In a statement adopted in October 2024, the American Astronomical Society declared that humankind’s scientific understanding of the universe is under threat from space activities, including the proliferation of satellite constellations, space debris, and radio- and electromagnetic interference. Of note is the potential for a space-based eyesore: giant billboards hanging out in low Earth orbit.
“It is the position of the American Astronomical Society that obtrusive space advertising should be prohibited by appropriate international convention, treaty, or law,” the statement read.
Congress already prohibits domestic launches of any “payload containing any material to be used for the purposes of obtrusive space advertising,” in which obtrusive space advertising is defined as “advertising in outer space that is capable of being recognized by a human being on the surface of the Earth without the aid of a telescope or other technological device.”
“The US federal ban on obtrusive space advertising is a critical bulwark against an insidious fouling of the natural sky by private interests,” said James Lowenthal, an astronomer at Smith College and member of the AAS’ Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment (COMPASSE), in an email to Gizmodo. “That ban recognizes that the sky belongs to everyone, and must be protected for all humans now and in the future.”
“But the ban applies only to US launches; other countries could approve launches of ‘space billboards’ from their soil that would be visible from around the world,” Lowenthal added. “That’s why an international ban is critical.”
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Source: Astronomers Call for Global Ban on Space Advertising Before It’s Too Late
Robin Edgar
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