Aiming to open up access to space technology, protect Earth from cosmic threats and foster peace, proposals for a new space nation have been unveiled 
 
 Will you become a citizen of Asgardia, the first nation state in space? 
 
 Proposals for the “first nation state in space” have been unveiled by a team of scientists and legal experts, who say the move will foster peace, open up access to space technologies and offer protection for citizens of planet Earth. 
 
 Dubbed “Asgardia” after one of the mythical worlds inhabited by the Norse gods, the team say the “new nation” will eventually become a member of the United Nations, with its own flag and anthem devised by members of the public through a series of competitions. 
 
 According to the project website, Asgardia “will offer an independent platform 
 
 free from the constraint of a land-based country’s laws. It will become a place it in orbit which is truly ‘no man’s land’”. 
 
 Initially, it would seem, this new nation will consist of a single satellite, scheduled to be launched next year, with its citizens residing firmly on terra firma. 
 
 Speaking to the Guardian through an interpreter, the project lead Igor Ashurbeyli, said: “Physically the citizens of that nation state will be on Earth; they will be living in different countries on Earth, so they will be a citizen of their own country and at the same time they will be citizens of Asgardia.” 
 
 “When the number of those applications goes above 100,000 we can officially apply to the UN for the status of state,” he added. 
 
 According to the project website “Any human living on Earth can become a citizen of Asgardia,” with the site featuring a simple registration form. At the time of writing more than 1000 individuals had already signed up. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest An artist’s impression of an Asgardia shield, protecting the Earth from man-made and natural threats ranging from asteroids to space junk. Illustration: James Vaughan 
 
 When asked why people should register to become citizens of Asgardia, Ashurbeyli said: “I do believe that as soon as this country becomes a part of the UN family, citizenship of that country will be really quite prestigious.” 
 
 A Russian businessman and nanoscientist who also founded the Vienna-based Aerospace International Research Center and is currently chairman of Unesco’s Science of Space committee, Ashurbeyli says the project aims to open up a conversation about regulations surrounding space activity. 
 
 
 
 At present, the Outer Space Treaty that underpins international space law states that responsibility and liability for objects sent into space lies with the nation that launched them. 
 
 But the project team claim that Asgardia will set a new precedent, shifting responsibility to the new “space nation” itself. 
 
 “The existing state agencies represent interests of their own countries and there are not so many countries in the world that have those space agencies,” said Ashurbeyli. 
 
 “The ultimate aim is to create a legal platform to ensure protection of planet Earth and to provide access to space technologies for those who do not have that access at the moment.” 
 
 
 
 Christopher Newman, an expert in space law at the UK’s University of Sunderland, said the project reflects the fact that the geopolitical landscape of space activity has changed since the Outer Space Treaty was drawn up in the 1960s. 
 
 
 
 But, he added, it was not clear how Asgardia would fit into current international regulations, with the project facing significant hurdles, 
 
 from getting UN recognition for Asgardia, to issues around liability. 
 
 “It is an exciting development in many ways because it will be interesting to see how this goes,” said Newman. “But there are formidable obstacles in international space law for them to overcome. What they are actually advocating is a complete re-visitation of the current space law framework.” 
 
 Ashurbeyli says the hope is that Asgardia will eventually become an official “launch state”. But, he admits, at least in the short term cooperation from other countries will be required . 
 
 While the project’s proposals remain vague, the vision for Asgardia is lofty. The team say that one of their early plans is to create “a state-of-the-art protective shield for all humankind from cosmic, manmade and natural threats to life on earth.” Such threats, they say, include the dangers posed by space junk, and even asteroids. But, at present, details remain hazy about what form such a shield could take. 
 
 And while the project does not currently include plans to set up an Asgardian settlement in space, Ashurbeyli believes life beyond Earth will be vital to the future of humankind. “We are laying the foundations to make that possible in the distant future,” he said. ||||| Plans to create the first "nation in space" were unveiled in Paris on Wednesday. They are nothing if not ambitious. 
 
 The new nation will launch its own satellite in 2017 and dedicate itself to opening up access to space. The goal is to foster world peace, as well as protect earth from rogue asteroids and space debris. 
 
 The new space country will be called "Asgardia," named for the city in the skies ruled by Norse god Odin. 
 
 We aren't talking about an actual orbiting city or space station where humans will live. Instead, it's more a scientific, legal and technological experiment being led by Russian nanoscientist Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli, founder of the Aerospace International Research Center and newly appointed chairman of UNESCO's Science of Space committee. 
 
 "Asgardia is also unique from a philosophical aspect -- to serve entire humanity and each and everyone, regardless of his or her personal welfare and the prosperity of the country where they happened to be born," Ashurbeyli said in a release. 
 
 A rather simple website for Asgardia launched after a press conference Wednesday to kick off crowdsourcing the new country's flag, insignia and anthem. It will also allow wannabe Asgardians to register their interest for citizenship. The idea is that once Asgardia has 100,000 people applying for citizenship, it is then eligible to apply to the United Nations for official nation status, according to Ashurbeyli. 
 
 Supposedly all Asgardians would remain physically in their current resident nations, but also be citizens of this other country with its sole territory in the galaxy being a satellite circling the Earth. It's the access to space the satellite represents that is really the point of the whole thing. 
 
 "The mission of Asgardia (is) to create opportunities for broader access to space, enabling non-traditional space nations to realize their scientific aspirations is exciting," said Professor David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute at Rice University. 
 
 The way space works now is that there's something called the Outer Space Treaty that most (but not all) nations have signed. It essentially says that whatever country sends a mission to space is then responsible for that mission. So if NASA or an American company like SpaceX sent up a satellite that crashed into and destroyed a Russian satellite, Russia can hold the United States Government accountable. 
 
 In turn, this means the US Government has to regulate American companies working in space to avoid such international incidents. 
 
 James Vaughan / Asgardia.space 
 
 So it's easy to see Asgardia as simply a way to either side-step the Outer Space Treaty or perhaps do an end-run around government regulations that are a key part of making the treaty work by forming a new government accountable to nobody but the space enthusiasts that formed it. 
 
 I contacted space lawyer (yes, that's a thing) Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, who is editor-in-chief Emerita of the Journal of Space Law, and she told me that Asgardia is likely to have trouble in its quest to be recognized as a country. 
 
 "Under international law, there are specific criteria for an entity to be recognized as a nation. It must have territory and a population, and be recognized as a nation by other nations, among other things. Just declaring that a nation exists is not enough," she told me via e-mail. "There are (a) number of entities on Earth whose status as an independent nation have been a matter of dispute for a long time. It is reasonable to expect that the status an unpopulated object that is not on Earth will be disputed." 
 
 There's also at least one other independent nation in space that's already been declared and disputed. 
 
 In 1949, American James Mangan filed paperwork with Cook County, Illinois laying claim to all of space beyond Earth, declaring it the "Nation of Celestial Space" (also known as "Celestia") with himself as founder and representative. Mangan had similar designs on securing peace in space and quickly set about defending his claim by notifying the US, Soviet Union and a few other nations that his country had banned atmospheric nuclear tests. In the early days of the space race he would also send letters to the Americans and Soviets protesting their encroachment on his territory. 
 
 The world, including the United Nations, politely ignored Mangan's persistent requests for acknowledgment for decades. He passed away in 1970 and little has been heard from Celestia since. 
 
 Asgardia has the benefit of the internet to organize its claim to existence and perhaps raise funds for the satellite that would give it a physical territory in the universe and some basic utility for its "citizens" to rally around. 
 
 It still remains to be seen if the United Nations and the rest of humanity will see Asgardia as any more legit than Celestia, but that hasn't stopped over 4,000 potential Asgardians from registering their interest in under 12 hours. ||||| A space nation, independent of countries on Earth, could be founded after a team of engineers, scientists and legal experts put forward proposals for an extra-terrestrial state. 
 
 The project, which is led by Russian scientist Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, Chairman of UNESCOs Science of Space committee, aims to create an area in space which is beyond the control of individual nations. 
 
 Under current space law, government’s must authorise and supervise space programmes run from their own countries even if they are commercial. 
 
 But the group of scientists say that by creating a new nation, space activities can ‘flourish free from the tight restrictions of state control that currently exist’ 
 
 The team has named the new state ‘Asgardia’ – derived from Asgard, one of the nine world’s in Norse mythology. ||||| Early explorers risked their lives to reach the ends of the world, but not purely for the advancement of mankind. In reality, their bravery was motivated by one very powerful prospect: the possibility of wealth, be it treasure or land. 
 
 Today, Mars is our land beyond the horizon — a territory that can only be reached by plunging off the edge of our flat, incomplete map. But just like setting sail to the unknown West, sending a human to Mars is enormously expensive, not to mention dangerous, perhaps even deadly. 
 
 SEE ALSO: Sex on Mars: A Dangerous Love Story 
 
 But even with the clear risks, people are sinking millions into private Mars colonization projects. Will they eventually pull a King Ferdinand and claim Martian land as their own? 
 
 One Treaty That Holds the Cards 
 
 "There aren't really any laws that have been tested and widely adopted with respect to extraterrestrial land ownership or even ownership of the stuff that we bring back," says Andrew Rush, a space lawyer who regularly works with emerging aerospace companies. 
 
 Rush says the most applicable piece of law we have regarding real estate outside of Earth is the Outer Space Treaty, which has served as the basic framework for international space law since 1967. More specific, Article II of the treaty addresses claiming ownership of extraterrestrial property: 
 
 Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. 
 
 However, Rush tells Mashable any attorney could poke holes in the Outer Space Treaty because there are a lot of loose ends. It all comes down to vague phasing, starting with the term "celestial bodies," which isn't defined. 
 
 "The question is what is a celestial body? Is it a tiny asteroid? Does it include Mars? That's an open question," says Rush. 
 
 The second phrase that stands out is "national appropriation." To understand why, you must first put the Outer Space Treaty into context: It was written and signed before man ever went to the moon. The main reason for its creation stemmed from fear that the United States would plant a flag on the moon and claim ownership. The treaty was an effort to avoid fighting over territory. 
 
 "When considering both the literature and the time surrounding the formation of this treaty, it's pretty clear that they weren't trying to exclude private ownership," Rush says. "It was addressed towards government bodies." 
 
 However, Bas Lansdorp, head of private Mars colonization venture Mars One, disagrees with Rush's translation of Article II. 
 
 "As far as we know, which is confirmed by our experts, it is not possible to claim ownership of Mars land. Article II of the outer space treaty forbids appropriation," he tells Mashable via email. "What goes for governments also goes for individuals in those governments." 
 
 Although Lansdorp intends to send humans on a one-way mission to Mars in 10 years, he says that doesn't mean he will own the land. After all, "colonization" implies populating, cultivating and sharing a territory. 
 
 To illustrate his point, Lansdorp points to Dennis Hope, an entrepreneur who claimed ownership of the moon, then in 2009, maintained he had sold more than 2.5 million one-acre lunar plots for about $22 each. Hope said the Outer Space Treaty — which is quarterbacked by the United Nations — did not apply to him because he was an individual, not a country. 
 
 Hope, who heads the Lunar Embassy Corporation, then went on to establish his own Galactic Government, complete with a constitution, congress and its own currency. He fought to receive official recognition and argued that because the Galactic Government was not part of the UN, any agreements regarding the moon were irrelevant. So far, he has not been successful. 
 
 "The position of the Galactic Government is that we're not trying to distance ourselves from other governments. We just want recognition so we can work together," Hope told National Geographic in 2009. 
 
 When it comes to the moon, another piece of law called the 1979 Moon Treaty creates much more red tape for lunar entrepreneurship. The stringent treaty explicitly excludes national and personal ownership of the moon. But there's a catch: Only 15 countries have ratified it, and none of those are space-faring nations. 
 
 "It's like a landlocked territory dictating how a coastal territory uses its port," says Rush. 
 
 "But We Were Here First!" 
 
 It isn't entirely fair to equate future Mars explorers with Hope, who has never been in orbit, let alone set foot on the moon. If Hope had poured money into a successful trip to the lunar surface, he may have had a better case. In theory, that same notion applies to private Mars colonization projects. 
 
 However, Tanja Masson-Zwaan, deputy director of International Institute of Air and Space Law and one of Mars One's legal experts, says the law won't bend, even for someone who does complete a successful Mars mission. 
 
 "Landing there does not change anything. States cannot appropriate, neither can their citizens," she tells Mashable via email. "It would be too easy to say, 'My government cannot use a nuclear weapon, but I as a citizen am not bound by any treaty provision that my government accepted, so I am free to do as I like.' This argument simply does not fly." 
 
 SEE ALSO: Are We Meant to Live on Mars? 
 
 If all goes according to plan for Lansdorp and his Mars One venture, a group of at least 30 humans will settle on Mars in 2023. The colony will expand every few years as another group arrives to spend the rest of its participants' lives on the Red Planet. And as that settlement grows, more and more Martian land will be used. 
 
 As Earth's own colonization history has proved, placement and subsequent expansion of a settlement has essentially led to ownership of that land. But Lansdorp disagrees. 
 
 "It is allowed to use land, just not say that you own it," he says. "It is also allowed to use resources that you need for your mission. Don't forget that a lot of these rules were made long ago, when a human mission to Mars was not within reach." 
 
 Regarding resources, Lansdorp doesn't have concrete plans to send a return flight home with Martian matter, due to cost and technological constraints. 
 
 "Even if you would find a solid rod of gold or a big diamond, it would cost more to ship it to Earth than you would make selling it," he says. 
 
 Mars One operates as a non-profit entity, and the money raised will be used to fund its $6 billion mission. However, Lansdorp says if Mars One can sift through the regulations of sending materials from Mars to Earth, he may be interested in bringing home Martian rocks "for research, but also for our business case." 
 
 "Imagine how many people would be interested in a grain of sand from the New World!" he says. In that case, Lansdorp, who maintains that Mars One will not work with federal agencies in order to avoid politics, says he'll make those materials available — but not for free. 
 
 "Any research institute, including NASA, would be able to purchase parts of what we bring back to Earth," he says. 
 
 The Apollo program set a precedent that would make this possible. When astronauts brought back samples from the moon, the U.S. government entered into a bilateral deal with the USSR to share those samples (albeit without a fee, in the name of science). That agreement established if you go to a celestial body and dig something up, you can claim ownership. 
 
 "But that doesn't mean if you land on a planet you can claim the entire body," Rush points out. 
 
 If the mission is a success, the allocation of resources and colony expansion won't be an issue for Mars One in the beginning. The trouble will come when follow-up private ventures land on Mars. In that case, we can only assume that territories of some kind will have to be established. 
 
 "Let's see that when we get there," says Masson-Zwaan. "I assume at some point these settlers will become more and more detached from Earth, and will live by their own rules. I am not in favor of putting everything in stone too long in advance." 
 
 When that time comes, Rush says these settlers will have a strong voice in a courtroom on Earth. 
 
 "At the end of the day, if you put the money together to land on Mars, the law is unclear about whose law applies to you," says Rush. "It's sort of a Field of Dreams mentality. In this case, you're probably going to have your way when it comes to law." 
 
 Image by Mashable, Bob Al-Greene
– If your chosen candidate doesn't win on Nov. 8, there's perhaps no need to decamp to Canada or Russia: Become a citizen of Asgardia instead. That's the name of the newly proposed "first nation state in space." Named after a world in Norse mythology that's located in the sky, the would-be extraterrestrial state stems from a project led by Russian scientist Igor Ashurbeyli, who heads UNESCO's Science of Space committee, reports the Telegraph. There's no terra firma for Asgardian citizens to travel to: The Guardian reports Asgardia appears to "consist of a single satellite," planned to be launched by the project next year. Ashurbeyli explains "physically the citizens of that nation state will be on Earth," meaning they'll be a citizen of their own country and Asgardia simultaneously. CNET frames Asgardia as a "scientific, legal, and technological experiment," with Ashurbeyli planning to petition the UN for the status of state once 100,000 people have applied to be citizens on the Asgardia website, which launched Wednesday. Among the project's ambitious goals: to create a state-of-the-art protective shield to keep space debris and asteroids from reaching Earth's surface. Space regulation is another focus: Since the late 1960s, the Outer Space Treaty has assigned liability for objects sent into space on the nation launching them. Asgardia could in theory "do an end-run around government regulations that are a key part of making the treaty work by forming a new government accountable to nobody but the space enthusiasts that formed it," observes CNET. (See what NASA did in space earlier this year.)