It’s been nearly 70 years since man first ventured out of this world. Now, there are 90 space-faring nations battling it out in the increasingly crowded cosmos, with 14,000 live satellites and many millions of pieces of space debris at risk of collision.

There’s also a race to find resources, to claim a piece of a booming economy soon to be worth a trillion dollars. So, who’s overseeing it all? Who’s in charge up there?

Steven Freeland is an Australian attorney with an astronomical assignment: re-writing guidelines for the galaxy.

He chairs a UN committee of 110 member states, all with a vested interest in our atmosphere. The first challenge is space traffic – some areas are now so saturated with satellites, they’re essentially full, increasing the risk of collisions that result in debris.

Freeland is also looking to avoid an arms race in space. Currently, putting nuclear weapons into orbit is illegal, but other weapons are allowed. Surprisingly, it’s China and Russia who have pushed for a total ban of weapons in space, while the US opposed it.

Steven’s committee has until 2027 to come to a unanimous agreement on its cosmic conventions.

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