriptive. The links between Part 1 and the remainder of the book are tenuous.

  Contrasting perspectives on transformations in the British space economy · 1984 · DOI

• The paper suggests that policy analysts have a rich quarry in the area of space policy. The paper highlights the potential for conceptual progress in the policy sciences and social theory.

  NATIONAL SPACE POLICY: THE FORGOTTEN FRONTIER · 1982 · DOI

• The paper identifies a lack of guidance from the political system in space policy. The paper highlights the need for policy analysis to influence the social scientific understanding of space policy.

  NATIONAL SPACE POLICY: THE FORGOTTEN FRONTIER · 1982 · DOI

• There is a need to move beyond celebratory national history and examine the complexities of Australian identity. The study identifies a gap in the literature regarding the examination of the impact of cultural provincialism on Australian society.

  The satellite society · 1981 · DOI

• There is a gap in the understanding of the 1967 Space Treaty's effects on the legal status of the moon and celestial bodies. There is a lack of clarity regarding the use of natural resources in outer space.

  International Law Before and After the Moon Agreement · 1981 · DOI

• The development of more sophisticated systems for acquiring and disseminating product information. The exploration of the potential of satellite relay systems and video disc systems.

  The Decade of the Satellite · 1980 · DOI

• Future research should investigate how spatial information is obtained and how spatial constraints enter into the decision-making process. The development of models that explicitly consider the manner in which space affects choices is needed.

  REVEALED SPACE PREFERENCE THEORY — A REJOINDER · 1979 · DOI

• Further testing of the designed camp in actual relief situations. Exploration of other indigenous building materials. Development of new designs to address the need for emergency shelter in developing countries.

  SPACE ENCLOSURES FOR EMERGENCIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES* · 1979 · DOI

• The provision of even minimal shelter has become a seemingly insurmountable task. Developing countries face a pressing need for action to provide shelter for millions of displacees.

  SPACE ENCLOSURES FOR EMERGENCIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES* · 1979 · DOI

• Geographers have virtually ignored the debate on space settlements known as the “high-frontier” concept. There is a need for geographers to apply their perspectives and techniques to the debate on space settlements.

  Geographical Aspects of the “High Frontier” Concept · 1979 · DOI

• The gap between the legal principles of outer space and the political realities of international relations. The lack of clarity on the meaning of common interest and non-appropriation in the context of outer space.

  "Common Interest" and "Non-Appropriation" in Outer Space: Political Interpretation of Legal Principles · 1979 · DOI

• There is a lack of systematic approach to collecting and analyzing information on technology and resources. The Government needs a scientific bureau in the Foreign Office to collect and systematize information on technology and resources.

  Science, Technology and Foreign, Policy · 1978 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Space exploration and regulation

• The Economic Impact of Space Weather: Where Do We Stand? · Risk Analysis · 2017 · 271 citations
• The rise of techno-geopolitical uncertainty: Implications of the United States CHIPS and Science Act · Journal of International Business Studies · 2023 · 244 citations
• Space Syntax has Come of Age: A Bibliometric Review from 1976 to 2023 · Journal of Planning Literature · 2023 · 46 citations
• Apparatuses of observation and occupation: Settler colonialism and space science in Hawai'i · Environment and Planning D Society and Space · 2021 · 27 citations
• Troubled Orbits and Earthly Concerns: Space Debris as a Boundary Infrastructure · Science Technology & Human Values · 2021 · 18 citations
• The Normative Challenges of AI in Outer Space: Law, Ethics, and the Realignment of Terrestrial Standards · Philosophy & Technology · 2023 · 18 citations
• INCLUSIVE SPACE LAW: THE CONCEPT OF BENEFIT SHARING IN THE OUTER SPACE TREATY · International and Comparative Law Quarterly · 2023 · 17 citations
• Switching between worlds apart: Negotiating European space sector cultures through innovation · Science and Public Policy · 2021 · 17 citations
• Outer Space as a Global Commons: An Empirical Study of Space Arrangements · International Journal of the Commons · 2023 · 15 citations
• Science Diplomacy Policy Processes in Comparative Perspective: The Use of Scientific Cooperation Agreements in Canada, India, Norway, and the UK · Minerva · 2021 · 13 citations

Most recent work

• Brave space-making as disrupting · Journal of Applied Communication Research · 2026
• The Laws of Heaven: LOAC and the Final Frontier · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Bridging Legal Gaps: Space Sustainability and Governance Participation from Developing Countries · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• National Authorization of Private Launching Activities: Critical Components of a Commercial Launch License Framework · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Stars, Statutes, and Sharing: Designing Global IP Frameworks for Space-Based Discoveries · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Analyzing the Performance Drivers of Private Space Firms in the Space Economy Transition : Employment and Sales Changes Before and After a Policy Shift · Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences · 2026
• CEO characteristics and startup performance in the new space economy: leadership profiles, innovation dynamics, and business model implications · Review of Managerial Science · 2026
• “In Space, No One Can Hear You Plead”: Questions of Semiotics Arising from the Legal Impact of Communications Latency and Time Dilation in Deep Space Missions · International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique · 2026
• Finding Regions of Scientific and Operational Interest for a European Lunar Exploration Infrastructure · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• ISRU in the Cislunar Value Chain: An Examination of ISRU Technology Development Alignment with International Lunar Science and Exploration Campaigns · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026

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